Is it normal to have to adjust pH every couple hours?

My nutradip tri-meter is saying the the solution in my dwc is being raised from 5.5 to 7.0 in like 2 hours. I adjust it with pH down, then 2 hours later back up to 7.0-7.3...WTF

Is this normal to continuously have to pour pH down into the bucket 5-6 times a day?

Not normal. I've had that problem before though. Mine was caused from algae growth in the res due to a light leak. Not sure about other causes. I fixed my light leak and scrubbed out my res. and all was fine. Hope you get it sorted out.

Damn gotta go buy more water now, thanks for the reply i'll give it a shot

i4204lyfe8424 said:

Damn gotta go buy more water now, thanks for the reply i'll give it a shot

Click to expand...

Damn dude imhaving the same prob. But I was told that it was normal by a stealthhydro rep ? But if you figure it out let me know. Btw are your leaves looking really yellowish?

i4204lyfe8424 said:

My nutradip tri-meter is saying the the solution in my dwc is being raised from 5.5 to 7.0 in like 2 hours. I adjust it with pH down, then 2 hours later back up to 7.0-7.3...WTF

Is this normal to continuously have to pour pH down into the bucket 5-6 times a day?

Click to expand...

Do u have pix?
Are u feeding ur plants yet?
Is this a newly established reservoir meaning when did u set it up?
We would need the answers to most of those questions to give a proper answer but ill try to give u a quick run down..

Yes it is NORMAL to have PH fluctuations in a newly established DWC tub or bucket or any hydro res for that matter im sure..

U DONT need to PH so frequently. I asked if u where feeding ur plants because this is the KEY thats going to help u get ur RES BALANCED.
If u havent feed the res then id suggest at least 4-600 ppm or at least 1/4 strength nutes as depicted on ur Nute bottles.

Next Dont freak out.. ur going to want to Shoot for 6.0 and only PH once daily to help ur res establish its PH balance.
Over Ph'ing is going to come back on u once ur res begins to establish its own perfect balance which it is already doing all on its own once u set it up.
U will see i can promise u that.. Once u feed as described and PH once daily that ur res will become stable within 3-5 days top's GUARANTEED.

THE worst thing u can do right now IS OVERCARE for the plants and ur PH.
Let it go. It will fix itself.
As long as u follow the previous directions.
Hope that helps.

P.S I forgot i left out a very important DWC JEDI grow Knight KEY piece of information...

PH will rise if u arent feeding ENOUGH!
PH will drop if ur feeding to MUCH!

Yes i'm feeding it according to the hydro fox farm feeding schedule, but not full strength, I'd say like 3/4 strenth. It's about 2 1/2 weeks old & roots have just started to poke through the side of the 10" net pot in the 5 gal DWC.

http://foxfarmfertilizer.com/hydrofeed.pdf

What do you mean by pH daily? do you mean just check the pH daily? or adjust it only once daily? because it's a continuous running meter...http://mendogrow.com/images/TRI500.jpg

& did you say it was ok for the meter to read 8 or 9 for pH?

If using rockwool, did you pre soak it and adjust the PH? If using hydroton, you may need to wash them better. What are you using for PH down?

Yea I don't think I washed the hydroton good enough. even though I rinse like 10 ten times. & using the Stealth hydro ph up & down.

Is there a way to clean the hydroton when it is already being used by a plant? I don't know how I would take it out without damaging roots

It is quite normal if your reservoir is small...(by small I mean a gallon or less)

If you have an extra res(as to not waste your nutes) you can give them plain ph'd water(i put a lil H2o2 in there) to rinse the hydroton (like soil flushing) I did this several times and my ph leveled out. I've even heard of people floating the res lid in the bath tub to flush. Afeter doing this my ph stays stable (it's about 6.3) up to 12 hr's in a 1 gal container

Thanks i'm going to try that rinsing today. & I'm in a 5 gallon bucket with a 10" pot

I heard you need to pre-soak/ph the Hydroton and rockwool, rinsing is not sufficient. Don't ever squeeze the rockwoold either of course!

thanks. well i can't soak it cause there is a root system starting to grow in it. unless there is a technique i'm unfamiliar with.

i4204lyfe8424 said:

thanks. well i can't soak it cause there is a root system starting to grow in it. unless there is a technique i'm unfamiliar with.

Click to expand...

The only thing I might try would be to bring the netpot into a sink and rinse that bad boy under running water for a couple of minutes. Hold it the entire time as you don't want any junk left in the sink mixing with your new roots. When you're done, run some bottle water over the plant before you put it back in the bucket just in case your tap water is harsh.