Roseman
Elite Rolling Society
Man, 6.1 was great. If it is between 5.7 and 6.4, leave it alone and adjust it some other time.
Read this:First you have to realize that the pH is going to change daily as the nutrients are eaten. That means adjusting it daily. Goal is that those daily changes be slight and not major. And too, different sources of water yield different pH problems.
You have to have pH balanced nutes, or a buffer or a stabilizer in the water to keep it from roller coasting and spiking up and down.
I've done some research on pH Control and I 'd like to offer some advice and my opinion.
NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.8 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.9. But they eat more iron and magnesium at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a fluctuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels.
When you get your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, leave it alone or only adjust it slightly by .1 to .2 down.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster.
It is better to be off, too high, or too low, than to adjust it too much at one time.
Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.
The pH should not vary more than .5 to .7 everyday, and if it does flucuate alot more up OR down daily, something is wrong.
First, ask yourself, IF growing in HYDRO, what is going into the tank? Water, Nutes, pH UP and Down should be it. Adding anything else, WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, is not the wisest thing to do. (Yes, sometimes some small amount of peroxide or hydrozyme might be needed, but I've done 7 grows without it.)
And if you are making NUTE SOUP, ( a nute mix and supplement mix) I can not advise you about your pH.
Except for the very first time you add the water to the tank, You should pH balance your water FIRST, everytime, outside of the tank, then add the nutes, pH balance it again, then add it to the tank. It should not go up more than .5 within one day or 1.0 in two days.
If it does go up more in one day or two days, you got to do something to stabilize it. After the first two or 3 weeks pass, and the plants are drinking a gallon a day, you can add one gallon back that is over adjusted or over compensated, to get it back down. FOR EXAMPLE, If the tank is reading 7.2, then add one gallon of 6.0, and you'll get it down SOME, without it being too drastic.
DRASTIC pH CHANGES WITHIN 24 HOURS ARE VERY DANGEROUS.
OR
Try adding a lump of charcoal or two, tied in a panty hose or nylon stocking to the tank.
Go to Walmart or PetSmart to the Aquarium Dept, next to the fish food, filters and additives and sea salts, and get those little packages of Ammonia Control absorbent packets. They look like little sponges in a wrapper. I can not remember what they are called, but they work great to stabilize the pH. Or get the Ammonia control pellets and add a few to the tank.
Get everything in your tank like you want it, (except the roots or plants,) and add two heaping tablespoons of baking soda to a gallon of water,Stir it good, then add it to the tank. Wait ten or 15 minutes, then pH adjust it again. Then it should stay stabilized until the next Drain and Replenish.
A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications.
You can simply add two heaping table spoons of baking soda to your water, (before yu put it in the tank). Yes, it will wreck the pH, but then you adjust it with pH Down, and then it will stay more stable for a few days.
Primarily what one needs to add to the water are neutralizers and buffers that will stabilize the acid and alkaline levels to the degree that is required for the plants. Most of these stabilizing products are sold in great volume at any pet store that specialized in aquariums and tropical fish and if one is not familiar with what product to purchase, then one should consult with the qualified salespeople so as to arrive at a specific product that will properly address the specific needs of the fish and their owner. You want something that rduces the acid.
Read this:First you have to realize that the pH is going to change daily as the nutrients are eaten. That means adjusting it daily. Goal is that those daily changes be slight and not major. And too, different sources of water yield different pH problems.
You have to have pH balanced nutes, or a buffer or a stabilizer in the water to keep it from roller coasting and spiking up and down.
I've done some research on pH Control and I 'd like to offer some advice and my opinion.
NEW growers worry about it too too much, and the biggest mistake they make is trying for a perfect contstant same pH.
You will do better, to just try to keep it between 5.6 and 6.8 without changing it often. Plants eat more nitrogen at 5.7 to 5.9 than at 6.7 to 6.9. But they eat more iron and magnesium at 6.5 to 6.8. You need a fluctuating pH level for your plants to absorb different nutes at different levels.
When you get your water, add nutes and pH test it, no matter what the results, if it is between 5.6 and 6.4, leave it alone or only adjust it slightly by .1 to .2 down.
DO NOT PLAY the pH Game.
Do NOT ride the pH Roller Coaster.
It is better to be off, too high, or too low, than to adjust it too much at one time.
Drastic or FAST adjustments really mess up the entire system.
Adjust gradually, and slowly.
The pH should not vary more than .5 to .7 everyday, and if it does flucuate alot more up OR down daily, something is wrong.
First, ask yourself, IF growing in HYDRO, what is going into the tank? Water, Nutes, pH UP and Down should be it. Adding anything else, WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM, is not the wisest thing to do. (Yes, sometimes some small amount of peroxide or hydrozyme might be needed, but I've done 7 grows without it.)
And if you are making NUTE SOUP, ( a nute mix and supplement mix) I can not advise you about your pH.
Except for the very first time you add the water to the tank, You should pH balance your water FIRST, everytime, outside of the tank, then add the nutes, pH balance it again, then add it to the tank. It should not go up more than .5 within one day or 1.0 in two days.
If it does go up more in one day or two days, you got to do something to stabilize it. After the first two or 3 weeks pass, and the plants are drinking a gallon a day, you can add one gallon back that is over adjusted or over compensated, to get it back down. FOR EXAMPLE, If the tank is reading 7.2, then add one gallon of 6.0, and you'll get it down SOME, without it being too drastic.
DRASTIC pH CHANGES WITHIN 24 HOURS ARE VERY DANGEROUS.
OR
Try adding a lump of charcoal or two, tied in a panty hose or nylon stocking to the tank.
Go to Walmart or PetSmart to the Aquarium Dept, next to the fish food, filters and additives and sea salts, and get those little packages of Ammonia Control absorbent packets. They look like little sponges in a wrapper. I can not remember what they are called, but they work great to stabilize the pH. Or get the Ammonia control pellets and add a few to the tank.
Get everything in your tank like you want it, (except the roots or plants,) and add two heaping tablespoons of baking soda to a gallon of water,Stir it good, then add it to the tank. Wait ten or 15 minutes, then pH adjust it again. Then it should stay stabilized until the next Drain and Replenish.
A buffer solution is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid. It has the property that the pH of the solution changes very little when a small amount of acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications.
You can simply add two heaping table spoons of baking soda to your water, (before yu put it in the tank). Yes, it will wreck the pH, but then you adjust it with pH Down, and then it will stay more stable for a few days.
Primarily what one needs to add to the water are neutralizers and buffers that will stabilize the acid and alkaline levels to the degree that is required for the plants. Most of these stabilizing products are sold in great volume at any pet store that specialized in aquariums and tropical fish and if one is not familiar with what product to purchase, then one should consult with the qualified salespeople so as to arrive at a specific product that will properly address the specific needs of the fish and their owner. You want something that rduces the acid.
I mean this is a learning experience for me , and I like to make sure everything is being done right.
