AN nutes PH perfect ? ... NOT !!!

I'm running a DWC.
I am using tap water that has a PH of 7.2
I am also using the 3 part nutes from AN : Micro - Grow - Bloom PH Perfect.
However, after mixing up the nutes (1-1-1 ml / l because they are only 10 days old) the PH only drops to 6.8
Besides the fact that AN specifies that their new formula buffers the PH at 5.5 , after several hours, my PH is at about 8 ..... ?????

is there anything I am doing wrong? or this "ph perfect" is just another bullshit from AN ?

I thought the whole ideal of ph perfect was not to worry about ph. I dont use it but tried it once, was not impressed

it might be that the nute solution ends up at the perfect number when added to the soil because of some buffering/chem. change.

ive always found that my ph perfect doesnt work until i am further into veg or flower. this is because you are adding in so little ph perfect, it cant handle the amount of water. the same goes with my flora nova bloom. small doses reduce the ph a little, then once i up the ppm's, the ph reaches the advertised 5.5

ozone25 said:

ive always found that my ph perfect doesnt work until i am further into veg or flower. this is because you are adding in so little ph perfect, it cant handle the amount of water. the same goes with my flora nova bloom. small doses reduce the ph a little, then once i up the ppm's, the ph reaches the advertised 5.5

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nope.....I just did a test in a 1l bottle. I added 4-4-4 , as I would probably use for a mature plant, and the PH does not go lower than 6.5

waterdawg said:

I thought the whole ideal of ph perfect was not to worry about ph. I dont use it but tried it once, was not impressed

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That's what I thought too ! actually it was an important reason why I bought, and pay SOOO much money on Advanced Nutrients.

So i wrote up to AN customer support . This was their reply:

"Thank you for your inquiry.

The pH perfect nutrients are available to your plants at an extremely wide pH range, depending on your water source, it may adjust differently. However as long as you are following the directions, your plants will uptake the nutrients fine, even if the pH is not exactly where you would want it with other NON pH perfect nutrients."

So it's ok if my reservoir ph is at 8 ???

You answered your own question in the first post, you're using tap water. If you read the fine print they only claim it works with RO or filtered water.

GroErr said:

You answered your own question in the first post, you're using tap water. If you read the fine print they only claim it works with RO or filtered water.

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well, I actually did buy today from the store 2 different types (brands) of filtered water, I suppose.

Here are the results after adding half strength solution 2-2-2 ml/L

Tap water: PPM 223 PH 7.3 after adding nutrients PPM 725 PH 6.8
Brand 1 : PPM 176 PH 7.0 after adding nutrients PPM 602 PH 6.9
Brand 2 : PPM 102 PH 7.8 after adding nutrients PPM 657 PH 6.7

Would you Ph down the nutes to 5.5 or would you leave it like that?

I think the real answer is don't buy AN. I owned a grow store for years and I refused to carry their products. They are overpriced and extremely inferior. Ask about the sources of their raw materials. They buy the cheapest raw material and do not have established relationships w their suppliers, thus some batches are made w different materials than others. you will find little to no consistency with their individual batches. You will also never get a straight answer from anyone at that company as they are clueless and only interested in selling you something. Stick to the well established nutrient companies as they always use the same raw materials and their products reflect that consistency.

Lets start off by saying anytime you post about AN, you'll get a bunch of trolls and haters, when all you really want is an answer.
I too use Sensi PH perfect, and the reason it isn't working I'd suspect is because you aren't using RO water. My ph perfect didn't work WHATSOE VER at all while using distilled, but after switching to RO water I may have used 1 drop of pH down. Also, as far as I know it's set to buffer to 5.8. That's what mine does. Also, when you're using a very, very, very low strength of their nutes sometimes it can't buffer the pH as well due too not having many of the buffers in the water.
P.S. Didn't mean any offense to anyone on this thread, sorry if it seemed so.

*EDIT* You'll have a ton of people who say AN is trash, and you'll have a ton of people saying other brands are trash, the TRUE answer is YOUR opinion. If it's working for you, then don't let Tom Dick or Harry convince you that you're wasting your money or you've made a bad choice in nutes. THEY aren't YOU!

