What causes ph to rise

[dirwin85]

I normally use distilled i just did not have any one me because of unscheduled water changes. I was able to filter this with a zero water filter and after i put in 6 gallons my ppm was 4.

Water temp is causing me a lot of problems, i can keep it low if i am here awake and not doing anything else but it will rise again, the new high flow pump just came in and i am trying to figure out a way to mount it outside the grow room now. I have had the pump out for a while and it is helping to keep it low

 

[WarBux79]

Sometimes additives can cause your PH to rise or fall. Hammerhead is one of them. I think there is a range that you want your ph to be in. Instead of trying to keep it at 5.8 try to keep it in rage that will allow the plant to get all different nutes. The question is what is that range?

 

[ol hippy]

dirwin, you must be where it getting the summer heat ! there are a few guys on here who built bubble res out of large cooler (coleman) the insulation keeps the water much cooler much longer . The tops are thicker as well . There are a few DIYs about them on the forum here ..check them out its cheaper than a chiller .

 

[dirwin85]

that is a really good idea, thanks for looking out bro

 

[Lemon Paradise]

ol hippy, that gave me an idea..lol but I grow in soil, so I don't know if it would work,, but what about those cooler based keg-chillers? basically a metal tube coil insde the cooler,, just fill with ice, and run the res' water through the tube-coil.. or would that be too cold?.. works great with beer..

 

[ol hippy]

There is someone on 420 that used a small refrige and did just that , he said he paid 69 dollars for it and it works like a charm...

 

[dirwin85]

My ph has stabilized it was at 6.0 this morning and ill take that!

 

[FredFlintston]

couple things to add based on growing coral, lights and heat drive ph up. CO2 can drive levels down (not sure how much much when introduced in the air vs water). Bottom line is that ph can be all over the board. If not careful, adding buffers to raise PPM and adjusting PH can be a daunting and expensive lesson if you do not keep proper logs and make adjustments slowly (e.g. ph at start of lights on can be +1 higher than start of lights off, or depending on heat fluctuation it will he higher than when cooler, using co2 vs. not will lower ph). I guess I am re-gurgitating what is probably known to most, but doing so helps me remember these things myself.

Now this has me wondering if there are posts on this site about using common household & safe ph adjusters/buffers. Lets see I recall using mule team borax, vinegar, baking soda, epsom salts and other common "nutes" in place of much more expensive products that performed no better or worse at stabilizing H20.

 

[PrairiePoet]

There is someone on 420 that used a small refrige and did just that , he said he paid 69 dollars for it and it works like a charm...

I've done that. For about $120 got a mini fridge from Walmart and 30 foot of tubing. Works like a charm and keep the res at a constant temp.

I could chill two or three reservoirs with this setup.

Prairie

 

[voltron]

I've done that. For about $120 got a mini fridge from Walmart and 30 foot of tubing. Works like a charm and keep the res at a constant temp.

I could chill two or three reservoirs with this setup.

Prairie

Sounds great Prairie! I too am working on res temps as you know from advising me earlier this week. I'm checking out your journal, looks nice and the cfl holder you made I love it as that is my challenge constantly adjusting hanging lights. I may have to look into something similar for my tent, if I don't change over to an hps/mh grow. ++reps for the ideas.

 

[PrairiePoet]

Sounds great Prairie! I too am working on res temps as you know from advising me earlier this week. I'm checking out your journal, looks nice and the cfl holder you made I love it as that is my challenge constantly adjusting hanging lights. I may have to look into something similar for my tent, if I don't change over to an hps/mh grow. ++reps for the ideas.

Just uploaded animage of my CFL fixture. I did this in SKetchUp.

Each inside T has a 85 watt CFL. This covers about two square feet SCROG.

Prairie