Oops - yeah -the low one kicked ass on the high one. I'm going back to edit that, thanks.
Scientific
New Member
Cool. Thanks. As it happens, the next item on my morning agenda is to check the pH. I will adjust it downward a bit...
Yeah I've been keeping mine around 5.5- 5.6 ish in general- and don't mind if it's even lower.
It depends also on what direction the ph tends to shift in the grow medium, in your situation.
In my soilless grow - peat moss mostly and some in coco, some in perlite- it always shifts upwards. So I feed low and it will cover the necessary range afterwards.
My DTW res in its current incarnation anyway, shifts downwards. I'm away every week for five or six days at a time. So I've been ph'ing to about 6. It drops almost 0.2 a day so by the end of the week it's in the low fives.
I'd rather it was more stable but this is working for now.
It depends also on what direction the ph tends to shift in the grow medium, in your situation.
In my soilless grow - peat moss mostly and some in coco, some in perlite- it always shifts upwards. So I feed low and it will cover the necessary range afterwards.
My DTW res in its current incarnation anyway, shifts downwards. I'm away every week for five or six days at a time. So I've been ph'ing to about 6. It drops almost 0.2 a day so by the end of the week it's in the low fives.
I'd rather it was more stable but this is working for now.
DukeO
Well-Known Member
If you use some z7 water treatment you can run up to 80f without root issues. At lest it has worked for me for many years now.
I run DWC buckets all at different stages. Before I started using it I had all kinds of rot and slime issues.
I run DWC buckets all at different stages. Before I started using it I had all kinds of rot and slime issues.
Kriaze
Well-Known Member
I never have done and probably never will do hydro as it's just not my thing, but there has to be a perfect medium. Most soil growers notice that their soil drops to an acidic range and it seems that most hydro growers (in my limited experience, purely what I've read) experience the opposite. There must be a sweet spot there that just grows perfect without nature trying to swing the balance back. I want some of that spot 
Same issue here
Scientific
New Member
See if post #21 earlier in this thread helps.
- Thread starter
- #48
Hello Rifleman - very interesting mitigation strategy! I could not get your link to "link" but found something similar here: What are Microbial Teas all about?
that is the url anyway - not sure if it is an "autoclick link" or not...
I will do more research on this as at this point I have more questions than "comfort" regarding: dosage amounts, what the "indo version" of the "tea ingredients" will be, etc.. When I first read your post and had not done any research, I thought to myself: "shit this is gonna be easy - I'll brew some tea and dump it in the reservoir and be done with it"! Then I realized that "tea" was "growers terminology" for combining a laundry list of herbs, worm castings, chemicals then matching reservoir temps... Holy shit - the people that have mastered this technique should get a graduate certificate in bio chemistry and botany!
At any rate - many thanks for this tip. I will endeavor to find the "local" ingredients for a recipe. I will post my intended recipe before I use it in case there is a mistake..
- Thread starter
- #49
If there was a "no brand" formula for a good microbial tea...One that listed the "raw materials" ... that would really help 420 members living in areas that don't have access to the "hydro grocery stores" that many of this community at 420 have access to!
Anyone have a "component based recipe"???
Anyone have a "component based recipe"???
I am so fortunate to be able to drive to the store and get almost anything in the world made for dwc. I pay almost $30US for 1qt/1L of Hydroguard and it is well worth it. My reservoir has been over 70F/21C continuously for weeks. For those not fortunate to have access to ready made supplements there is "Tea". 
They should have named it PITA voodoo water. I've studied on it and decided I'm too lazy and don't trust myself to get it correct. I wish you luck. - Thread starter
- #51
Hey Rifleman - all I can say to that is: "WORD"! the more I read about "tea's" the more I'm convinced that i'm not qualified to mess with that! I have sent an email to the manufactures of "HydroGuard" to see about the option of international shipping or to find the closest retail outlet. It may cost me $100 per quart - hell I don't know!
- Thread starter
- #52
Rainwater! I didn't even think of that. Soft and free!
Texasdjj, I remember big cloudbursts every afternoon at 2 PM when I was down in your neck of the woods. I would think that the runoff from just one of those would have had me in business.
Ha - Scientific, really good idea! Today when the sky's break loose at 4pm, I will collect water and test it. You would think that it would be quite acidic - we will see. I can share this with you - I currently have 13 chlorine tabs in my pool and it is still "P Green"!
Regards,
Well let's not get crazy.
On my fixed income I'd become a tea brewing skinflint if Hydroguard got much more expensive. I'm sure you are qualified to handle it. It just seems like a lot of work rounding everything up and actually doing it. Totally in conflict with my professed Lazy Grower Style. 
Latitude17
Well-Known Member
I have read all of the posts here and kept asking myself "but how clean is the water"? You can have a relatively benign pH but a TDS that's off the charts, which puts you well into the unknown regions of "WTF" when introducing even more ingredients: too many unknowns to start with.
Reverse Osmosis (RO) is more about taking everything out of the water to make it "clean". My rain water is around 30ppm as is, and in the 7's for pH. After RO filtration it's in the single digits at the tap. This gives me a nice clean slate to build on for adjusting pH levels. I like to let mine sway between 5.8 and 6.2 because of the different nutrient uptake ranges. Also, be sure you are adjusting your pH AFTER adding nutrients.
Temperature is very important - which I learned the hard way. My constant battles with a reservoir temperature of 84' F had me using peroxide every few days batting root rot and slime. Using Hydroguard and clean, cool water solved that issue. I purchased an aquarium chiller which keeps my reservoir at a nice cool 68'F. I did have the advantage(?) of running in to root rot early on in my grows, before nutrients were introduced - which helped me narrow down what I was doing wrong.
