Suuuuuper High pH!!

I'm sure Pharma Can and Rhizome are correct....I say it may answer your question for this reason.....I have well water....and fish......and I could never keep the ph of my water stable with fish stuff. My hydro guy warned that could very well be a red flag for growing hydro (and it was....:() ...so if you have added alot and it still climbs.....I wouldn't even try the test with reg hydro ph.....I'd just buy r/o or distilled at that point. There's NOTHING like pulling your hair out over the same ph issues again and again.....(i say from experience....:wtf:) Good luck.

Take PC's advice and test with nutrients. Do everything you can to not have to carry water. Don't forget you are supposed to flush your system every 3 or 4 weeks and start fresh... more water carrying. Even if your PH climbs, depending on how much and how fast, you might want to consider letting it climb and adjusting it from time to time in the resevior. Much better than hauling water.

I have the parts, but have yet to build an automatic PH doser. You may want to consider something like this, that way you don't have to ever worry about PH, except in the beggining when you are figuring out amounts. If the PH gets too high, it automatically injects PH Down into your system. Using this, I don't think it would matter much if the PH in your tap water rises. I know mine does. I adjust it, and grow big beautiful buds.

Well, before I committed to ro/distilled, I'd get some proper pH - and hold the sys @ 5-5.2 for 24 hours to stabilize the media- RW and hydroton will both buffer up when new.

Cheaper than ro/distilled, and might show the problem. What's the pH going into the sys, anyway?

Can't get us to agree on anything...:wtf:...while those folks are correct technically..:eek:...I'll still bet you 50 to 1 that if what you have in there now won't hold it.....then it ain't going to hold worth your time and energy even with tons of other crap. It's great to say you can just keep adjusting it....which you can.....but it takes it's toll on both you and your plants. Yep I don't like to haul water around either.....but I DO like plants that grow....not simply continually recover from shifts in the ph (btw....the EXACT issue I just got rid of when I dumped my hydroton.) That, however, is simply my opinion on the subject. :)

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Originally Posted by Weedhound

Can't get us to agree on anything...:wtf:...while those folks are correct technically..:eek:...I'll still bet you 50 to 1 that if what you have in there now won't hold it.....then it ain't going to hold worth your time and energy even with tons of other crap. It's great to say you can just keep adjusting it....which you can.....but it takes it's toll on both you and your plants. Yep I don't like to haul water around either.....but I DO like plants that grow....not simply continually recover from shifts in the ph (btw....the EXACT issue I just got rid of when I dumped my hydroton.) That, however, is simply my opinion on the subject. :)

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...and think how it's fun it's going to be to tell both Rhizome and me "I told you so!" when you're right. :D

PC :smokin:

Not sure it's one we'll ever know PC......although I just may run around saying that anyway.....true or not. :D

It wouldn't have been my first choice to test....but since it was in there ...meh.....it's one of those tests.....if negative it means nothing.....if positive then maybe a quick answer. :jointsmile: :stoned:

Well, I got the pH down, but there are no directions on the bottle other than "add sparingly to adjust pH." What kind of increments should I use (i.e. tbps, cups, etc.)???

drops.....seriously.....:) Good luck. ;)

Well, I used a half cup to start off and it instantly went from 8+ to 4-, so then I used a tbsp and it went to about a 6, so I added another 1/4 tbsp and its right around 5.5, or a nice blend of the yellow of 6 and orange of 5. It will be nice when I get the electronic tester on Friday.

Should I just wait on it and check it before I go to bed and then again in the morning?

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Originally Posted by Weedhound

Can't get us to agree on anything...:wtf:...while those folks are correct technically..:eek:...I'll still bet you 50 to 1 that if what you have in there now won't hold it.....then it ain't going to hold worth your time and energy even with tons of other crap. It's great to say you can just keep adjusting it....which you can.....but it takes it's toll on both you and your plants. Yep I don't like to haul water around either.....but I DO like plants that grow....not simply continually recover from shifts in the ph (btw....the EXACT issue I just got rid of when I dumped my hydroton.) That, however, is simply my opinion on the subject. :)

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WH, yer almost certainly correct- and hauling water is way better than constant dosing. Feel free to tell me that you told me so :D

Hydroton's pretty stable once you've used it for a while, as is RW. Both will buffer high for a while, though- w/ the RW, you usually have to soak it in a 4.5-5.5 solution for a while, and the hydroton... well, some bags have been good to go, and some have required a pretty good break-in period. Stuff I'm working w/ now is nuteral like glass- but some of it's a decade old or more...

I dunno, I'm lazy- I hate hauling water.

Anyway, Deja- see how it sits in the morning- whether or not it rises, and how much acid is required to bring it back down. Should take less acid each time ( or, conversely, same volume of acid should have greater affect).

You could also try filling the res w/ distilled, and seeing if it does the same thing, which would indicate media issue, not water supply. If it's media, you're going to have to either condition it, or, as WH indicates, move to a differant media.

WH- yer in Higromite, right?