ph issues in Deep Water Culture

leatherware12

New Member
im having trouble balancing the ph of my 10 gal Deep Water Culture system, i mix 8 gals with 4 tsp of grow nutrients and when i test the ph its at 6 but after a few hours the ph starts to rise so i add ph down and it will lower but only for a very short amount of time i neeed to know a way to maintain a solid 5.8 to 6.0 ph in my water. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated:thanks:
 
yes the res is completly light proof and im using tap water that has sat out for 24 hours. what would happen besides algae if res is not completly right proof?
 
I get that when my res isnt mixed through enough, after adding your nutes take your time and realy mix the sollution wile adding ph down to get the desired level and keep mixing. To mantain my PH of 5.7 is prity easy after the first setting, i check the PH daily but 99% of the time theres no need as it only ever goes up .1 to .3 every 3 days. Lots of stiring and mixing on you fresh sollution should help.
 
agree with everything above, but also in the first couple of weeks rockwool will raise your ph. to combat these sock rookwool at ph 5 for 24 hours
 
im with strain , since your using bubble ponics as your choice air is in plentiful supply , i ran an extra line with air stone for my mixing nuts , i also use a britta filter i figure it reduces my chances of getting any pathogens in my solution
my PH up and down seem to sink to the bottom and want to stay there till agitated also make sure everything is rinsed after every test
 
im having trouble balancing the ph of my 10 gal Deep Water Culture system, i mix 8 gals with 4 tsp of grow nutrients and when i test the ph its at 6 but after a few hours the ph starts to rise so i add ph down and it will lower but only for a very short amount of time i neeed to know a way to maintain a solid 5.8 to 6.0 ph in my water. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated:thanks:

I've used a Deep Water Culture system for quite awhile now, and I've seen many many people going through the same issues.
As a general rule of thumb, The more nutrients you add to your water, the more stable the pH becomes. If you continue to have pH problems throughout your grow, I would suggest a change in nutrients. Most name brand Hydroponic nutrient company's are well aware of pH flux and tend to put buffers in their hydroponic nutrient solutions.
But when your first starting out and your only adding 1/4 nutrient or so, the pH has a tendency to rise everyday almost a full point. to counteract this I suggest going to your local pet store and buying a pH buffering solution made for fishtanks. Its harmless to your plants and helps buffer you at 5.8-6.0 until your adding enough nutrient to sustain itself at that level.

All other aspects I'm pretty sure have been mentioned.

Soak your rockwool at 5.0 before you start.

Keep your res temperature from 63-70*

Keep ALL LIGHT out of your reservoir.

And you should be good bud!

:grinjoint:

Hope this helps...

Are you Using a Stealth Hydro Deep Water Culture kit and/or nutrients?
 
What different strategies have you seen for keeping the reservoir temp in the target range.

Well I would say the most effective technique would be to keep the ambient air temp down to around the mid 70's if possible. I run a 1000w hps for flowering so I've had all kinds of issues trying to keep the res down. It's come to the point where i use a 5200 btu AC window unit, a 295 cfm squirrelcage exhausting and 6'' aircooled hood with a 250 cfm ductfan intake.

jonny_1.jpg


But then there's also frozen water bottles... but that gets pretty old. I run one of these....

jonny_2.jpg


I keep my Res at 63* but it was at 74* when I first plugged it in and took pics...

jonny_3.jpg
 
Thanks for the quick answer.

That's a pretty cool little nano chiller there. Did it come with a built in pump? How loud is it? Hope I'm not annoying you with these questions my friend ;)


Regards the pH question, my understanding is that you do want the resrvoir to drift through the range (5.2 to 6.2) for example. Different nutrients are accessed by the plant at different levels so cycling through the range enables the plant to take in everything it needs/wants? I'll defer to an expert on this opinion though ;) I've seen so many different ranges recommended for hydro, that I'm always curious what everyone's preference is.

Greenest Regards :surf:
 
Thanks for the quick answer.

That's a pretty cool little nano chiller there. Did it come with a built in pump? How loud is it? Hope I'm not annoying you with these questions my friend ;)


Regards the pH question, my understanding is that you do want the resrvoir to drift through the range (5.2 to 6.2) for example. Different nutrients are accessed by the plant at different levels so cycling through the range enables the plant to take in everything it needs/wants? I'll defer to an expert on this opinion though ;) I've seen so many different ranges recommended for hydro, that I'm always curious what everyone's preference is.

Greenest Regards :surf:

Ask away my friend. I wouldn't visit these sites if I didn't love to read and respond :grinjoint:

The chiller is VERY quiet. Quieter then my air pumps. And doesn't produce too much heat.

Oh Certainly, Drift is fine as long as it's kept between 5.5-6.5

Any higher or lower and your risking lockouts and deficiencys like you said. Everyone has their favorite number but it does need to drift a bit in order to absorb all the compounds offered in the nutrient formula. When their young, and the roots are fragile, I've seemed to have the best luck with 5.8 or there abouts. Also the closer the pH to 7 the more people seem to have issues with algae, which creates an even bigger pH issue. Honestly I never change the pH unless it's over 6.5 then I bring it right back to about 5.8

:roorrip:
 
Thanks jonny ;)

Did that little chiller have a built in pump? If not, and you added your own, what size?

