i think my plants are being shocked by my ph down?

i am an experienced grower of many years and i recently moved into a new house and when i run water through my R.O. it comes out at 7.87 ph. so i have to add about 45-60 ml of ph down per 20 gallonsto achieve a ph of 6.0 where i like to keep it. i also suspect that it is the brand of ph down or that it might be old. i use all advanced nutrients except the ph down which is general hydroponics,also the jug is about a year old does it expire? any help would be greatly appreciated thanx alot people

Don't your nutes lower the ph?

RO water should be a lot closer to 7.0.

I use Flora Series and my water is 7.1. I use Lucas Ratio and end up with 5.9 after adding my nutes. My ph Down is lonely these days. If my ph goes UP, I add more nutes. If it goes down, I just add water.

wolftickets500 said:

i am an experienced grower of many years and i recently moved into a new house and when i run water through my R.O. it comes out at 7.87 ph. so i have to add about 45-60 ml of ph down per 20 gallonsto achieve a ph of 6.0 where i like to keep it. i also suspect that it is the brand of ph down or that it might be old. i use all advanced nutrients except the ph down which is general hydroponics,also the jug is about a year old does it expire? any help would be greatly appreciated thanx alot people

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Don't use anything that's been sitting around for a year. It's just not a good idea because you have no idea how long it was sitting in a warehouse or shelf when you bought it new.

And do you have any visual signs that lead you to believe your plants are shocked?

My water takes 3ml per gallon, so 60ml per 20 gal. I also use GH brand, and it has never caused the slightest harm. Being a year old could make the solution more concentrate as a little water evaporates, but should not make the substance itself harmful. GH PH down is said to have an indefinite shelf life. Do you keep PH strips to check against your meter? What problems are your plants demonstrating?

Heisenberg said:

My water takes 3ml per gallon, so 60ml per 20 gal. I also use GH brand, and it has never caused the slightest harm. Being a year old could make the solution more concentrate as a little water evaporates, but should not make the substance itself harmful. GH PH down is said to have an indefinite shelf life. Do you keep PH strips to check against your meter? What problems are your plants demonstrating?

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I didn't know that. Thanks. So that's why my old PH down was so potent.

I know for a fact general hydro ph down dont expire,number one its an acid its not prone to spoiling,also it has no other ingredients that break down over time,the shelf life of acid is indefinite.

Another reason i know its not the problem is from my own grow,we buy in bulk to get general hydro nutes for $3 a quart on the nutes & ph down & up.

We go through alot of nutes,the ph down we use a few gallons a year,im still working out of a 6 gallon container that was bought about 18 months ago & i got zero problems.

It isnt ph down causing problems.

so whats your ph down made of ?

I'd get another RO or something because it shouldn't be putting out alkaline water. Maybe it has some crap built up in it. Or maybe you need another pH tester.

are you adding the ph down to the water before you add the nutes I read somewhere that you should add it to the water before the nutes,that ph is high for coming out of an RO system also and would check it out,when was the last time you changed your res,when my ph starts to drift it usually means its time to change my res,and allways calibrate your meter,I check mine weekly just to be safe. I have never used that brand of nutes but my water is anywhere between 6.8 and 7.4 depending on what time of year it is and I use GH nutes and never have to add any ph adjustment solution to my nutes and I end up at 5.8 every time