Hi Rusty, thanks for the wise and knowing advice, this is only my second grow, so i've much to learn

Bleach and detergent residue will also skew results. Doubtful it's the soil ph that's out-of-whack. Have you tried ph'ing plain water through the towel? Just curious...

I used clean paper towels for the filter, so i reckon my test was semi accurate. i have got some soil left over from my first grow, in that one i used 3 gallon pots and the plant got ridiculously big(lots of nice bud though!!) and hard to handle, so this time i wanted to keep them more manageable, guess i didn't quite plan it out right with pot size, maybe 2 gallon's the way forward for me. As for the clones, they are still in their small pots, i'm thinking i'll go 1 gallon first then move them up into 2 gallon and not flower them all at the same time, keep one as a mother perhaps, i'm already experimenting with a few of the clones, i've topped one a few times and i'm trying out LST on two. i'm still trying things out to see what works best for me, the space i'm using and the plants needs and its all very enjoyable i must say.
Thank you again for your expertise, it's very reassuring to know the fine people on this site will help you out when problems are encountered and do it nicely, without judgement on our own stupidity. Many thanks. :jointsmile: