kingofqueen
Well-Known Member
Yes it can be done . We all can't afford a nice PH meter so alot of us resort to the Liquid test kits . Be sure when you buy one it is a wide range kit like you find at the Hydro Store . The Aquarium kits are of a narrow range not quite suitable to gardening needs . Most people don't like these kits because you can only be accurate to a half not down to a tenth of a point .It will get you where you need to be and establish a base line for further testing.
This test will be treating 5g.First thing is to test your tap water . All these tests was done on the same batch of water that had been sitting for 24 hours .(tip) Brita filters remove chlorine . If you can run your water through one of these filters no need to wait on chlorine to vape off.
So let's take our first sample and see where we are at
As you can see we are between 7 and 7.5 .Any lighter it would be between 6.5 and 7 , any darker it would be 7.5 to 8 . So this is accurate to half a point .
Now that's not too too bad but not what we want . Shooting for 6.5ish is what is wanted . So we are treating 5 gallons , we will start with 1 tbsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar and see what it does .
Okay so that put us at 6 to 6.5 . So that worked .As you can see by the color chart any lighter or any darker how it would be off .This is good enough for soil . The dolomite lime in your soil mix will buffer it the rest of the way .(6.8-7)
Keep this in mind when someone tells you 1tbsp to a gallon of water when using apple cider vinegar . It is not linear meaning with 1gal 1tbsp works but it doesnt mean 5 tbsp for 5 gallons . I did this and it actually had knocked it down to 4.5. So take the time to test your water and you can do the same thing everytime when mixing nutrient with accurate results. If I was feeding the next step would be to add the nutrient to the water , then test again and make adjustments if nessesary .Take notes and write it down . Best to double check it every so often as well if your on city water . Sometimes they change up on you . Hope this helps someone
CHong