Keeping it Underground 600 Watt HPS + 8 Light T5 Cellar Grow

[Troublesome2]

Thanks UglyMuppet

 

[UglyMuppet]

some good stuff here... I'm learning a bunch.... i use distilled water in my grow. my ph is good. just an idea ... i think you could use something else to drop your Ph... i think vinegar works but not positive.

 

[Troublesome2]

Thanks man iv got a huge bottle of vinigar i use for cleaning all the stuff out. Ill look into it. And let ya know how it goes

 

[UglyMuppet]

using-vinegar-lowering-ph

 

[Tmac12]

Just a thought... Can you use vinegar to lower the ph? It is good for tons of other things. And very cheap!

 

[Tmac12]

Looks like a lot of us thought of Vinegar at the same time!!

 

[bendbender]

I use the GH PH down... I dont know why. Maybe because it has some magic dust in it. It lowers my 15 gallons of water PH from 8.0 to 5.5 with only 20 ml.

I think the skoots use white vinegar.

Are you on well water?

 

[Troublesome2]

No im using just plain tap water. Ill Have to experiment with the vinigar a lil see what happens. It just seems like no matter how much crap i put in there it wont go below 6 I use calibrating solution and my meter is always dead on?????? My plain tap water's PH is 7

 

[bendbender]

Hmmmm maybe your meter is messed up. try checking the PH of your PH down solution or some vinegar. Or if you have some PH strips.

 

[SkooterClowns]

No im using just plain tap water. Ill Have to experiment with the vinigar a lil see what happens. It just seems like no matter how much crap i put in there it wont go below 6 I use calibrating solution and my meter is always dead on?????? My plain tap water's PH is 7

which calibration solution do you have for pH7 or pH14 (i think that's the other one)? While you can calibrate with either it's best to calibrate with the one closest to what you are shooting for...the pH7 one...just a thought

 

[SkooterClowns]

I use the GH PH down... I dont know why. Maybe because it has some magic dust in it. It lowers my 15 gallons of water PH from 8.0 to 5.5 with only 20 ml.

I think the skoots use white vinegar.

Are you on well water?

Right you are Bender. We use white vinegar. While it is said to be too unstable, which I take to mean it can't sustain the level for extended periods of time, we go through 5 gallons of water (our mixing batch amount) so quickly that it doesn't really matter too much. By the time the vinegar breaks down (if that is the right terminology) we are putting a new batch in the tub anyway so it works for us and is cheap and plentiful

BTW one of the reasons it may be working for us is that the pH of our tap water is not too far off to begin with. For example I put less than a cap full of vinegar into 5 gallons of water to get the pH down to 5.3-5.4

 

[Troublesome2]

I use the 7.0 calibration solution. Im going to fill up a gallon of water and see how much vinigar it takes to get it to 5.5

 

[Troublesome2]

Ok so after adding 20 oz of vinegar all together to my plan tap water (which tested at 6.9) it was still at 6.4... So i decided to just test the vinigar and it was 6.4 and its been sitting in it for 5 minutes and still says 6.4...??? I cant test my ph up due to the fact that its gone lol. Im using distilled white vinegar...is that the right kind ???is there a different kind?

 

[Troublesome2]

Hmmmm maybe your meter is messed up.

Ok man so you called it. I have a extra Ph meter which is actualy better but the batteries were dead and i didnt know the two meters took the same batteries DUUUHHH lmao
Ok so this new meter calibrates its self so after calibrating i checked my res's Ph and it as 2.5!!!!! WTF! So i fixed that to 5.5 and went up stairs and checked the ph of reg vinegar and it is actualy 2.4-2.5 it was bouncin back n forth i didnt wait for it to level out. Vinegar will work
My plants are super droopy and iv removed like 6 large fan leaves due to the fact they were over 75% dead anyways.
How long do you guys think it will take for my babies to perk back up now that ill have a good Ph reading???

 

[bendbender]

Ya OK... You need to either adjust the PH in your reservoirs or drain them and start over.... either way you have to act quickly because your babies are now living in LOVE CANAL!!!! LOL. personally Id drain them

the first meter you were using is wasted. keep on with the second.

 

[Troublesome2]

I fixed the Ph its at 5.5 now. Do I still need to completly drain my res again? If it needs to be done i will

 

[bendbender]

I would say its the ideal thing to do... theres a lot of chems in there now. I use 20 ml (Like 3 table sppons) of PH down for 15 gallons of water starting at 8.0 PH. Im surprised how much more vinegar you have to use than the Genral hydro PH down. The stuff is pretty stable too I have found. Less is more in my book.

But keep an eye on the plants and see if they start to perk up.

Best advice is from the skoots though... Im a newb

 

[SkooterClowns]

I would say its the ideal thing to do... theres a lot of chems in there now. I use 20 ml (Like 3 table sppons) of PH down for 15 gallons of water starting at 8.0 PH. Im surprised how much more vinegar you have to use than the Genral hydro PH down. The stuff is pretty stable too I have found. Less is more in my book.

But keep an eye on the plants and see if they start to perk up.

Best advice is from the skoots though... Im a newb

You are absolutely correct IMHO Bender. Drain and refill with a fresh batch of solution. Now that you know what the problem is it is better to start fresh than try to fix that chemical soup

 

[SkooterClowns]

BTW you should NEVER add anything directly to your tubs (except hydrogen peroxide if you must). All nutes, pH up/down etc. should be mixed in a bucket then added to your tub. For example I use a 5 gallon bucket...fill it with water pH it to 5.2 - 5.5 then add the nutes (one at a time) to the 5 gallons, then test the ppm and adjust if needed. Then add the 5 gallons to the tub. I mix a second 5 gallons (I use about 7-8 gallons on a fresh fill) and do the same to it then add what I need to my tub. I use the rest of the second bucket to top off the tub during the week until I'm ready to change the mix.

As an example I will be changing the mix for our current White Castle grow to Bloom week 2 on the GH chart tomorrow night. So I haven't topped off the tub for the last couple of days and I will let the tub level go down until tomorrow. As long as there is enough water to cover my air stones it's cool. That way tomorrow I won't have too much to drain out and the plants love the extra oxygen (between the water level and the net cups). And there is still a LOT of roots in the small amount of water that is left.

argggghhh...another long post...sorry

 

[Troublesome2]

Its ok I lov reading smart words I will Be doing a complete drain and replentish tonight well now Ive got two 5 gallon buckets i do the drains in. Ill just make sure there clean and fill them and mix my nutes up in them. Thanksa Million guys Im def. glad to have this kinda help