PH problems with coco..

Hi guys, im using BioBizz coco with Advanced Nutrients coco Grow & Bloom in 6L airpots.

My problem is that every time I water my plants the ph rises..
Im using lemon juice as a ph down..

Here is a diary of my feeds.. (started the diary almost 3 weeks in)

KEY:
SD1, Strawberry diesel.
SD2, Strawberry diesel.
WW, White Widow.
BH, Blue Hash.
*, Water.
▪, Coco Grow nutes
•, Plant Magic CalMag
R/O, Runoff feed.

19th 01/14

8l* + 40ml▪ + 4ml• PH 6.0.

R/O
SD1 6.5
SD2 6.3
TB 6.5
BH 6.4
ww 6.3

22nd 01/14

7l* + 35ml▪ + 3.5ml• PH 7.0 (Ran out of lemon juice -.-)

SD1 6.9
SD2 6.8
TB 6.9
WW 7.0
BH 7.0

25th 01/14

12l* + 60ml▪ + 6ml• PH 5.6

SD1 5.8
SD2 5.8
TB 5.9
WW 6.5
BH 6.7

29th 01/14
(didn't notice untill now they'd been 3 days without water)

10l* + 60ml▪ + 5ml• PH 5.7

SD1 6.2
SD2 6.2
TB 6.2
BH 6.8
WW 6.6

1st 02/14

12l* + 72ml▪ + 6ml• PH 5.8

SD1 6.5
SD2 6.4
TB 6.4
WW 6.7
BH 6.8

4th 02/14

12l* + 72ml▪ + 6ml• PH 5.6 10.0°c (started recording temps)

SD1 6.7 17.5°
SD2 6.7 17.5°
TB 6.7 18.5°
WW 6.7 16.5°
BH 6.7 15.5°

6th 02/14 (Individual feed)

SD1 2l* + 11ml▪ + 1ml• PH 5.0 16° R/O 6.7
SD2 2l* + 11ml▪ + 1ml• PH 4.3 16° R/O 6.2
TB 2l* + 10ml▪ + 1ml• PH 5.0 14° R/O 6.7
BH 2l* + 12ml▪ + 1ml• PH 4.0 14.5° R/O 6.6
WW 2l* + 12ml▪ + 1ml• PH 4.0 15.5° R/O 6.5

8th 02/14

12l* + 72ml▪ + 6ml• PH 4.5 10°

SD1 6.8 18°
SD2 6.4 15°
WW 7.1 19.5°
TB 6.8 18°
BH 7.0 17.5°

10th 02/14

10l* + 60ml▪ + 5ml• PH5.9 11°

SD1 7.1 17.5°
SD2 6.9 15.5°
TB 7.2 17°
WW 7.1 17°
BH 7.0 16.5°

Today I gave up feeding with a super low PH because the plants are starting to show deficiencys.. not sure if thats because of the low PH or the high PH runoff?

Anyways, how can I sort this out? Will it just be an endless battle against rising PH?

Chears for any help guys


Saafe

have you tried using ph down instead of lemon juice?

Stop using lemon juice. Use either nitric acid, phosphoric acid, or sulfuric acid based pH down.

^like this post

THRE4T2S0CIETY said:

have you tried using ph down instead of lemon juice?

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yeah you need something that wont break down as fast. lemon/lime juice only lasts a bit then it breaks down.

Did your plants look healthy before you started adjusting the PH? I was thinking about trying the AN coco next grow, is it the ph perfect version? That should be heavily cheated and available across a large range of PH.

Brokeoldbloke said:

Did your plants look healthy before you started adjusting the PH? I was thinking about trying the AN coco next grow, is it the ph perfect version? That should be heavily cheated and available across a large range of PH.

Click to expand...

im using air injection soil and my ph got way low. i had to emergency flush them which changed ph up 2% fast they was not happy but i couldn't keep them that low any longer. got ph spots on lower leaves now but they are taking off again so i did the right thing. ill have to invest in dolomite lime if i use soil with organic ferts again.

Ok ill buy the proper ph down see how it goes started getting problems before I started changing the ph..

