ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
So how do i lower my ph properly? Should I buy ro water or is there an additive I can add to my tap water? I'm not on a well..
Urgent: please help me
- Thread starter Michelino
- Start date
you can get a bottle of ph up and a bottle of ph down , they last AGES 
only need drips to get the right ph , and a good ph pen helps
only need drips to get the right ph , and a good ph pen helps
ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
I have a pool and have pg up and down for that. Will that work?
ive read its not a good idea its more toxic and will kill your plants ,
here it is
no, you can't use pH up or down made for pools or aquariums because the main ingredient is Sodium Phosphate or a similar compound using those 2 elements which will become toxic to the plants due to the high sodium content, you need a specifically designed pH up & down which are made by a couple companies,
here it is
no, you can't use pH up or down made for pools or aquariums because the main ingredient is Sodium Phosphate or a similar compound using those 2 elements which will become toxic to the plants due to the high sodium content, you need a specifically designed pH up & down which are made by a couple companies,
ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
Ok. I'll go to my local hydro store and get some. I checked the ph of my water before watering (6.4) then check the runoff and it was 4.5. How do I correct this or should I be concerned about my runoff?
I'm also considering mycorrahazie. Is this a good idea?
Sorry for all the questions...
I'm also considering mycorrahazie. Is this a good idea?
Sorry for all the questions...
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
runoff pH or ppm is totally meaningless in soil. Stop wasting your time and energy even concerning yourself about it. Myco should be introduced every time you transplant, get them right down there on the roots. This is something to do religiously all through veg, because that is what veg is all about, building the roots that you are going to use to feed the plants with in bloom.
ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
I don't understand why you asked about using myco then... its in your soil, so you are using it no matter what. You can buy extra myco to add during transplants (Great White), so that is what I was talking about. Myco fungi are necessary to help supplement the root system. A container without myco will have a much harder time getting phosphorus into the plant later in bloom..
If you are using synthetic nutes, you must worry about pH. Nutes are locked in an EDTA bond while in the bottle so they don't interact with each other and become inert by the time you use them. The only way to break the nutes out of these bonds and make them mobile in the soil, is to have to have your soil/water saturation set to the proper pH range. We adjust pH of our incoming fluids because of the nutes, and if you are not running synthetic nutes there is no reason to worry about pH.
Runoff pH is always meaningless in soil. Think of a coffee percolator, where the more water you put in the system, the weaker the coffee gets. Relate this to runoff. At which point of runoff, 2%, 5%, 20% of what you put in, is your pH reading going to accurately represent something happening in the soil above? The answer is NEVER. Your reading is totally arbitrary and random and in no way represents anything. Anyone telling you to check runoff pH in soil, has no idea what they are talking about.
ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing your knowledge Emilya. I will add a small amount from my bag of myco to the bottom of the roots like you said when I transplant.
Last question for now - do I ph my water before or after adding my nutes to it. Using 3 part nutes..
ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
I also thought I could grow in myco alone and as nutes during watering but I think thats a no.
PK
Well-Known Member
your promix hp already consist of myco like emilya mentioned. she also mentioned that you don't have to ph your soil, but if you must then you would want to ph after all the nutri are added and mixed. Myco is not a potting soil, its a dry addetive that you sprinkle around the hole and the roots of the plant while transplanting.
next time, in order to find your soil ph or nutri level, you need to perfrom a slurry soil test.
next time, in order to find your soil ph or nutri level, you need to perfrom a slurry soil test.
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Pay no attention to all the advice about setting your soil pH to some other value than what it came out of the bag as. They did it correctly at the factory... your soil has a high base pH for a very good reason.
It is your incoming fluids that you pH adjust because when you pour water in there, the pH of your container of soil/water saturation mix, IS the pH of the fluid you just introduced. If you correctly adjust your incoming fluid pH to 6.3, then for that moment, right up to the top, the pH of your container of soil is 6.3 pH. Immediately though, the water begins to react against the buffers in the soil, the nutes and other organics, and it begins to change the pH of that column of water and soil upwards. We call this the "drift" and it is designed into the system. When we speak about the desired pH of a soil grow, it is always given as a range. This subtle nuance is lost on most people, but the correct pH is the range of 6.2-6.8 pH, in soil. The drift gives you the means to meet this challenge, adjusting to a range, and as the soil begins to dry out as the plant uses water and gravity drives the water to the bottom of the container, from top to bottom the pH of that region begins to drift upward toward the base pH of the soil as the soil in that region of the container starts to dry out, usually cunningly set at 6.8 pH.
So you want the pH of your incoming fluids to be 6.3, or even 6.2 in a soil with strong drift, like FFOF. Measure your source water one time and see where it comes in at; most cities like to adjust to 7.1 or so. RO water by definition is neutral, or close to it, 7.0 pH. If you were watering with only water in a feed/water/feed/water cycle, you would need to adjust the water's pH down, to 6.3 pH, so that when it hits the soil and sets that column of water/soil saturation to 6.3 pH, all of the leftover nutes from the last watering are reactivated and ready to uptake into the plant.
When you are watering with nutes, add them to your source water, that you already know the pH of. Nutes are acidic and they will drive the pH of your mix downwards, usually well below the desired 6.3 pH. Now you are going to need to adjust the pH upwards before you apply it to the soil, which should only ever see 6.3 pH.
It is your incoming fluids that you pH adjust because when you pour water in there, the pH of your container of soil/water saturation mix, IS the pH of the fluid you just introduced. If you correctly adjust your incoming fluid pH to 6.3, then for that moment, right up to the top, the pH of your container of soil is 6.3 pH. Immediately though, the water begins to react against the buffers in the soil, the nutes and other organics, and it begins to change the pH of that column of water and soil upwards. We call this the "drift" and it is designed into the system. When we speak about the desired pH of a soil grow, it is always given as a range. This subtle nuance is lost on most people, but the correct pH is the range of 6.2-6.8 pH, in soil. The drift gives you the means to meet this challenge, adjusting to a range, and as the soil begins to dry out as the plant uses water and gravity drives the water to the bottom of the container, from top to bottom the pH of that region begins to drift upward toward the base pH of the soil as the soil in that region of the container starts to dry out, usually cunningly set at 6.8 pH.
So you want the pH of your incoming fluids to be 6.3, or even 6.2 in a soil with strong drift, like FFOF. Measure your source water one time and see where it comes in at; most cities like to adjust to 7.1 or so. RO water by definition is neutral, or close to it, 7.0 pH. If you were watering with only water in a feed/water/feed/water cycle, you would need to adjust the water's pH down, to 6.3 pH, so that when it hits the soil and sets that column of water/soil saturation to 6.3 pH, all of the leftover nutes from the last watering are reactivated and ready to uptake into the plant.
When you are watering with nutes, add them to your source water, that you already know the pH of. Nutes are acidic and they will drive the pH of your mix downwards, usually well below the desired 6.3 pH. Now you are going to need to adjust the pH upwards before you apply it to the soil, which should only ever see 6.3 pH.
ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
You're a library of knowledge Emilya. Thank you!
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Thank you! I read a lot and retain most of it. A strong mind is both a bane and boon... but i do enjoy sharing what I have learned and I am glad that I got a chance to help you!
ITheNorth
Well-Known Member
You're the best!
