Yesterday i made a bucket of ph water at 6.7 and when i came back to it earlier this morning it shot up to 7.8.
When it comes to the ph of water, do you guys ph a whole bucket of water to use throughout a few days or do you make new ph water every time you want to water you plants?
Ph at the time of water/feed. Your ph will drift as is sits out. My first grow, I ph’d about a gallon of water and for the first couple weeks of true watering, was just using that without checking. Turns out, the ph drifted and was watering way out of range. Best advice, ph every watering.
pH rising is normal as acid attacks impurities in the air and water balancing accordingly. Monitor what’s coming out as well as what’s going in. pH is a cornerstone to feeding and nutrient availability. The amount of pH down and type of acid it is has different bearings from grower to grower due to the differences in the water sources they’re using.
What is the "optimum " pH for just water that I am feeding. And when I ad neuts I assume I target the same ph??
You’re really trying to target the optimum ph of your grow medium. The ph going in will usually vary to get the runoff ph you’re looking for. Here is a chart for optimum levels in different mediums. Soiless on the left. Soil on the right
I’m using FFOF ( once transplanted aprox 4/5 days from now) the April reeds 7.7 on my tap water, so I assume I need to lower it a bit. But what target #?
You’ll want to start at 6.5 and see what your runoff is. The bag of ocean Forrest I have likes to drift down to 6.1 so you counter that by going in a little higher. I was feeding/watering around 6.8-7.0 to get a runoff of 6.5
Ok, since I’m at 7.7 , adjust down to about 7ish and check runoff? Also I’m letting a gal of tap water sit for an hour or so and see if it stays stable.
I would start @ 6.5 since that is your target. Check your runoff after and see where your soil is at. I have noticed the soil ph does vary from bag to bag. Or you could do a slurry test and see where it’s at now and it’ll give you a better idea of what ph to start with. I.E. slurry test meters at 6.2ph, ph your water to 6.8 to try and hit your target of 6.5
As far as the adj. goes am I talking a few drops of “down” per gal ? and try to sneek up to the proper reading or use more to make diff. Just have no idea as to the technique.
The PH down will change drastically per drop. Mine took 10 drops to go from 7.3 to 6.5. I used one of those baby medicine syringes. PH up, on the other hand takes quite a bit more. It took about 7mg’s to bring PH up from 6.0 to 6.5. Start with a few drops, shake the water, then test and adjust if needed. After a few times you’ll figure out exactly how much to use.
Thanks, now I have a plan. Can I assume there is a “settleing” time between up/dn add and testing? A few seconds,minuets??? Ya I’m real green! LOL but learning. Think I have the basic equip right now just learning how to use it.
2x4x5 tent,HLG 260XL LED Light, Aperia ph20 tester. Online fan and carbon exhust system.
Just retested after sitting for 20 min and it has dropped to 7.4 will ck again in 20 min.
Some say there’s no need to let sit before testing. I do give it 5-10 minutes to settle.
OK…Ph out of tap is 7.7, adj. to 6.5 and tested run off at 6.7. What to watch for now ppm?
