Reservoir problem.....Zandor?

[Stormcooker]

I'm onto my next grow. I am using Flora Nova nutrient feeding chart in the clone phase (light nutes). I also use half strength Cal-mag, and half strength Silica Blast. I use RO water too. I have not yet added the recomended amount of Floraliscious because I'm waiting on a delivery of new Floraliscous Plus.

I have a constant PH monitor. I start out around 5.5 and it naturally drifts upward over a day or two to 6.0 before I knock it back down to 5.5 or so. This has always been my routine.
My reservoir is brand new, just began two days ago. There was a slow and steady rise from 5.5. to 5.8 as usual, last night I left it 5.8 and this morning I looked at the monitor and it read 4.0!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the hell?? The nutrient mix looked cloudy!!!!! How does this happen so suddenly? THe rez was fine then eight hours later cloudy and dropped pH!!!!!! I have never seen this. If anything there has been sudden RISES in Ph in past grows, not drops like that. I don't understand it!!!!!

I want to say that maybe it is a sudden bacterial problem but does that cloud water and drop pH? I don't use added bacteria (yet), my rez water comes from chlorinated well water and then filtered by RO. I would think that that should be sufficient purification. I use two good airstones in the rez, and temps are good.

PLease help!!! Does anyone have a link to pH fluctuation information?

[Stormcooker]

hmmmmmmmm

[redvetttes]

is Floraliscous Plus.
for veg or flower

[Garden Knowm]

Are the roots dying? I guess there are NO roots since you just started 2 days ago?
Maybe it is something on your new resivoir.. some chemical?

Have you tries another PH test.. the simple dropper method.. justto confirm your situation?

[latewood]

Damn, If I wasn't so stupid

[Stormcooker]

I just changed the resevoir again and cleaned the whole system with a a little bleach. I still don't know what the problem is but there seemed to be a bit of algae or maybe just some sediment on the bottom of the reservoir like I would find at the end of a 7 day reservoir.
What I am going to do since this has never happened to me before (quick pH drop and cloudy rez) is to eliminate a few things that I am trying differently. My last grow I didn't use Cal-Mag or Silica Blast until mid-flowering, and even then I'm not sure if it did anything. I use RO water so it sounded like something I needed by advice from other growers.

[Stormcooker]

is Floraliscous Plus.
for veg or flower
Floraliscious PLus is for veg and flower. It is an alternative to the regular Floraliscous grow and bloom, it contains similar stuff witht he addition of beneficial bacteria & microbes

[Stormcooker]

Are the roots dying? I guess there are NO roots since you just started 2 days ago?
Maybe it is something on your new resivoir.. some chemical?

Have you tries another PH test.. the simple dropper method.. justto confirm your situation?
I can't check roots, I'm sure they are fine though, there has been steady growth through this trauma. It is probably Cal-Mag or Silica Blast. Maybe that stuff is less stable or over-active when not mixed with full strength nutes.

My pH monitor doesn't lie. I calibrate it often. I have a dropper system for back-up though but I hate using it since it relies on coloration for test results. Dropper system doesn't take into account that some reservoir nute mixes are colored already (like brownish red), and cloudiness can screw up your reading too.

I'll know in a day or two if the elimination of Cal-mag and silica blast is the cure. The only oter thing I can think of is bacteria in water although VERY unlikely since it is chlorinated, and then reverse osmosised to remove chlorine and everything else. I am going to install a UV light in my RO system to prevent that chance of bacteria in water.

[Stormcooker]

so far so good, pH is slowly rising like it always used to (.5 - 1.0 per day). I wonder if it may have been the Cal-Mag, Silica Blast, or BOTH.

[Stormcooker]

I've read that magnetic submersible pumps do funny things to mineral nutrients like Iron. It causes them to "drop out" of the mix or something. Anyone know of this????????

[Zandor]

I would say it was something in the plants, roots, the tub, drip lines or how ever you are feeding them. Sometime there is always some present left behind for you by your last change. As for the water being cloudy when you added the Silica was there a change? I know CalMag Plus does not change Ph or it has never changed the Ph on me in many years of using it. I use CalMag from day 1 of vegetation and stop using it on the final tank just before I harvest.

The mag drive pumps don't really have a bad effect on nutrients, Most of the pumps have plastic inside and are safe to use around the acid based nutrients we use.

Make up a gallon of mix in a clean bucket and let it sit and see what happens over a 24 hour period. If nothing happens you can always add it to your rez and not loose anything.

You are very lucky I check and balance my Ph sometime twice a day during quick growth cycles. Some Ph down products work better then others and will hold the Ph down better then others do. Not all Ph up or down work the same just so you know that is one product that will vary a lot from company to company and some that work with advanced nutrients don't work as well with GH nutrients.

Relax and don't stress over a little high Ph it takes over 24 hours for nutrient lock to occur anyway. The plants will change the Ph and TDS as their cycle changes but you should have noticed that youâ??re self from your last round or two.

Just keep an eye out and watch them but don't worry or stress unless it keeps up for more then one tank. If it happens again stop using the silica for one time and see what happens. If there is no change and everything is ok then try no calmag plus the next time and go back to silica and see what happens. You don't want to stop using everything you just need to try to understand what happened.

[Stormcooker]

I have been watching the pH very closely since rez clean/change yesterday. This is so bizarre to me because yes I am used to a slow a steady RISE in pH not a quick drop. So I did not add the cal-mag or silica blast this time to see if that contributed to the problem. It looks like it is happening again without the 2 supplements. Ph went from 5.9 to 5.2 in about 8 hours and seems like it is getting cloudy. Thankfully I stay on top of it and the seedlings look very healthy. Another thing that I am doing differently this grow and didnt mention is active cooling. There is quite a bit of cool air blowing onto the system but I don't think that should do anything. Ambient temp is 81 deg. F.

I have a fresh bottle of pH UP that I will use. Possibly the pH up is unstable or something. It is a GH product. Maybe the addition of the new Floraliscous Plus when it arrives will help out too who knows. THat's the only thing missing right now in in my recomended feeding chart recipe that I use.

TRhanks for your support Z. -storm

[Zandor]

glad to hear you may have it under control. If you can check your roots you may want to check them out or at least give them a smell just to make sure.

[Stormcooker]

yeah it must have been the ph up. Maybe that stuff loses its stability after awhile? I started a fresh bottle of the stuff and now I'm back to naormal. Slow stady rise in pH as usual. I put the Cal=Mag, and Silica blast back too since that was probably never a problem. Hygrozyme too....all half strength because I'm almost 2 weeks from seed. Glad thats over with!!!!!!!!!!

[Tranoble]

How old is your pump in your res? Some pumps have oil in them. The oil is let out little bits at a time untill the oil is gone. Then you pump is done. Maybe your pump let out a blast of oil.

Check your pump.

Just an idea, who knows.

[Stormcooker]

thanks for that tip. I will check it out. I'm pretty sure it was old pH up that was the problem. I will get a new pump for backup though. Mine is cheap (106gph) Lowes/Homedepot $10 US.

[offtheradar]

It probalby just wasn't mixed up perfectly and you added a little too much ph down. But when you tested it looked fine. Then you go back the next day and of course it is mixed up correctly because of time and boom... Wow how did it get so low???

[Stormcooker]

must have been old pH up that I had around. It was the bottom of the bottle, and had been left out over night open a few times. It hasn't happened since I started a new bottle of pH up (GH). Three weeks from seed and pH is steady at 5.8

[Garden Knowm]

i actually saw that happen once.. a pump farted a blast of oil into this guys 100 gallon resivoir.. a f-ing mess.