Ph problem

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Originally Posted by GluteusMaximus

That faucet water purifier is not doing you any good. If you use RO water you remove everything from the water so that your ppm will be zero when you start adding nutes.

I can't stress enough the value of Reverse Osmosis filtered water. By removing everything from the water, there isn't anything left to raise the ph. The added benefit is that you also don't have anything in your resevoire that doesn't belong there. You know the only thing in there is what YOU put in there.

GM

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Very good point but if you do use RO water (I swear by it my self) then you must also use CalMag Plus to replace some of the nutrients the plant needs but is removed by the RO process.

Around here you can buy RO water for 20-25 cents a gallon. You can fill 5 gallon buckest and if they ask just say you are changing the water in your fish tank.

It's the plants disguard nutrients and other things that change the Ph every day. The less nutrients you use the greater the Ph swing. There are buffers in the nutrients that help keep the Ph in balance but you still need to adjust the Ph about twice a day.

i know that problem. Without RO water, PH fluctuation depends on O2, CO2, and the amount of roots in the bubbler or rez. In the first stage of the plant, few roots, and generally no CO2 added, the PH can go from 5.5 to 7.5 in 48 h. It's due to the amount of O2 in the water provided by your air pomp. So you add acid every day less and the PH goes stabilizing. (If your air pomp is out of order the PH will drop dramatically because no O2 but many cl of acid added). But when you change your water, you introduce new carbonate ions and once again the same reaction. If you add CO2 in the air, it will go in the water, and will lower the PH naturally. When there is a lot of roots, there is less fluctuation but because it's generally in bloom phase i add CO2 and i've to higher the PH adding some new fresh water. In aquariophilie the CO2 is a way to lower the PH. The ideal would be :
Veg stage : CO2 and acid in the water.
Bloom stage : CO2 and no acid in the water
With RO water, no carbonate ions, so less fluctuation with O2, but not with CO2.
That's my mind.

So I should just start buying the RO water by the gallon, and then adding the calmag to it, test the ppm and then add the nutes and test again. Also other than buying a regulator/tank is there any other way to add c02 to the water that is not so hard on the wallet. Money is running kind of low so I am trying to make do with what I have until I can upgrade. Now the PH seems to have stabalized, I havent had to add anything the past two days and my ph seems to stay at about 5.5. Ladies are finally starting to look good again:D . Thanks for all the info

CO² is better served filling the grow room then the root zone. Yes you can use CO² to help control the Ph of your rez but if money is low you are better off using the CO² to fill the whole grow area.

Just my 2 cents, but I am new and ran into similar problems.

Get the RO water from your local hardware or grocery store. It works the best and its not expensive. Listen to Zandor about CalMag.

As far as what you have your PH at...

5.2-5.5 is WAY TOO LOW> I dont care what anybody says about this at this point. I am on grow 3 and when my PH was 5.8-6.0 plants were healthy as an OXE! When they were 5.5 or 5.4, then were DYING. 5.2 is WAY to acidic for what you are trying to do.

Go get Jorge Cerventes' grow book too. Local book store WILL have it. Dont buy it online...

PEACE!

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Originally Posted by GarlicToast

Just my 2 cents, but I am new and ran into similar problems.

Get the RO water from your local hardware or grocery store. It works the best and its not expensive. Listen to Zandor about CalMag.

As far as what you have your PH at...

5.2-5.5 is WAY TOO LOW> I dont care what anybody says about this at this point. I am on grow 3 and when my PH was 5.8-6.0 plants were healthy as an OXE! When they were 5.5 or 5.4, then were DYING. 5.2 is WAY to acidic for what you are trying to do.

Go get Jorge Cerventes' grow book too. Local book store WILL have it. Dont buy it online...

PEACE!

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You may want to DL the Ph chart in the FAQ section. Look over the Ph range and then you can match the Ph to the nutrients swing the plant needs for that cycle of growth. It one way of making sure the plant gets the right amount of nutrients at the proper time in it's cycle. FYI.:thumbsup:

Thanks for all the info, you guys rock