I think you have the 8 gallon res from stealthhydro and I'm trying to get a feel for how frequently you're turning it over to get a 10-15 degree temp drop ;)
 
Thanks jonny ;)

Did that little chiller have a built in pump? If not, and you added your own, what size?

I think you have the 8 gallon res from stealthhydro and I'm trying to get a feel for how frequently you're turning it over to get a 10-15 degree temp drop ;)

Oh geez I'm sorry, i thought I answered that, but I got caught up and skipped
it.

I am using the Stealth Hydro Tub which is an 8 gal tub, that I keep 6 gallons of solution in.
The chiller DID NOT come with a pump. I thought it did, and had to order the pump separately when I received the chiller.
And I run a 200gph water pump. So I suppose your getting a turnover rate of 33 times an hour if my math is right. And I can keep it down to 63* in a room that's at 80*.

And in case anyone is wondering the chiller takes 150w
 
leatherware12, I have seen Jonny's grows with that system, and he knows as much and more than the guy who designed it. I've seen his TREEs in that sytem and they are awesome.
A few points to consider are

Any dead leaf, dead matter in the tank will ruin a good pH level.
Do you still have the submersive pump in the tank? I suggest removing it after the roots are in the deep water. The pump can harbor dead debris, dead roots, leaf matter and just plain ole YUKE and stuff that will make that pH climb from 6.0 to 8.0 within a few hours.

Are you doing weekly res changes?
It is a necesity to do them weekly to maintain a good and proper pH?

Do you know that it is normal and natural to get a climb from 6.0 to like 6.7 or 7.0 within 24 hours? Different nutes are ingested or absorbed at different pH levels and
so a slight climb daily is good.

Did you soak those rockwool cubes 24 hours in a lower pH water? It really helps to presoak thm in 5.0 water.

Is your res water temp staying between 60 and 70 degrees? 65 is best for oxegen absorption. During these winter months, Heat should not be a big problem, but water temp can affect the pH.


If you can not stablize it any other way, then get some Aquarium pH Stablizers from the fish dept at Walley's World.
And the best advise is do not chase it with very frequent changes or big drastic changes. If you must do a big change, do it in small increments over a 14 hour period..

Good Luck.
 
More Info:

First you have to realize that the pH is going to change daily as the nutrients are eaten. That means adjusting it daily. Goal is that those daily changes be slight and not major. And too, different sources of water yield different pH problems.

You have to have pH balanced nutes, or a buffer or a stabilizer in the water to keep it from roller coasting and spiking up and down.

NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.6 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.9. But they eat more iron and magnesium at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a fluctuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels.
When you get your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, only adjust it slightly by .1 to .2 down.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster.

It is better to be off, too high, or too low, than to adjust it too much at one time.


Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.



The pH should not vary more than .5 to .7 everyday, and if it does flucuate alot more up OR down daily, something is wrong.
First, ask yourself, what is going into the tank? Water, Nutes, pH UP and Down should be it. Adding anything else, WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, is not the wisest thing to do. (Yes, sometimes some small amount of peroxide or hydrozyme might be needed, but I've done 7 grows without it.)
And if you are making NUTE SOUP, ( a nute mix and supplement mix) then youa re inviting a pH roller coaster ride.
Except for the very first time you add the water to the tank, You should pH balance your water FIRST, everytime, outside of the tank, then add the nutes, pH balance it again, then add it to the tank. It should not go up more than .5 within one day or 1.0 in two days.
If it does go up more in one day or two days, you got to do something to stabilize it. After the first two or 3 weeks pass, and the plants are drinking a gallon a day, you can add one gallon back that is over adjusted or over compensated, to get it back down. FOR EXAMPLE, If the tank is reading 7.2, then add one gallon of 6.0, and you'll get it down SOME, without it being too drastic.
DRASTIC pH CHANGES WITHIN 24 HOURS ARE VERY DANGEROUS.


OR
as a last resort, try adding a lump of charcoal or two, tied in a panty hose or nylon stocking to the tank.

Go to Walmart or PetSmart to the Aquarium Dept, next to the fish food, filters and additives and sea salts, and get those little packages of Ammonia Control absorbent packets. They look like little sponges in a wrapper. I can not remember what they are called, but they work great to stabilize the pH. Or get the Ammonia control pellets and add a few to the tank.




A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications.


You can simply add two heaping table spoons of baking soda to your water, (before you put it in the tank). Yes, it will wreck the pH, but then you adjust it with pH Down, and then it will stay more stable for a few days.


Primarily what one needs to add to the water are neutralizers and buffers that will stabilize the acid and alkaline levels to the degree that is required for the plants. Most of these stabilizing products are sold in great volume at any pet store that specialized in aquariums and tropical fish and if one is not familiar with what product to purchase, then one should consult with the qualified salespeople so as to arrive at a specific product that will properly address the specific needs of the fish and their owner. You want something that reduces the acid.
 
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