PH Stabilizer

[TheObserver]

Hey guys, looking for some more help-

Does anyone else have a serious problem maintaining a steady PH balance day to day? My PH is all over the board from one day to the next. I will level it off at 5.5 for both plants and check the next day in the evening, one plant is up to 6.5 and the other is up to 7 or above. I know that PH is supposed to rise in veg but I thought it was over 2-3 days not every single day! Are there any stabilizers I can look into? I have Doc's Keel but haven't used it yet.

The other thing I noticed is that one of my plants seems to be responding differently to it's environment even thought both plants are the same strain (Full Moon) and have the same birth date. I began noticing that my #1 plant has begun drooping in the evening after my last res change. I thought this was due to nute burn but noticed that the PH was significantly higher than my #2 even though i leveled them both off at 5.5 when I switched the rez. I have been keeping an eye out on this the past 3 days and this is the pattern:

Morning: #1 Droopy #2 Perky and healthy.
PH rising but still holding below/at 6.
PPM: #1 778 / #2 748

Evening 5 o'clock: Both plants perky and happy!
PH: Above 6 for both
PPM #1 778 / #2 748

Night 11 o'clock: #1 Droopy #2 Perky and Healthy
PH: #1 7.2 #2 6.5
PPM: # 778 / #2 748

This has been repeating for several days. No idea why one keeps struggling? Could it be that #2 has a better root structure and is handling the nutes better?

I know this is really two questions but I think they both have to do with PH because one is fluctuating so much!

Thanks,

 

[BuddroGreen]

What kind of water are you using?
What kind of pH Down are you using?
How big is your reservoir?

Water quality can play a huge part in pH swings. If you are using a cheap pH down it won't work for you that long to buffer water. Also, a small reservoir will tend to have pH fluctuations easier than a much bigger reservoir, when the plants use up nutes in a small reservoir, the pH will fluctuate easily.

 

[solocup]

The brand of nutrients can play a role in ph fluctuations. Some more than others.

 

[L i n k]

when you adjust you Ph. are you waiting 30 minutes? when you add ph up or down....it will sometimes take some time to "settle". so your reading can be off for that reason.
for example,..you add Ph up and are satisfied at the #. but if it hasnt fully mixed in,..it will continue to go up.

also,..its important to calibrate your Ph meter, frequently. i calibrated 4-5 days ago,..and it was a few points off last night.

also,..like solocup said,...the nutrients can cause that. i was using an all-in-one type food (moondust) and my Ph was fluctuating a lot.
switched to a 3 part nutrient (GH-flora) and now its very stable.

 

[TheObserver]

Hey guys-


Thanks for all the info it has been a wonderful process thus far. Learned a lot from both, all of you guys as well as making plenty of mistakes - none of which have harmed my ladies whatsoever. The culprit was.... ding, ding, ding all of the posts above:

My reservoir was too small with the type of water I have been using - isolated 5 gal. DWC buckets. I ended up linking both my 5 gals and adding another 5 gal for a total of 15 gal with 2 of them harboring plants.

My water is very alkaline, 8+ tap buying a better PH DOWN, adding Kelp and waiting for at least 30-1hr helped a ton (thanks). I am using GH (General Hydroponics).

I use FoxFarms food - no complaints other than my ladies cannot handle the suggested feeding schedule. I use 1/2 or 3/4 strength max. Tried to get greedy several times - they say NO!

On a positive note both plants have pre flowered and showed me that they are in fact female! This also means that it's time to switch to 12/12 so let's start the new year with some Full Moon Sativa Flowering!

Here is some eye candy for you: 5th week: (they had a slow start).

Thanks guys,

 

[TheObserver]

Just noticed that node image does not show any signs of sex, my bad, lets try this: