Why Does My Ph Go Up Every Day? Will I Ever Stop Adding Ph Down?

Heres my answer to the problem in a 13 gallon 7.6 tap water tote. Put water in tub, add ph down, get it down to about 5.2-5.4., add nutes (i use ph stable nutes) . Aerate with some stones for 2 hrs, recheck ph. The water company told me calcium and chlorine in water. Calcium buffers ph back up of course, so the ph is always up. Add more ph down to get it to 5.4 again (doesnt take much), and set the damn thing into motion. Chasing your ph is a nightmare, DONT DO IT!! My epic nute company talked me thru it, and a ph swing UP can be a good thing! As it swings THRU the nutrients range, all the nutes become available! Don't freakin' chase ur ph!! Bigger rez IS easier to stabilize, but bigger also means more of whats buffering you back up. Have you tried 30 gallons? I try to push the least water, saves me nutes and work.

After about 3 days with the air always running in the tubs (no bacteria,mold,haze here!), my ph is usually up around 6.2. I add more ph down until I hit about 5.6, and walk away! 4 days later when I change out, the ph is usally about 6.2-6.6, perfect!! I read about "dont change the ph too drastic" and all that. Well, mine goes from 6.4 down to 5.2 in the time it takes me to carry 30 gallons of water. Only once did I see a ph leaf issue, and that was when my ph meter blew upon nute change. I hate buying ph down, but since my fav hydro shop DOES pay its employees from my pocket, it lessens the hurt. That, and setting up a RO in a rental, or buying water just isnt cost effective for me.. Catching rain... not in this yard. I have had wondeful results with my tap water. MAybe pure would be better, but not feasible...yet. *cmon ph perfect nutes!!! Please dont be bullshit!!

O' btw, Ive read a TON of articles on chlorine. My water company uses liquid bleach. The ppm in my water is around 125. From what i have read, chlorine kills bacteria and mold ect.. It also disappates quickly. I used to use hydrogen peroxide, but learned it binds quickly and gets nuetralized. I also used to let my water sit out for days before using. I decided I'd just run it fresh, use the chlorine to keep my media clean, and in 48hrs it's be gone anyhow. So far, in practice, this logic holds true. I dont recall whos article got me here, but the science behind water baffled me so much i decided to just use the shit outta my tap. Workin so far and feelin' good about it too.

I am now so comfortable with the way my water acts. One time i went to check my ph... it was down??? WTF!! I knew something was wrong. I looked at my chart, it had been 12days since nute change. My guess is.... the salts or waste were building. I did a fresh nute change. BOOM, grew like magic again. Never afforded store water, does it react the same? Always thought the buffers in my tap water would stabilize my ph (once i got it where i wanted it). Anyone got any info to share?

Happy growing!

Hey
I have seen your problem with some of my friend around the country that are using hydroton. One of your problems could be that your are not flooding enough times per day. This can cause build up on the hydroton then when you do flood it that washes out and causes ph spikes. Other prblem could be temp of your rez since the ph increase through the day I would say this is more likely. Alot of companys use urea to increase the N in NPK. This is not real bad just when the temp of your rez creaps up that urea turns to amoinia (sorry not much of a speller) and will make your ph drift up. I hear alot of stuff about PH and wher it should be. I have always kept my ph between 6.5 and 7 in veg and let it drop to 6.0 to 6.5 in flower and have had NO problems. Any time you get leaf curl no matter what direction its PH. Hope this helpsAttachment 1034187
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What's the temperature in your reservoir? Is light getting to your reservoir? Do you have rockwool in your table exposed to light? Your problem could be caused by numerous things. Give us some more info. and I'm sure we can help.

