Granulated PH up/down ???

[BILL THICK]

Can anyone tell me if you can use swimming pool PH up/down in granulated form to adjust the waters PH level for watering your plants? If so are there any precautionary hints that should be taken into consideration??

Zandor, my friend, if you happen to read this , do you run any sort of ebb and flow along with your drip watering system or is it entirely reliant on your drippers for your normal watering periods??

Peace
Bill :D

[seedbare]

I dont know, if its chlorine based probly not. You can adjust ph up and down with vinegar or baking soda, anybody see any problems with this? a few drops vinegar for more acidic, a few grains baking soda for more neutral or less acidic.

[BILL THICK]

Not sure if it has chlorine or not , dont have the container it came in.

Ever use baking soda or vinegar? Don't really have to go there right now, I have PH down that I use normally, just running low and someone gave me a bunch of PH down but it is for their pool. Just trying to make sure if its ok to use before I use it. Appreciate the response.

Pool Ph down , is it safe to use ? Anyone?

Peace :D
Bill

[latewood]

Bill I can't remember why, but I recall research that stated not a good idea to use the pool /aquarium products for a prolonged period of time...emergency sit's, OK, but I can tell you that I used vinegar, before and it works, also pickle juice, I've been told for PHdown alternative...and I do believe that I once almost used baking soda for ph up,
I didn't though, I just made new water...hope this helps you out

[BILL THICK]

why using pool PH up/down was not a good idea? I was a bit concerned about using it because it was in granulated form, seemed I had read something to that effect but than may have been concerning Ferts. Been trying to find more info using the forums search engine but it keeps eliminating the "PH" term from the words searched. Weird.

Like to find out for sure if PH down for pools can be used or not? Won't attempt using it until I know for sure especially since you have recollection of it not being a good idea.

Thanks
peace
Bill

[Zandor]

Bill don't use that stuff, it is not food grad acid based so you can't use it for your plants.

To answer you next question Baking soda and Lemon juice make good Ph Up and Down but they do not last as long as the commercial versions do.

[BILL THICK]

Thanks Zandor , you stopped me just in time , lol

was wondering about your watering method , is it just on drip system or do you flood water periodically or what ???

tHANKS
bILL

[Zandor]

Bill; No I don't grow flood and drain I top feed only. Grow rocks don't hold much water and the roots need air and room to breath so I like to use top feed drip lines. I do regulate the water cycle though. I like to run full on drip when the lights are on and 15 on 30 off in the dark works just fine. The last 3 weeks of flowering I do bump it up to a full 24 on. Lights on or not they can use the extra nutrients when they are growing at their most important point in their cycle.

Now let me clear something up when I say drippers I mean it's just 1/4" tube drilled into 1/2" PVC manifold by a 10-32-thread fitting. 2-90 deg risers make up the feed line. I don't use emitters or anything to hold back the flow or regulate the feed. They just get clogged and are not needed if you set up your system right in the first place.

You can see from the picture how I make my feed lines. You can swing them away to remove the net pot. You can even rotate the plant to improve the light to other areas of the plant with out moving the feed line too.

Does that answer you question?

[BILL THICK]

forgot my password and couldn't respond for a couple days , lol :rolleyes:

I have been using drippers with emitters and flooding from the top two or three times during light period. If I wasn't using the emitters and just used open quarter inch drip line would I have to regulate the water pressure some how?? I have my plants 14 inches off the floor so drainage is no longer a problem.

You said you water full 24/7 the last 3 weeks of flowering , what about the no nutes the last two weeks?

didn't think the plants took up water in the dark or is watering on/off on /off during dark period just to keep roots from drying out??

Got my best two plants , (after being ruined by the theives) to reveg which is cool I suppose. Whats your thoughts on reveging?

Guess my next step would be to add co2 aye? I imagine that will take some extra preperation and could be a bit costly? any advice? :D


Hope you and the mrs are doing well, my prayers are with you.
Thanks again for your continuous help
Peace
Bill

[Zandor]

forgot my password and couldn't respond for a couple days , lol :rolleyes:

I have been using drippers with emitters and flooding from the top two or three times during light period. If I wasn't using the emitters and just used open quarter inch drip line would I have to regulate the water pressure some how?? I have my plants 14 inches off the floor so drainage is no longer a problem.

You said you water full 24/7 the last 3 weeks of flowering , what about the no nutes the last two weeks?

didn't think the plants took up water in the dark or is watering on/off on /off during dark period just to keep roots from drying out??

Got my best two plants , (after being ruined by the theives) to reveg which is cool I suppose. Whats your thoughts on reveging?

Guess my next step would be to add co2 aye? I imagine that will take some extra preperation and could be a bit costly? any advice? :D


Hope you and the mrs are doing well, my prayers are with you.
Thanks again for your continuous help
Peace
Bill
Where to start, um,um

Watering during the dark i guess.......yup I water in the dark. Sure they can drink during the dark period. Trichomes grow more in the dark then in the light and yes I don't want the roots to dry out either.

yes i turn off the timer when the plants need more nutrients to grow bigger and run full on. They take what they want or need and the rest is returned so if you want to slow down the flow you just run your feed line back to the reservoir and have a ball valve on the end. Just turn on the ball valve a little at a time to regulate the flow with out putting a load on the pump. If you have enough pressure you can mix your nutrients this way too. I use a 526 gph pump for every 40 plant drippers and that is plenty with no regulation only timing. There is another pump in the reservoir too to keep every thing mixed up. It's only a 265 or so but it's only to mix the nutrients anyway and that is plenty. I assume you saw the hydro thread about my SOG project?

Re-vegging is fine I know lots of people who do that and get a good second even third yield.

Co² need planning to do it right, the room needs to be sealed so no CO² gets out and you can hold the level for many hours at a time. You can use tank CO² (no heat problems) or make it with propane. You are indoors so I would suggest you use tank but that brings it's own problem. The tanks are heavy and bulky to deal with. But they are easy to setup and run you can get a good regulator from eBay for about 80 bucks these day's if you look hard.


Thanks for the prayers she is seeing another DR today hope he has good news.

[BILL THICK]

Hey Zandor .... great info , thanks.

Just saw your SOG project totally awesome. seems I get to one method you have showed me and you come up with a better or another good one that leaves me wanting to try it!!! lol Plenty to learn and keep me busy in my old age. All kidding aside I have learned a great deal, it's absorbing it all and putting it to proper use that takes awhile. That sog is great and I will be having to try something like that in the near future. In the meantime I can adapt my drip system into a more efficient method using what you have shown me here.

The CO2 regulator, I have a brand new still in the box acetlyne welding regulator and the works, would I be able to make them work for CO2? Co2 can be dangerous if the room has any leaks aye??

Thanks again for all your help and I personally find your experience and knowledge a total asset as I'm sure many do
Peace :stoned: :D
Bill

[Zandor]

Thanks Bill I hope you and your brother are doing better these days.

CO² uses an oxygen regulator from what I know but I don't think the regulator knows any better. You do need the electric valve to turn the gas flow on and off. The only dangerous part of using CO² is when the level rises above 1000 ppm for extended periods of time. You really want to get it up to 1500-1800 ppm and hold it there for hours at a time. That is the dangerous part you can't enter the room while you are using CO². It can make you pass out and kill you but it does take well over 2500 ppm to do that. I just don't take any chances so 30 min after the lights go on I start the CO².

Now here is where others freak out.

I do my work during the dark period under 25w green bulbs (plants donâ??t see the color green) so it safe to enter and not waist the CO² the plants need. You do need to exhaust the CO² from the room once the lights are out plants canâ??t process the CO² during the dark period or if you have then under fluorescent lights.