third growing attempt w pics, need advice

this is my third attempt at growing and i think that i am off to a decent start. i finally got all the required equipment to grow. i am currently growing 6 plants ( 4 blue mystic an 2 auto-bang) under a 400 watt hps. they are about 3 weeks old and have been getting lite nutes for about a week and a half. i am using the fox farm grow big veg fert and it seems to be working well. i decided to LST all of the blue mystic in hopes of getting a better harvest. i am currently having a problem with my ph. i bout the best non- miracle grow soil that i could find but it is nothing special. just regular indoor potting soil w no chemical or ferts added (which i got from home depo) the soil is maintaining a ph of about 7.2- 7.9 which is alkaline. i bought some ph Up and down and i have been adding the ph down to the water ( i have been using jus plain tap water which is about 8 ph before i add the ph adjuster and nutes to the water) and it still has not brought the ph down to the appropriate range. how does a high alkaline soil affect the plant? my previous 2 attempts failed due to a very high acid content in my soil ( i was using miracle grow soil). what are some additional ways i can help to bring the ph down or is it going to be ok at its current range? the plants have been growing fast and no signs of stress or any nut def. any advice or tips would be appreciated as i am still learning and i really want to produce some bud this time around.


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I've heard of people using vinegar to lower the pH of their tap water, but I'm not sure how tolerable the roots would be to it...or how tolerable your nostrils would be to the vinegar! :jointsmile:

I think lemon or lime juice is another organic alternative.

its says in my grow bible you can use cottonseed meal, lemon peels, coffe grounds or high acidity ferilizer to lower soil ph to below 7. I've personnaly never had to lower my ph in soil, so maybe someone else can chime in...

To answer your question, i am not a pro by any means , jst a rookie, but i have used a few drops of lemon juice to lower my ph and thats plants seemed to not be affected badly by it.A couple drops in 4 litres of water lowered my ph .5 so you just have to experiment, hope this helps