Have you tried letting it run without nutrients for a couple days right after getting everything, including your roots, clean and slime free? It won't harm your plant and could help narrow down what is causing your issues.
Reverse Osmosis (RO) is more about taking everything out of the water to make it "clean". My rain water is around 30ppm as is, and in the 7's for pH. After RO filtration it's in the single digits at the tap. This gives me a nice clean slate to build on for adjusting pH levels. I like to let mine sway between 5.8 and 6.2 because of the different nutrient uptake ranges. Also, be sure you are adjusting your pH AFTER adding nutrients.
Temperature is very important - which I learned the hard way. My constant battles with a reservoir temperature of 84' F had me using peroxide every few days batting root rot and slime. Using Hydroguard and clean, cool water solved that issue. I purchased an aquarium chiller which keeps my reservoir at a nice cool 68'F. I did have the advantage(?) of running in to root rot early on in my grows, before nutrients were introduced - which helped me narrow down what I was doing wrong.
Have you tried letting it run without nutrients for a couple days right after getting everything, including your roots, clean and slime free? It won't harm your plant and could help narrow down what is causing your issues.
Latitude17
Well-Known Member
When is the last time you calibrated your pH meter?
- Thread starter
- #56
UPDATE ON TODAYS STATS:
7pm Yesterday 10:am Today
PH/ 5.3 6.43 *1ST TIME IN 3 MONTHS THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN OVER ~8.1 - 8.6
EC/ 1200 1115
Res temp 85F 82F
Note: I guess this all started when I refused to pay $12 for 100ml of "PH Down" from the only supplier in Jakarta; Lemon Juice and Distilled White Vinegar I believe to be the main culprits, (thanks Gardenseed), for adding "organic materials" to the reservoir, which led to all the slime, root rot, etc.. I have learned an awful lot from the community on this thread that have contributed their input, gems of wisdom and questions... I am new to the 420M Community and all of you were very kind to help out this new guy - for that I am truly grateful! While not completely out of the woods yet - and with several more "solutions" to implement: Phosphorous acid; tea; hydroguard... I would like to post a statement of sincere gratitude to all of you: illizm775, The Germinator, WeaselCracker, GrowchyGreenz, GardenSeed, Rifleman, Tricam, DukeO and Kriaze!
Not sure how to make a "group" on this platform, but I sure would like to keep in touch with all of you and keep the dialog. I have already begun the "research" into several of your "journals"; posts; blogs, etc... Not sure how to add friends on this system - but would like all of you to know that I consider all of you friends of mine!
Thanks A lot!
Sincerely,
TexasDjj
7pm Yesterday 10:am Today
PH/ 5.3 6.43 *1ST TIME IN 3 MONTHS THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN OVER ~8.1 - 8.6
EC/ 1200 1115
Res temp 85F 82F
Note: I guess this all started when I refused to pay $12 for 100ml of "PH Down" from the only supplier in Jakarta; Lemon Juice and Distilled White Vinegar I believe to be the main culprits, (thanks Gardenseed), for adding "organic materials" to the reservoir, which led to all the slime, root rot, etc.. I have learned an awful lot from the community on this thread that have contributed their input, gems of wisdom and questions... I am new to the 420M Community and all of you were very kind to help out this new guy - for that I am truly grateful! While not completely out of the woods yet - and with several more "solutions" to implement: Phosphorous acid; tea; hydroguard... I would like to post a statement of sincere gratitude to all of you: illizm775, The Germinator, WeaselCracker, GrowchyGreenz, GardenSeed, Rifleman, Tricam, DukeO and Kriaze!
Not sure how to make a "group" on this platform, but I sure would like to keep in touch with all of you and keep the dialog. I have already begun the "research" into several of your "journals"; posts; blogs, etc... Not sure how to add friends on this system - but would like all of you to know that I consider all of you friends of mine!
Thanks A lot!
Sincerely,
TexasDjj
- Thread starter
- #57
Hello Latitude17 - fair question! I use the PH-201 electronic PH Meter from "LT Luttron".. Chinese made, but it has a probe that is always stored in the supplied "screw on" bottle of PH4 Juice. Once a month, I use the "ph4 powder" to make new ph4 water for the purpose of storing the probe
- Thread starter
- #58
Hello Latitude 17;
1. No, I have not run the reservoir for a couple of days with adjusted PH level without adding the NUTES. VERY INTERSTING - HAD NOT THOUGHT OF THAT. Maybe I have been buying "CRAP A/B Formula" from the only garden shop over here!
2. bottled water here is higher PH than tap +~7.2PH
3. EC of the tap water is ~233
4. I started with tap water (adjusted); then I tried "boiled water" (adjusted)
- Thread starter
- #59
OK - Found "Aquarium Chillers" on the internet now all over the place! I have a 50liter reservoir and will add another 50liter reservoir once I have digested all of "rocket scientist's" input from this thread and have eliminated my PH problems!
So - any recommendations on: Chiller, make, model, size, etc.. Also, are there any "negative" impacts of running the chiller?
Please share..
So - any recommendations on: Chiller, make, model, size, etc.. Also, are there any "negative" impacts of running the chiller?
Please share..
Latitude17
Well-Known Member
What's the EC on the bottled water? A higher pH isn't necessarily "bad" to start with. Slightly alkaline water is easily adjusted down.
Is RO an option for your tap water?
Boiling is really only good for killing pathogens or bacteria and can change the chemical makeup of the water depending on how it's done.
