My PH took off and I need to adjust radically

Team,

My PH is over 7 approaching 8 in my outdoor soil grow. Thanks to the hints here I was able to detect and now I know why some of my ladies are yellowing.

I used some vinegar as directed yet the soil is still over 7 as measured with a low end probe meter. I used my pool chemical tester to determine my tap water is near 8.0 PH and verified with probe measurement so I know where the problem arose.

Are there any long lasting PH soil adjuster you recommend other than vinegar similiar to lime only taking it the other direction? Can you use pool PH down with sulfuric acid as the active ingredient? I am thinking no but wanted to put it out there.

What is your experience level? (first timer, novice, experienced...) First Time!! Starting Oaksterdam on Wednesday.

Planted in late May, allowed to harden in the shade for a few weeks until they rooted and them moved into full Livermore Valley sun

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights. (MH, HPS, CFL's, tube fluorescents, LED's) outdoor sun
.2) Distance from tops? n/a
.3) Reflector type? (cool tube set-up, bat wing, enclosed reflector, bare bulb...) n/a
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply? yes
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan? windy area
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule? Hot Cali sun

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil, (coco, peat based soilless...) and anything you've added to it. (vermiculite, perlite, worm castings...) potting soil with lime, blood powder, bone meal with one 8-24-10 time release grow stick
.8) Size of container. 3-5 gallons
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings? yes sadly

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? (tap, bottled or filtered) What's it's ph before adjusting? Zone 7 tap water
11) Method of checking water ph. (ph pen, test strips, aquarium test kit...) pool and probe type measuring tools
12) Method of adjusting water ph. (phosphoric acid, white vinegar, hydrated lime, PH Up...) non yet other than vinegar (white and cider)
13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. List dosages (quantity per gallon) and current feeding schedule. VF11 and blood and bone meal
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering? I try to allow soil to dry for healthy roots but with hot weather I do it daily
15) Any additives or tea's? (Superthrive, CalMag, molasses, Mother's Earth...) Just put molasses in yesterday
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate? rising out of control
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph? 8.0 in, did not check out yet until I go get more vinegar
18) Do you foliar feed? If so, with what, how often, and at what time do you spray? foliar occasionally as directed by Seems like Magic VF11

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors? Outdoors on cement patio that I keep cool by watering it down as it heats up
20) What size of closet, room or hut? n/a
21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? ...With lights off? temps approach 85-90 daily
22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom? slightly but I control with ladybugs and Neem as needed

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing? (Indica dominate or Sativa dom?) 2 Bozzlegum, 3 MASS, 11 Purple Kush, 6 LA OG
24) From seeds or clones? clones
25) Is this an autoflower strain? I don't know but the Kush are in early flowering


Thanks for the help and input, the site has been useful already.
- El Gordo

my aquarium pH down by API is sulfuric acid. it contains no phosphates. the product specs say that it can be used on live plants. check out the manufacturers website and read the MSDS or product specifications. sounds like it will work.

on the other hand you can get something made specifically for plants. general hydroponics pH down uses food grade phosphoric acid.

ditch the probe meter. get a pH test pen. they can be found on ebay for ~$25.


-shake

I found a post on the site that said adding sulfur would lower ph as the soil bacteria broke it down to sulfuric acid naturally. That made me feel better about using pool down
I added a splash of white vinegar and a teaspoon of pool ph down per half gallon taking the incoming ph down to around 5.5 and the plants haven't died, in fact they seem a bit happier in that they were a bit droopy and the leaves really perked up reaching for the sun rather than curling away. The outgoing water ph is still high, about 6.8 -7 so I'll keep adding a little acid with every watering. I think I have only one pot that I may have to re-pot to save them. It is two plants in one 5 gallon pot so I may take the time to separate them as they are still in veg stage.



Thanks for the reply Headshake.

Here are a few picts of the ladies. These are the ones I feel have the most urgent issues in rank of picts posted. Take a look if you wouldn't mind and let me know what you think.
I appreciate the help.
- El Gordo

The drainage in the pot I reused and put LA OG in had no drainage. It smelled like a pond in the pot and I'm surprised I don't have all rotted roots. The downside is about a half inch of root ball is exposed. Oh well, it's a better environment than when I started this morning.

the ladies look fine gordo. i'd attribute the yellowing leaves to nice, dense ladies. fan leaves will die off, it's the nature of the beast.

as flowering gets closer to coming to a finish the majority (more than likely) or more of your fan leaves will be yellow. the plant pulls nutes from them to focus on the buds.

you still want to get that pH in check though before it rears its ugly head.


-shake

Would it be advisable to flush the container that smelled like pond with a 7.0 water?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by headshake

ditch the probe meter. get a pH test pen. they can be found on ebay for ~$25.


-shake

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Trust him!

My probe meter showed reading that were atleast one whole point diff than what the pen showed...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stellybutton

Would it be advisable to flush the container that smelled like pond with a 7.0 water?

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If it's not draining flushing wont help much. The bad gunk will still be there and the pot still wont drain.