pH issues - 1st DWC setup

[TreemanMI]

Hello everyone. I have my first grow going finally. 4 fem seeds in DWC 5gal buckets and 4 in a coco mix i made with perlite and verm. i have a lot of past experience with growing in soil but wanted to try the whole hydro thing... now i'm starting to get frustrated. . .

I planted my rockwool cubes into the dwc buckets once the roots popped out. I set the res pH in each bucket to 5.6-5.8. My Well water is pretty hard at 250-275 ppm with pH from 7.4-7.6. A lot of iron and calcium. I takes A LOT of GH pH down to get the water to 5.6. Almost three capfuls. Ive read a lot of good things about the DWC beneficial bacteria teA so I also added about 1.5 oz per gallon in each res too. NO NUTES yet.

Checked my pH after 24hrs and it was at 8.4!!! Is it the tea causing this? I don't understand how anything else could cause it if I have no other nutes added yet. The only nutrient in the tea was about 1st of ZHO powder that only has a tiny amount of N and is diluted to 1.5 gal when i brewed it. Also a little EWC but also very low N. My seedlings are only about 7 days old so I wanted to wait on adding anything else to the water. Any ideas? And please no " get RO water" and try that. My water grows great veggies in soil and its practically free!

 

[Antics]

If the only thing you're using is the tea, my guess is that's what's causing your PH issue. I don't have DWC or hydro experience, but personally, I would eliminate what's causing the problem, and look for an alternative.

Water on its own really shouldn't increase that much in PH in such a short time.

 

[TreemanMI]

Firstly, I appreciate the fact that you were the only person to reply to this and please don't be offended. However, your reply is the sole reason these forums are filled with useless text.

I don't have DWC or hydro experience, but personally, I would eliminate what's causing the problem, and look for an alternative.

I made this thread in the DWC subforum to get info from people that are the opposite of you...experienced in what I am asking about. A vague statement about something you have no knowledge of is a waste of kilobytes on the forum server and zero help towards what I am looking to solve.

As I cracked open my old aquatic chemistry textbook I was quickly reminded of how pH fluctuations are normal in respect to what we are doing with our water. Adding phosphoric acid to drop the pH causes a rapid neutralization reaction, creating precipitate salts that are not initially dissolved and also creating more free ions to create additional alkali-acid reactions that occur at a slower reaction rate than the phosphoric acid. throwing in the microbes to metabolize organic material and create additional inorganic ions causing yet additional reactions to take place over time. The answer is not cut and dry and probably impractical to try and solve through stoichiometry.

Sorry about the rant. I've been out of weed for too long lol.

 

[Antics]

These forums arent filled with useless text.

I really try to be as nice and helpful as i possibly can, especially when someone hasnt received any replies, But dude.. seriously? You respond like that? Nobody is going to want to take time out of their day to help you.

I know the next time you need help ill think twice before responding.

 

[TreemanMI]

These forums are a wealth of information that have helped me to gain knowledge beyond what would be possible through trial and error. I completely agree with you. I was simply referring to your post and others like it.

I told you not to be offended dude. So don't be. Think before you type. Think twice before you hit send.

 

[Ancho]

DWC is technique sensitive that requires certain conditions to be met in order to be successful, ph within a certain range, water temperatures no higher than 75, preferably under 70, PPM levels need to be kept within limits to keep for damaging the plants. RO water has been proven over time to be a standard to help the grower achieve their desired result. If you choose not to go by proven standards you limit chances for success in that area. You stated how your water does well with soil, well maybe sticking with soil is the best option for you.

 

[spab1311]

These forums arent filled with useless text.

I really try to be as nice and helpful as i possibly can, especially when someone hasnt received any replies, But dude.. seriously? You respond like that? Nobody is going to want to take time out of their day to help you.

I know the next time you need help ill think twice before responding.

 

[Bill284]

2014

Stay safe
Bill