Lol I'm not a troll or a hater, just someone w 20+ years experience in the industry. I have talked extensively w product reps and chemists from most of the established companies. I am happy to share my knowledge and experience with this community. I currently work w dispensaries and caregivers to help diagnose and solve problems of many kinds and have had great success. My opinion on AN comes from years of experience bailing out growers who are using their products. You will find many people having issues with their products for a reason. I could care less if you choose to use AN and some people do well with it, but I have found it is easier using other lines again due to consistency and product support.

hicountry1 said:

Lol I'm not a troll or a hater, just someone w 20+ years experience in the industry. I have talked extensively w product reps and chemists from most of the established companies. I am happy to share my knowledge and experience with this community. I currently work w dispensaries and caregivers to help diagnose and solve problems of many kinds and have had great success. My opinion on AN comes from years of experience bailing out growers who are using their products. You will find many people having issues with their products for a reason. I could care less if you choose to use AN and some people do well with it, but I have found it is easier using other lines again due to consistency and product support.

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Now see, that's the difference between a troll and someone whose actually using their experience to help others, that just happens to have something to do with AN....Sorry if it came across as me calling you a troll! I've heard of professionals swearing by AN and professionals (like yourself) who just don't feel AN nute line is up too par. It truly is what works and is compatible with yourself.

Logan Burke said:

Now see, that's the difference between a troll and someone whose actually using their experience to help others, that just happens to have something to do with AN....Sorry if it came across as me calling you a troll! I've heard of professionals swearing by AN and professionals (like yourself) who just don't feel AN nute line is up too par. It truly is what works and is compatible with yourself.

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Agree completely. Some people do have great success w their line of nutes. I just see so many people running into issues as well. I do think in the OP his main problem is not using RO water.

Funny thing is many of the other nutrient lines also balance themselves and just don't make a big deal out of it. AN spends a ton of money on marketing unlike many of the other companies thus jacking up the price.

I used GH in the past and had AMAZING results. I also have some bad experience with the GH. I also used Canna and Gold Label....
However, it maybe just happened that the best results I have ever had so far was with the AN.
I appreciate you sharing some of your experience with me/us hicountry1 , but now that I have already bought these nutes, and I spent so much money on them, I plan on using them (hopefully) .
Again, my big concern is:
should I drop the PH to 5.5 , or do as the customer support from AN told me ?

trombon84 said:

well, I actually did buy today from the store 2 different types (brands) of filtered water, I suppose.

Here are the results after adding half strength solution 2-2-2 ml/L

Tap water: PPM 223 PH 7.3 after adding nutrients PPM 725 PH 6.8
Brand 1 : PPM 176 PH 7.0 after adding nutrients PPM 602 PH 6.9
Brand 2 : PPM 102 PH 7.8 after adding nutrients PPM 657 PH 6.7

Would you Ph down the nutes to 5.5 or would you leave it like that?

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I don't worry about it but I'm growing in a warm soil/peat mix so it's not as critical as it is in straight-up hydro. Your starting water ppm's for supposedly filtered water seem a bit high though. Will let the hydro folks comment on whether that's too high.

trombon84 said:

I used GH in the past and had AMAZING results. I also have some bad experience with the GH. I also used Canna and Gold Label....
However, it maybe just happened that the best results I have ever had so far was with the AN.
I appreciate you sharing some of your experience with me/us hicountry1 , but now that I have already bought these nutes, and I spent so much money on them, I plan on using them (hopefully) .
Again, my big concern is:
should I drop the PH to 5.5 , or do as the customer support from AN told me ?

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Sorry to derail the thread yes adjust the ph disregard what support told you. Clearly the ph matters they shouldn't have told you otherwise.

hicountry1 said:

Agree completely. Some people do have great success w their line of nutes. I just see so many people running into issues as well. I do think in the OP his main problem is not using RO water.

Funny thing is many of the other nutrient lines also balance themselves and just don't make a big deal out of it. AN spends a ton of money on marketing unlike many of the other companies thus jacking up the price.

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Yeah I think that's why or because he isn't at a higher ( 1/2 strength and up) and AN really does pump tons of $ for advertisement, and could even be a reason they raise the price (to balance out the cost). Maybe..Anywho, yes you shouldn't IMO drop your pH to 5.5. I've typically heard a range of around 5.8-6.1. I stay at 5.8 myself.

GroErr said:

I don't worry about it but I'm growing in a warm soil/peat mix so it's not as critical as it is in straight-up hydro. Your starting water ppm's for supposedly filtered water seem a bit high though. Will let the hydro folks comment on whether that's too high.

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I agree, my RO water is 6 to 8.

Yes 5.5 isn't necessary, anywhere between 5.5 and 6.5 should be fine. The solution will fluctuate and it is better to just focus on a range instead of a specific number. Too much of ph up or down is worse imo than just keeping it within reason.

When you let it fluctuate just a little, it can help a broad range of nutrients become available as the pH rises or lowers...some people allow this specifically for that reason...I don't mess with mine unless it makes it to like 6.2, but because of pH perfect, that never happens.