Raising pH of watering solution for soil

I tested the pH of my reverse osmosis water and it comes in at 5.9. When I add cal-mag at the recommended dosage it's still 5.9. When I add the botanicare 1-4-5 nute the pH plummets to around 3.

Is this normal for botanicare nutes? Why would my nutes cause my water to become thousands of times more acidic than its supposed to be?

I tried adding several grams of laboratory grade KOH to the solution to raise the pH but it didn't help much. I got it up to 5.0 quickly, but then I kept adding KOH and it wouldn't budge.

What's the deal and what should I use to get my pH up to 6.5? I am already having lockout issues because I think the soil is too acidic.

man your ph is whack, ive never seen anyone with this many problems and such a low ph. ph 3?? r u serious whats in ur water...acid???

I use ph up and down from aquarium section and it works fine.

general hydroponic pH UP is what I've always used. Maybe give a lighter solution of fertilizers, especially in soil.

Nothing is in my water. I've been having major issues so I switched to reverse osmosis (RO) water. I don't have a tds, but its the fill it yourself dispenser at meijer. The pH comes out to 5.9 every time I check it, and that is normal for RO water from what everyone has told me. It's the botanicare nutes that make it drop. Drops it like a brick. Do I have a bad batch of botanicare pro bloom?

guy incognito said:

Nothing is in my water. I've been having major issues so I switched to reverse osmosis (RO) water. I don't have a tds, but its the fill it yourself dispenser at meijer. The pH comes out to 5.9 every time I check it, and that is normal for RO water from what everyone has told me. It's the botanicare nutes that make it drop. Drops it like a brick. Do I have a bad batch of botanicare pro bloom?

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possibly. go buy some nutes from walmart ($7 big jug) and try using that and balancing pH if you have no problem i think itd be safe to say its the nutes. i use cheap nutes and have no problems with them, they work fine and easy to control ph in water.

do u have up and down solution?

...no, your botanicare is probably good. It is typical for your pH to drop when you add chemical fertilizers....I'd just go get some pH up....that should do it...

rhino1111 said:

possibly. go buy some nutes from walmart ($7 big jug) and try using that and balancing pH if you have no problem i think itd be safe to say its the nutes. i use cheap nutes and have no problems with them, they work fine and easy to control ph in water.

do u have up and down solution?

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I decided it was not worth "going cheap" after having many issues and getting garbage crops, so I was going with name brand tried and true products. Fox farms happy frog soil, and botanicare pro bloom for flower. It does not seem to be helping though. No I do not have ph up solution, I was attempting to make my own because I have access to lab grade KOH. Something is fucky though because several grams of the stuff is not affecting it. I can't imagine the ph up solution can possibly be more concentrated than 100% pure KOH in solid form.

trichlone fiend said:

...no, your botanicare is probably good. It is typical for your pH to drop when you add chemical fertilizers....I'd just go get some pH up....that should do it...

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Over a thousand times though? 3 is pretty fucking acidic...like murder any plant you try to feed acidic...

SILICONE far better for plant than PH UP and does same job.

Hillcrest said:

SILICONE far better for plant than PH UP and does same job.

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What kind of silicone? Wher can it be purchased? Thanks in advance.