High Brix Hydroponics

[FelipeBlu]

Carbonated water is basically carbonic acid in water (pH 6.3). It’s a weak acid, but it dissolves limestone and creates caves.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yeah rainwater is carbonic acid (picks up a little carbon on the way down) which is why it has a ph of 5.6ish and not 7, and as Blu said- why it erodes limestone to make funky formations.

 

[Skybound]

Yeah rainwater is carbonic acid (picks up a little carbon on the way down) which is why it has a ph of 5.6ish and not 7, and as Blu said- why it erodes limestone to make funky formations.

How long does acid rain stay acid? I presume as long as the CO2 stays in the water, but is that a permanent state, or does the CO2 escape the water and fuck up the PH when sneaking out?

 

[Pennywise]

The sulphur dioxide produced at Gavin plant in southern Ohio on the Ohio River was responsible for the death of pine forests in the northeastern states. So acid rain is pretty persistent.

 

[FelipeBlu]

From wiki:

Bonds between gaseous carbon dioxide and liquid water are more easily broken at high temperatures.

Carbon dioxide gas dissolved in water at a low concentration (0.2–1.0%) creates carbonic acid(H2CO3)
The acid gives carbonated water a slightly tart flavor. The pH level between 3 and 4 is approximately in between apple juice and orange juice in acidity, but much less acidic than the acid in the stomach.

 

[FelipeBlu]

The sulphur dioxide produced at Gavin plant in southern Ohio on the Ohio River was responsible for the death of pine forests in the northeastern states. So acid rain is pretty persistent.

Acid rain = sulfuric acid. At least it increased the sulfur content in the soil. Might have made the brix higher for decades.

 

[Weaselcracker]

It stays at 5.6 forever as far as I can see. I’ve never had it change, but then there’s usually fresh water coming from the sky to add to my supply. The amount of carbon in it is minuscule though. My meter reads in increments of .10 and rainwater reads zero.

 

[Pennywise]

Sulphur dioxide + water = acid rain

 

[Aroxol]

This was about the most closely related article I could find earlier to what were wondering, but it’s just a little too over my head. Short read, but I’d be curious what the key takeaway is for you guys. I’m not sure I understand if cal carb stays as cal carb once the CO2 is dissolved.

Calcium Carbonate Precipitation for CO2 Storage and Utilization: A Review of the Carbonate Crystallization and Polymorphism

The transformation of CO2 into a precipitated mineral carbonate through an ex situ mineral carbonation route is considered a promising option for carbon capture and storage (CCS) since (i) the captured CO2 can be stored permanently and (ii) industrial wastes (i.e., coal fly ash, steel and...

www.frontiersin.org

 

[Weaselcracker]

... does the CO2 escape the water and fuck up the PH when sneaking out?

Not for me anyway. This may not apply to DWC but my assumption has always been that the ph of a low ppm solution, like most water, is fairly meaningless- at least for a soil or soilless grow. It takes so little to shift the ph of a weak solution. Like one drop will drastically shift a bucket full. So what does that tell you?
I assume that if you turn things around and look at it from the opposite way- the weak solution must have almost no power to sway the ph of your grow medium
When I see soil and soilless growers religiously adjusting the ph of water with teeny little amounts of PH up or down I tend to think they’re wasting their time.
.

Not sure how that works out in dwc though, where AFAIK there isn’t anything to buffer.

 

[Skybound]

when looking at Doc's Brix kit contents, I'm not seeing much Mg and I can't help but wonder why? There's some, but only a fraction of other major elements. I compared the snake oil contents vs Brix Boost and I can see where they more or less agree and when consider all other study, I am probably going to mix a foliar spray to start trying to really up the brix a bit. I'm thinking like 20ppm calcium, 5ppm mag, and the micros listed in the Brix column?

 

[FelipeBlu]

I’m not sure I understand if cal carb stays as cal carb once the CO2 is dissolved.

Once the CO2 is completely reacted, there will be calcarb remaining if there was excess for the reaction.

 

[Skybound]

It's pointless to adjust water before adding things. Those things will buffer the water, and if not ideal, then it's those buffers you have to change.

 

[Aroxol]

when looking at Doc's Brix kit contents, I'm not seeing much Mg and I can't help but wonder why? There's some, but only a fraction of other major elements. I compared the snake oil contents vs Brix Boost and I can see where they more or less agree and when consider all other study, I am probably going to mix a foliar spray to start trying to really up the brix a bit. I'm thinking like 20ppm calcium, 5ppm mag, and the micros listed in the Brix column?

I say go for it man, never harm in trying new things to discover new stuff. BTW, Idk if you guys ever listen to podcasts, but man you should check out JRE, specifically the latest Graham Hancock one. He talks about being hated in the scientific community and treated like shit because he went against the status quo on a lot of issues (and talks about other scientists who’ve experienced the same) only to slowly become vindicated over time as new discoveries are made. We only know what we know... until we know more

But he gets into some crazy stuff, including potential evidence that humans existed in the Americas 130K years ago, massive civilizations in the Amazon and touches on theories of how they may have sustained crops in the soil. They’ve seen evidence of biochar but there’s still an outlying mystery to the microbes piece. Crazy shit, worth checking out.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I meant that for soil/soilless I think it’s pointless to ph any water at all, as long as it’s fairly pure and not high ppm. But again- I’m not growing in DWC.

 

[Skybound]

In the book "Hydroponics A Practical Guide for the Soilless Grower", in the part about calcium is where this excerpt is from.

Nutrient Solution Reagents

The major reagent source is calcium nitrate [Ca(NO3)2•4H2O]. Calciuim sulfate
(CaSO4) can be used only as a supplementary source of Ca due to its low
water solubility (2.98 grams per L). Also, calcium chloride (CaCl2) may be
used to a limited degree at rates designated to keep the Cl concentration less
than 100 mg/L (ppm).

I have to believe the author(s) chose to mention Cal Nite and gypsum specifically and not any cal carbonate derivatives. This is reassuring and I wish I picked up on that the last few times I read through here, it could'a helped my last chop. I started adding gypsum yesterday and immediately I noticed the PH doesn't change. I weigh the grams, then in something like a PB jar, something with a screw on lid I mix the gypsum with some circulating res water that has yucca, aminos and other organics mixed in and screw on the lid and shake the bullshit out of the jar, then quickly unscrew and toss into the res hoping to keep the gypsum in momentary suspension before adding into the res. I figure that would be my best bet to aid in solubility, like shaking a snow globe.

 

[Pennywise]

Is the Gypsum readily available to the roots?

 

[Skybound]

Is the Gypsum readily available to the roots?

I assume so, otherwise a hydroponics manual would not suggest it, nor would Hydro Buddy formulate it, which reminds me, the stuff I got from CustomHydroNutrients has a slightly different formula, so I need to make a custom solution to keep the numbers as accurate as I can.

 

[StoneOtter]

Good Sunday morning Sky. Thanks for your adventurous nature! I have all the words of your journal in my head so one day I might understand more. It didn't happen today. Your work is encouraging and I can see you figuring this out.

 

[ilikemsticky]

I agree with you stone hes fun to watch and he grows some nice plants to keep up the great attitude sky!