PH Down: Citric Vs. Hydrochloric

Muffy D

Muffy D

Well-Known Member
Has anyone noticed a difference between the two?

I bought some Ph down from the hydrostore and it had hydrochloric acid as its active ingredient. It was more expensive compared to the ph down from home depot, but I think it works better. My Ph levels stayed the same and the one bottle lasted almost a month. When I ran out I got the citric acid kind from home depot and it lasted 3 days. My res got all cloudy and the ph levels would keep going up.

Does the hydrochloric acid work better and is it worth the money?

Or maybe my problem is due to some other factor and just kicked in as I ran out of ph down, making it seem like the citric acid was the problem??
 
potroast

potroast

Uses the Rollitup profile
I don't know anything about hydrocloric acid, but citric acid is good for our plants, it's one of the main ingredients in Sweet. I've always used phosphoric acid in 30% solution, because the plant can use the phosphorus.

HTH :mrgreen:
 
Father Jack

Father Jack

Well-Known Member
hydrochloric acid is a good ph down. Citric acid will work...but very unstable...and you will tend to get a drift up in your ph after even a few hours sometimes depending on your water source.

I don't like to spend big bucks on ph down from the hydro companies. I use tap water...so I go through quite abit. My favorite is Sulphuric acid. I just go to the auto parts store and buy a liter of battery acid for about $5. Get a gallon of distilled water. Pour one cup of distilled water out of the jug...and pour one cup of battery acid into the jug. Carefully shake it up...and now I have a gallon of ph down for about a $1. Plants love the sulpher...as most nutes seem to omit sulpher...and plants need it.

Please use extreme caution when handling any acid...even the store bought ph down.

Drink!
 
W

wafflehouselover

Well-Known Member
WTF car batteries? when i look at them they say warning dont get that shit on your hands then i see a picture of a hand being vaporized by something.
 
Father Jack

Father Jack

Well-Known Member
Like I stated earlier...all acid needs to be handled with caution. If you got the stuff that Gh and others used to make their watered down ph up and down in the pure form...it would also be caustic. Even the store bought stuff has to be handled with care. It's caustic.

People have been using sulphuric acid in hydroponics since the beginning of the practice of growing water.

The recipe I posted of mixing it with distilled water will make it about as strong as the store bought shit. But for mega bucks cheaper in the long run.

Drink!
 
Muffy D

Muffy D

Well-Known Member
potroast said:
I don't know anything about hydrocloric acid, but citric acid is good for our plants, it's one of the main ingredients in Sweet. I've always used phosphoric acid in 30% solution, because the plant can use the phosphorus.

HTH :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

yeah I went and bought some phosphoric acid and it is way better than citric acid. It takes less to change the levels and it rises much slower.
 
Muffy D

Muffy D

Well-Known Member
Father Jack said:
hydrochloric acid is a good ph down. Citric acid will work...but very unstable...and you will tend to get a drift up in your ph after even a few hours sometimes depending on your water source.

I don't like to spend big bucks on ph down from the hydro companies. I use tap water...so I go through quite abit. My favorite is Sulphuric acid. I just go to the auto parts store and buy a liter of battery acid for about $5. Get a gallon of distilled water. Pour one cup of distilled water out of the jug...and pour one cup of battery acid into the jug. Carefully shake it up...and now I have a gallon of ph down for about a $1. Plants love the sulpher...as most nutes seem to omit sulpher...and plants need it.

Please use extreme caution when handling any acid...even the store bought ph down.

Drink!
Click to expand...
what auto parts store sells it?
 
Father Jack

Father Jack

Well-Known Member
Muffy D said:
what auto parts store sells it?
Click to expand...
Any auto parts store. I don't know what country you're in....but advance auto or napa type stores here in the states carry it. Canadian tire probably has it in canada. Costs about $4 per litre...and that will make a few gallons of ph down.

Drink!
 
D

doidlethedigger

Member
yeah im considering going and getting some battery acid...

i was considering using hydrochloric... but not sure if plants like HCL salts.

I have a big bottle of muriatic acid (pool ph down) that is diluted hydrochloric and would work fine if there is nothing wrong with HCL salts
 
Y

YourUsernameHere

Member
growpotsmoke said:
this is some good info i think i will try this.
Click to expand...
Is hydrochloric definitely a good idea? NaCl kills plants. If thats because of the chloride ion, then hydrochloric acid would too.
I think the sulfuric acid idea's the best. Don't worry, its not too harmful - the stuff you get for car batteries is only about 40%. It'll sting if you get it on your hand, but it wont burn a hole straight through it like in cartoons. In fact, I've even spilt 100% sulfuric acid on myself a couple of times - it stings a lot and makes your hands feel really dry, but its not too bad.
 
grow1

grow1

Well-Known Member
Why not just use nitric acid for vegg stage and phosphoric acid for flowering.They both serve two purposes, they lower your ph and provide extra nitrogen via nitric acid or extra phosphorous via phosphoric acid which are both good for you plants and will actually help them grow
 
northeastern lights

northeastern lights

Well-Known Member
Father Jack said:
Any auto parts store. I don't know what country you're in....but advance auto or napa type stores here in the states carry it. Canadian tire probably has it in canada. Costs about $4 per litre...and that will make a few gallons of ph down.

Drink!
Click to expand...

Wow! Battery acid? I use baking soda to lower my ph. Works great. Super cheap too.
 
Treeth

Treeth

Well-Known Member
YourUsernameHere said:
In fact, I've even spilt 100% sulfuric acid on myself a couple of times - it stings a lot.
Click to expand...
-lulz/



OH, Heavenly Father!

-any local brick n' mortar sources of high molarity base?

Thanks.

The battery acid I will definitely be collecting tomorrow. I'll get my roomie to run the dilution calcs... fuck I'll just learn it again.

please, BASE!

Like, Where can I find lime at? - It isn't a flocculant is it?
 
Y

YourUsernameHere

Member
Treeth said:
-lulz/



OH, Heavenly Father!

-any local brick n' mortar sources of high molarity base?

Thanks.

The battery acid I will definitely be collecting tomorrow. I'll get my roomie to run the dilution calcs... fuck I'll just learn it again.

please, BASE!

Like, Where can I find lime at? - It isn't a flocculant is it?
Click to expand...
I wouldnt use lime to lower pH: it can react with sulfates to form an insoluble gunk. Not good in hydro systems. I'd recommend using household ammonia or potassium hydroxide to lower pH: all potassium and most ammonium salts are water soluble. Baking soda or sodium hydroxide (caustic soda/lye) should work too, but I'm not sure if sodium ions would be toxic to plants - they are to humans (slightly) and as far as I know, they serve little biological role in plants, much like lead and mercury do in us.
 
Treeth

Treeth

Well-Known Member
Ok, I got the down part-
But I do have to go up sometimes as well.

So I'm wondering if anyone knows a base that is as easily accessible and convenient as battery acid is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top