I use lemon juice to lower my ph every time. It's perfect.

DCobeen said:

yeah you need something that wont break down as fast. lemon/lime juice only lasts a bit then it breaks down.

Click to expand...

This would be sound advice for a soil grow but in a coco grow he should be watering much more frequently. Lemon juice is not his problem.

I'm in 11L pots and watering everyday dude, I would say the same as above^.

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And I'm on advanced nutrients and use tap water 4ml per liter of water atm, don't even bother checking or lowering the ph as advanced nutrients works in a wide ph range.

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Kieran I feel bad for your plants...they don't need water everyday that's the biggest noob mistake and not PHing your water...noob mistake number 2... you're a bad grower. Advanced nutrients are garbage nutes to begin with and all nutes work in a wide range that doesn't mean you shouldn't PH your water so your plants can absorb the nutes at a better rate...

ph your feed to 5.8, and make sure you get a good 10-15% run-off every time you feed. i almost never need ph down. i use diluted pro-tekt for ph up. best to use coco specific nutes... and i feed every day in coco.

Yodaweed said:

Kieran I feel bad for your plants...they don't need water everyday that's the biggest noob mistake and not PHing your water...noob mistake number 2... you're a bad grower. Advanced nutrients are garbage nutes to begin with and all nutes work in a wide range that doesn't mean you shouldn't PH your water so your plants can absorb the nutes at a better rate...

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Coco is a hydroponic system and should be watered every day to be honest. Never with just water.(this removes the buffering products) Always with nutes. Water with 10-20% runoff making sure all of your coco gets watered, every time. I use the canna line of nutes but the AN stuff is still good. Saying that it's garbage is complete nonsense. I found on my dwc grows that using AN ph perfect nutes was great until I started lowering the ph. It's designed to work without ph adjusting the water. Get your runoff right, make sure you saturate the media, and you will be fine. My suggestion is next time you grow with coco, introduce 25% perlite. It helps with drainage. Good luck

Heres some info about coco and it is not a hydroponic system you can use it In drain to waste or a flood tray but a plant just in coco Is not dro I know because I do two different types of dro (aeroponics and DWC) [h=2]Watering with Coco Coir[/h]

• Since coco coir has such a high rate of water retention, it does not have to be watered nearly as often as other peat products or soil. The sponge-like quality of the medium provides a low-maintenance alternative to peat mediums that dry out quickly. Even in the driest conditions, coco coir does not have to be watered more often than every two days.
  
  

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/way_5928836_should-water-coco-coir_.html#ixzz2sy3njziB

A hydroponic system is a system without soil. Simple. A plant only gets it's nutrients in a coco grow from whatever you feed it. There is nothing in the media for it to feed on. You can get away with not watering every day but your plant will not grow as well as it could do if you fed every day with good run off. I am currently growing both coco and dwc and they are two very different setups. I use far more water for my coco grow then I do for my dwc.

Yea ok so if you wanna do wannabe dro from coco this is what you need to do, mix 50% coco and 50% perilite for drainage, use a smartpot (fabric pot) and put some volcanic stones at the bottom of the pot. I used to grow in wannabe dro too but then I bought a real hydroponic system and never looked back.

And the reason that your DWC setup doesn't use as much water and nutes is because it's a recirculating system meaning the water just goes in a circle and is reused.

Yodaweed said:

Yea ok so if you wanna do wannabe dro from coco this is what you need to do, mix 50% coco and 50% perilite for drainage, use a smartpot (fabric pot) and put some volcanic stones at the bottom of the pot. I used to grow in wannabe dro too but then I bought a real hydroponic system and never looked back.

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I use a 75% coco 25% perlite mix. Works well. I use 39 litre pots.

When I use my dwc system, I use 30 litre pots.

My last grow on dwc after vegging for 6 weeks on 12 plants and using 6x 600 watts saw me average around 6-7 oz dry from each plant.

My last grow on coco after vegging for 6 weeks on 14 plants using 6x 600 watts saw me average close to 9oz per plant.

I know which I am sticking with.