so i water with tap water, and the pH is waaayyyy high


and when i add acid to drop the pH, i think it ends up rising over a few days.

does anyone have any experience/advice?

+rep

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my first indoor CFL grow attempt journal is here ------- http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...-cfl-grow.html

I read somewhere that the minerals in the hard water react slowly with the acid and can cause the ph to creep up.

How high is high? what and how much do you add?

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You should add 1 tsp.. Dolomite Lime (crushed) per 1 gal of soil. You can buy it in fine powder or granules at any plant nursery, HD or Lowes and some of your local stores.

If in granules you will want to crush it into sandy powder first. Then add the ratio above to the top of your soil and mix it into the top 1/2 inch. Then water with plain water as close to 7.0 pH as you can. The Dolomite lime is used as a PH buffer and helps keep your soil PH around 7.0.

Let your soil dry out and check your PH of your run off water. If it is still high then add more dolomite lime in the same amount as above and water again.

Your PH will buffer and you will stop having a high PH.

Good Luck!

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Luv the herb you have. It is a gift from the gods

I'm no expert. But lime is a base and does not lower the ph. It does act as a buffer to stabilize the ph. You'll still need to get your water under control.

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i use tap water with ph like 8.5 or more

and GH pH down to bring it down

__________________
my first indoor CFL grow attempt journal is here ------- http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...-cfl-grow.html

how can i fix this problem without buying stuff?

can i add pH down a day or so early and then again before i water or what?

__________________
my first indoor CFL grow attempt journal is here ------- http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...-cfl-grow.html

I still think the lime will help you. If you ph your water down to 6.0-6.5 and add the lime it should keep your ph in your soil at a better ph over time. It is not a over night fix. You can get a huge bag of dolomite lime for around $10.

I hear what stumps is saying but your problem is in your soil holding the correct PH as you say you are lowering your water ph before watering and it just rises again. Its your soil PH that is unstable. You need a buffer (dolomite lime) in my opinion.

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__________________
Luv the herb you have. It is a gift from the gods