Crazy PH difference between 2 of my systems 5.9-6 and 6.8-6.9 no explanation (yet)

plumsmooth

Well-Known Member
This is a long story but i will try and shorten it. Skip to the last section to get on with it. I have been growing RDWC for years and for the last at least almost 7 I have been a strictly Bennies Beneficial Microbes Inoculator. Once upon a time I got root rot in the summer with higher temperatures and discovered Hydroguard and also the usage of H2O2! I have evolved into a Multi Microbe inoculant (ha ha).

Currently I am using Great White/Orca/King Crab/Hydroguard/MammothP!
with some redundancy maybe. I even feed them with Myco-Chum (plant revolution Myco food) against my initial intuition.

Anyway I recently upgraded/modified my GH Power Growers to a 5X sized reservoir but Nonetheless: I find that the systems have a natural PH they want to settle at. I have noticed this just the same in the Undersized 2.5 Gallon stock Power Grower reservoirs too I have been stuck with for the last several years. In my larger reservoirs it just takes more time to normalize/stabilize.

I have 2 practically identical plants and one to my surprises seems to want to stabilize right under 6/5.9 practically Perfect! The other Plant seems to want to stabilize at a very common (for my setup) PH of 6.8-6.9. I have only one explanation here: This is the result of the Micro herd or a specific Living Bacteria or Fungus that is dominant in the system. I have even though I might have an Algae or Cyanobacteria in the system. By the Way I stopped chasing my PH after learning about even with inexpensive Jacks, them having 3 types of Chelated Iron, one of which absorbable up to like PH 11! I have even tried Advanced Nutrients as a treat for the plants but also to try walking away from years of PH chasing. Recently I realized that the over use-age of a poor choice of PH Down was adversely affecting my Microbe balance. I also believe with my large inner buckets packed with Rocks and Roots and Microbes that my Personal PH absorbability is wider to the up side hence be not crying when my ph is 6.5 and over.

What in the world could cause this great of a fluctuation between 2 identical Plants strains in identical systems getting the exact same nutrients and top-offs!

One thing is they are at different stages in their cycles one is about 2 weeks behind the other one however I have noticed this difference since they went into flowering. The only timer it changed was when I was away and i had my friend topping off for me with my Town Tap water ph like 7.5 with about 200 PPM Calcium. But sure enough after I returned gradually the one perfect PH plant returned to its preferred range and the other one its range. No good explanation here except some kind of Microbe?

P>S. Once I hydrogen peroxided a plant running like almost 7.5 and then reintroduced the bennies and it brought the range back down a full point. I figured it was algae? But I really don't see any algae except an occasional spec on the surface of my Expanded Clay? Could there be some mysterious Bacteria in my system and this one plant just managed to keep it away?
 

smokey0418

Well-Known Member
This would be new territory as I don’t mix killing with living.

Now if one adds peroxide to kill all living things in a tote , how long does this last as I would think adding my orca to this tote anytime after would a waste ?


Two plants , different sizes, both running the same ppm ?
What does the ppm do each day?
 
Top