Problems maintaining pH levels

[BAKIND]

Hey guys,

system is a DWC 60 quarts capacity


I have 3 small aquarium pumps with 2 outlets each. Each outlet is 'T'd for a total of 12 oxygen stones.

I am using tap water ( 0 EC and 7.3 PH ) and I let it sit for 24 hours to evaporate chlorine. Before adding nutrients.

Nutrients are powdered salts from Green House feeding. Tap water measures at 0 for EC and 7.3 PH.


Mixing procedure.


First, I add calcium. The instructions say 1 ml per liter during veg, but I have been adding half that.

Second I add the nutrients to EC 1.0 ( I am at the seedling stage)

Finally, I add the acidic citric powder to bring down the ph to 5.8-6.0 . It takes very little to bring down to those levels.

However, the it goes back up to like 7.0 within hours.

Could it be the tap water, or what else could be wrong? thanks.


Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

What nutes?

Any enzyme cleaners like hydroguard or z7

I'm not sure how stable yer citrus stuff is, pH down is much better

 

[Icemann420]

If you keep ph’ing with down does it stay stable What’s your growing median

 

[Icemann420]

Man Chris your fast lol but true on chemicals. I used the dynagrow in my dwc setup and couldn’t hold ph for the life of me. Good old general hydroponic is the ticket. And proper ph up and down.

 

[BAKIND]

What nutes?

Any enzyme cleaners like hydroguard or z7

I'm not sure how stable yer citrus stuff is, pH down is much better

Nutes are Powdered feeding from Green House. No enzyme cleaners.

The PH down is a powder, I am not sure how good it is. I may have to go with a liquid.

 

[BAKIND]

If you keep ph’ing with down does it stay stable What’s your growing median

I corrected twice, and within hours it's back up. Growing medium are small pumice rocks that I have cleaned out very well, however, they have not even touched the liquid yet.

 

[BAKIND]

Would using filtered tap water improve the situation? What else could i do? Thanks...

 

[Chris Scorpio]

No clue on those nutes but I'd get a true pH down product, be sure and change rezz every 7 days or so

what is your water pH and ppm at

 

[BAKIND]

No clue on those nutes but I'd get a true pH down product, be sure and change rezz every 7 days or so

what is your water pH and ppm at

I believe the nutes are good, because I have a friend here in town that uses them, and Have seen excellent veg growth. Not sure about flowering. He uses a water filtration system, and I am not sure what he uses for PH up or Down, so I will find out.


I took my system apart and sterilized everything. I will be installing a water filter, and will change what I use for PH controls. I will report back...

Thanks guys for your tips, as usual.

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Hey guys,

system is a DWC 60 quarts capacity


I have 3 small aquarium pumps with 2 outlets each. Each outlet is 'T'd for a total of 12 oxygen stones.

I am using tap water ( 0 EC and 7.3 PH ) and I let it sit for 24 hours to evaporate chlorine. Before adding nutrients.

Nutrients are powdered salts from Green House feeding. Tap water measures at 0 for EC and 7.3 PH.


Mixing procedure.


First, I add calcium. The instructions say 1 ml per liter during veg, but I have been adding half that.

Second I add the nutrients to EC 1.0 ( I am at the seedling stage)

Finally, I add the acidic citric powder to bring down the ph to 5.8-6.0 . It takes very little to bring down to those levels.

However, the it goes back up to like 7.0 within hours.

Could it be the tap water, or what else could be wrong? thanks.


Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Just a thought.

 

[BAKIND]

Looks like it's the tap water guys!

I mixed up some nutes in 2 half liter containers. One with filtered water ( bottled) and the other tap water. adjusted the PH down to the same level on both.

The tap water mix, was back up this morning above 7.0! The filtered mix stayed contained!

Another observation is that filtered water mix stayed clear with only a slight tint of pink from the nutes but clear.
The tap water mix was pink but cloudy. I noticed that in my reservoir mix was also cloudy the next day after having used tap water.

The nutes don't appear to like the tap water. I have a water filter coming Friday! That's probably the reason also why my friend is able to maintain his PH (mentioned 3 posts above) with the exact same nutes.

What could be in the tap water that the nutes don't like?

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Lots of stuff

Chlorine, fish poop, rocks...lol
My tap is 500+ ppm, I swear I see fish and rocks fall out of it
You may be able to find a test info from yer city water website, I did

 

[BAKIND]

I am thinking there's something in this tap water that is neutralizing the acid powder I use to correct PH, and the cloudyness after just a few hours must be a reaction as well.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Unless u find a report, it will remain a mystery

Go with RO water, or get a RO Buddy like I have

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Remember ph will fluctuate when exposed to dark or light that is a factor most growers do not take into consideration when growing in water not soil.

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Ph cannot be permanetly maintained it must constantly be regulated thats why i stopped dwc because it requires to many chemicals to ph balance that i did not want in my flowers.

 

[BAKIND]

Ph cannot be permanetly maintained it must constantly be regulated thats why i stopped dwc because it requires to many chemicals to ph balance that i did not want in my flowers.

Well, my problem I believe was the water. Having said that, the filtered water has drifted slightly upward and not enough to worry about correcting it at this point. It's an experiment for me. I want to see how long it will go before it goes way out of wack. I will be doing weekly water changes.

Having said that, even if my ph requires daily corrections, I am not going to worry too much about the chemicals. First off I am using powdered citric acid, and the amount used for correction is just a few grains, literally, each time. I think DWC if DUNRITE is a good option.

 

[Icemann420]

Different what’re types have different buffers that controls the way water holds the ph and ppm. Starting with a neutral water like reverse osmosis gives you the best opportunity to feed exactly what the plants require. No worries of other junk or heavy chemicals. Also low amounts of nutrients will also make it hard to keep the ph stable. If the plant is using what it wants and leaves other stuff behind that will effect the abilities to buffer. That’s when your ppm knowledge comes in handy.

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Best of luck and never stop growing no matter what.