no rockwool, i took them straight out of the cloner and put them in the hydroton. i flood 4 times for 30 min during the light cycle. i have a cover over my rez so no light gets in. The plants are growing at a pretty good rate, but not as quick as i expected. maybe even a little slower than my dirt grows. the water stays pretty cool, around 70-75. i have started to notice that the hydroton is getting a little bit of a white coating on it, only on the top, maybe salt buildup. i'm loosing about 3-4 gallons of water a day to the plants/evaporation i'll try and get some pics up today of the leafs curling

room2 008.jpgroom2 005.jpgroom2 007.jpgroom2 006.jpgroom2 003.jpgroom2 002.jpgroom2 004.jpgroom2 001.jpgso here are the pics. not sure if you can see the prob with the leafs or not. temp is a lil high abour 90. i'm getting a portable air conditioner and going to vent it outside the garage through the roof vent. this is a room inside a garage. it got up to about 110 in the garage but only 90 in the room. still need it cooler though

at the moment i am using floranova 1 part grow and the 1 part bloom. i use it for my dirt grows cause its easy. not sure if this is a wise choice for hydro. i have heard mixed reviews for General Hydro. i have heard a few people say that they didn't like the salt build up. In the past i have used Advanced Nutrients, but if i could afford the whole line i wouldn't have to grow weed lol. seams like everything they have works in conjunction with another product they have. I have a very small hydro shop that just opened down the street. local growers that i would like to support. they carry "Humboldt Nutrients" i'm interested in. they also have the other stuff, dutch master, GH, etc. If anyone would like to share their personal choice that would be great. i'm going to flip it to 12 soon and would like to start with whatever brand i'm going to be using. i hear its bad juju to switch during flower. also what are the bare essentials that i need? so far I know i need my base nute, calcium and magnesium supplement, and a bud enhancer like "big bud" what about something to keep the roots healthy? AN has "sensizyme" and the high priced "voodoo juice" I'm lookin for a brand thats gonna have all that only cheaper than AN

Wow, thats a Ton of hydroton. My last grow, I used AN and EJ in hydro. It way outperformed my earth juice in soil! I only used their 3 part gmb, the overdrive, and the final phase. I'd say the cost of that nutrient set was about $160? Anyhow, its enough nutes to keep 60gall res tank refreshed every week for 1 grow. No need for CalMag, tap water contains plenty of calcium. I recently bit the bullet and bought some of that voodoo juice, along with a few others. $400 in nutes IS hard to swallow. I cant seem to justify buying sensizyme. My hydro guy swears by it, but at the rates suggested and price on the bottle, I'd have to take out a second job! Maybe if my roots looked like they had issues after pulling, Id jump for it. If you want to patronage your local shop, buy their brand. Opinions in the MJ feild are like assholes, and noone ever agrees on 1 product . I doubt GH is making a shit product and fooling people. If its one of the big nute companies, just buy what the shop carries, and work at perfecting usage. As for bad to switch at flower... not sure i agree with that. I do believe switching nutes at flower is the idea aint it? You know, let them bitches know that change is here?! Im pretty sure it's more about being comfortable with your nutrient and grow plan, over the brand you use. I listen to my hydro shop guy. I know he's making money off me... thats the point!! He also knows that if he fuks me and sells me some bullshit, I'll find out and he wont get my cash in the future. I have huge hopes with the bud ignitor, big bud and voodoo. If I dont see Amazing results, its back to the easy 3part and overdrive formula no extras.

My hydroton ALWAYS gets that white powder on it. Since im using tap water, im thinking the white is calcium buildup. You know, the exact same thing that keeps me buying so much damn ph down! Anyways, Ive spent tons of time flushing and cleaning the hydroton to get the residue gone. So far, flushing from the top helps, but I havent seen the powder causing any adverse effect on the plants. The powder is only on the very top of the media, so I would suggest not worrying too much about it.

Are your plants all just in that one tub, or do you have em seperated somehow under the surface? Just wondering how you are going to move them around and spin them? Keep us posted with what you end up with. Happy growing!

yah they are all just "IN there" lol I hope they like their placement under the lights cause its too late now. next round i'm gonna fill the table with net pots so i can move them. I was referring to changing brands and/or types of nutes like 4 or 5 weeks into flower. like going from a 1 part to a 2 or a 3 part from another brand. not really sure why it would make a difference. but ya you got a point Shanus, if i insist on buying local i gotta get what they carry. I just wish the owner did hydro so he would have a lil more input. he only grows in soil 2 times a year and the rest is outdoor. HEY.... heres an idea. what about a 55gal barrel DWC setup for outdoor. 1 huge plant per barrel. aah now i'm just dreamin