What causes PH to change
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mj320002
Well-Known Member
It might be the rockwool. Did you soak the rockwool in some 4-5 ph water? Also you should ph the water after you add the nutes and try to put it right around 5.8.
You should probably leech the rockwool a few times until the water coming out the bottom is the same as the water you put in. Just use your regular nutrient mix at 5.8 and pour enough to have the water just run through the cubes then check the ph of the runoff.
You should probably leech the rockwool a few times until the water coming out the bottom is the same as the water you put in. Just use your regular nutrient mix at 5.8 and pour enough to have the water just run through the cubes then check the ph of the runoff.
trains strain
Well-Known Member
hey dude im in the same boat. i did a res change last night with RO water, added my nutes, ph levels were at about 4.8 at that time and ppms were 800, then i let it sit for an hour before swapping tubs, checked the ph and ppm again ph-4.8 (so i added some of my homemade ph up (baking soda and RO water), brought it to 5.8. ppms were 850 now
then this morning checked again and sure enough my ph was 6.8 and now i got it at 5.9. i think also, since im using hydroton, it changesthe ph levels too even though it waspre soaked and crap.
all i can say is keep adjusting, the more your plants eat the more of a ph change you will get, im pretty sure anyways haha.
good luck
then this morning checked again and sure enough my ph was 6.8 and now i got it at 5.9. i think also, since im using hydroton, it changesthe ph levels too even though it waspre soaked and crap.
all i can say is keep adjusting, the more your plants eat the more of a ph change you will get, im pretty sure anyways haha.
good luck
homebrew420
Well-Known Member
Hydroton is inert. It will not change the pH of your solution. The salt buildup will as will nutrient uptake by the plants themselves.
Jizzmaster0
New Member
I use a Bubbleponics system and after I do a res change I notice my Ph goes up for the first 2 days or so then stabilizes. I have a 12 inch air stone in a 10 gal tub. I dont use a PPM meter or EC meter but it has something to do with the nute changes when the plants eat and when you add more. then the air stone prob affects it.
laserbrn
Well-Known Member
It's algae...you got green shit on your rockwool cubes and/or hydroton? It raises your PH.
Cover your resevior and make sure it's not getting light first off...then if you can cover the rockwool with something and it won't do it next time.
I do really short grows so I just cope with it. On longer grows Algae tends to be a problem. You are growing algae INSTEAD of pot after a point. It eats so much of your nutrients and raises your PH so much you will be quite frustrated.
Jizzmaster0
New Member
Yeah I clean my res every 7 days and i feel ya on the algae. I cover my cups with white dixie cup paper bowls I cut then slice like a thin pie wedge for the stem. Does a good job of keeping light out, doesnt get soggy since it's lined w wax, and costs pennies. I think I should also cover my res lid w foil or poly too for extra dark.
laserbrn
Well-Known Member
Yeah algea feeds on all the C02 in your water and thus it raises the PH. Not a huge deal, but it can be if you let it go too long.
HappyHomeGrower
Well-Known Member
I had a similar problem but my PH went down to about 4.5 which burnt the plant pretty bad. I still don't know what caused it. Now I check the PH every other day. The issue has not presented itself again yet. Strange...
laserbrn
Well-Known Member
PPM goes up when you have too much nutrient OR too much evaporation. @ the ideal ppm the ppm will stay and not fluctuate or just slightly drop.
So if algae becomes a problem how do you cure it? I covered the rockwool to prevent it from growing any more and the situation has improved, but is there something i can do to get rid of it. In a day or two I'll do a water change but i kind of want to get a handle on it before i make too many changes.
smartbadguy
Well-Known Member
try checkin your ph scale may be dead batt.
pinspot
Well-Known Member
Some of the nute company's add an organic acid to make a chelated calcium in their products. What it does is makes it much easier for the plants to uptake the calcium. Another thing it does is temporarily lower the PH on the initial mix. They say you should not add PH up because The PH will rise naturally as the plants take up the chelated calcium in one or two days. Personally I Do the mix, then let it sit for two days with an air stone until the PH comes back up to usually 7.5. Then I'll add PH down to get it to my preferred 5.8.
This could possibly be your problem, only If you where using PH up during your initial mix.
I Think the original posters problem was not compleatly flushing the rockwool cubes before soaking in the 5.5 solution.
trains strain
Well-Known Member
thanks for the info, ive been wondering for a while now. my nutes say they are ph balanced to 5.8 and was curious as to why it was changing so drastically from the start. from now on ill do exactly that, no ph up, let it sit for a few days running the stone and add ph down if needed. thanks very very much appreciated
So if I didnt prep the rockwool properly what can I do about it now? Will it come around at some point by itself?
laserbrn
Well-Known Member
Don't worry about it, just keep using PH down...
Soaking the rockwool will help, but with the algae there you are going to have rising PH. It's such a common issue with Rockwool cubes.
I grow strictly in rockwool and this time around I didn't cover my cubes....mistake. I've gone through a ridiculous amount of PH down now and I'm flushing my res every 10 days to avoid real problems from the excessive PH adjustments...ohh well, lesson learned.
Try to slap it all together in a jiff in the beginning.
