Hydroponic the PPM & PH problem

Itis not safe to use swimming pool.

I do agree with the vinegar and hydrated line is a great buffer. as menitoned if you can get it and figure outhow to make it work in hydro system. BTW. What type of system are you running?

Or; a bit of baking soda. :slight_smile: good homemade opton all around. Old school

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Here we go. There are 3 highly touted acids used in commercial hydroponics.

#1 Boric acid - the best and expensive as hell, so seldom used. Maybe you can find some at a decent price.

#2 Phosphoric acid - What is generally used in greenhouses and drip fileds.

#3 Sulfuric acid - This is the acid used to fuel batteries in cars. You cannot use battery acid out of a battery

You must buy fresh battery refill boxes just like you would use to refresh a motorcycle or car battery. What you buy at the auto supply is diluted sulfuric acid. Just as clean as anything else. This is probalby your #1 hcoice to actually find. Again; You might find the others if you friend a hydro farmer that you can trust.

**I have experimented and used sulfuric acid many times with no ill effect

#4 Nitric acid. We donā€™t generally use this, but again; when nothign else is available, you use what you can find as long as it is safe to consume, especially smoking!

If you answer my quesitons, I can provide more info.

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No one i know is using hydroponics. (Infact no one grows anything). This is just my hobby and im just messing with the Kratky method right now, thatā€™s my system.

So i canā€™t use swimming pool PH adjusters, what else can i use? Iā€™ve tried baking soda and vinegar they both arenā€™t reliable enough to hold the PH at a certain point (3 days and the solution PH is back to where it started).

For PH down im guessing battery acid
For PH up?

Read the post above all about acids you could use.

Also. I wrote a paper on GH 3 -part, which is what you have and it works great. You do not need any nutrients until you have 4-5 alternating nodes on your seedling.

I ask again. What is the ph of your source water?

Make sure you read the post above your last post where I describe the best hcoices you have and should be able to find one of them.

I check you out again tomorrow. Have a good day.

7.4 PH plain tap water

I am not using any nutrients for the seedling, figured that one when i read seedlings donā€™t need nutes until 4th week or so. Hence plain water/PHed/nute water wonā€™t matter till week 4 i think . But i might start feeding before the 3rd node cause of the slow ass growth and to try not to stall growth.

Yea, i can get that battery acid probably. So what about PH up? (Hydrated Lime solution?)

So swimming pool PH adjusters are not an option??

PH of water 7.4 = this means you should never need ph UP. As long as you donā€™t go crazy and dump too much acid into reservoir. You should never go below 5.8, and should never need to raise PH.

If you needed to raise PH. Just add your 7.4 PH into reservoir.

It is not battery acid. It is Sulfuric Acid. This will definitely solve your problem and I have used it and believe it does remain stable.

Very little ar first. Mix some water in a 5 gallon bucket. 2-3 gallons of water and add 1 ml at a time until you get down into the low 6.xxx ph and let sit for a while. Stir it good and check to see if ir has changed. Keep track of how much you add to the water and by using only 3 gallons, you can alway add some of your 7.4 ph water back, if you add to much acid. I use a little 5 ml dropper which works great. As I recall, a battery trfill kit ā€œsulfuricā€ acid only took me about 2ml for 4 gallons of nutrient soluiton. You do not need much.

I am kind of tired, so if I missed anything. Give me a shout tomorrow.

Fantastic. I feel like we made some progress. Cannot wait.

Your seedling are in rough shape. You make the decision, but I owuld try to get some roots developed for sure. The signs of being twisted is probably due to the ph. I keep my cubes in a tray with no medium and no water after intial soaking and spritz them as needed. If I notice cube going too dry. I add just a bit of water intothe tray for the starter plug to soak up.

I hope this all works out for you. You might have to try a couple more seeds, but let us all try to save these first my friend.

Peace, until tomorrow. lw

Just donā€™t go overboard, go slow and get your measurements and you will come to find it easy in no time at all.

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Thing is when i make a nute solution the if i want a PPM of say around 600 the PH would drop to around 2. Thatā€™s why i also need a PH up, i know i sound like a broken record, but what about Pool PH adjusters for PH up?

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Your descrtion of issues atthis point make me feel like you ph and tds meter are not functioning properly.

With all you have invested; I would recommend buying another ph pen or 2 and a new tds meter.

The readings you share make no sense, unless the teters are off.

Until you get the acid I recommended; You will not be able to remedy your issues.

I hope you canmake that happen. :wink:

Ph of 2 says your ph meter isnā€™t working

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I got the sulphuric acid!

Ill get new meters np.

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That is fantastic. You can now function. I am so happy.

Please answer 3 qurdtions. Even if you have told me before; I need this info in order to give you best hydro advice.

Once you get new ph, and tds meters.

  1. What is the PPM of your source water?

  2. What is PH of source water?

  3. Exactly what hydro method or system are you planning to use?

Please answer these questions and we can set you on a path to successful growing.

Note: You may need to buy a Reverse-Osmosis filter, if your ppm/tds is extremely high.

With kind regards. lw

Source/tap water

  1. PPM = 300

  2. PH = 7.4

  3. DWC method

I can get distilled water, the most nutrient free water i have is from the Air Conditioning drain (wicks moisture from the air). It has a PPM of 60

Ohā€¦Hell eyah!!! We can kill it.

Get some Rockwool 1.5" ofr propagation.

You are almost set up for success.

What lights are you able to get? Please do not say CFLā€¦If you doā€¦No worries. We will find a way, as we did with the acid.

I am awake if you reply.

I got rapid rooter plugs on me. Right now i have


http___luckyretail.com_Uploadfile_202003281_373098_373098-3

These two cheap grow lights. I have done a grow with the 2nd one, the plants like it (they dont die atleast lol)

https://www.amazon.com/LVJING-Vegetables-Greenhouse-Hydroponic-Protective/dp/B07VDPC3D2

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bestgoods-LED-Grow-Light-Plant-Growing-Lamp-3000W-144LEDs-Full-Spectrum-Sunlight-2-Modes-Adjustable-Indoor-Hydroponic-Plants-Veg-Flower-Power-Plug-Ca/361303270

This one is not as described, i cannot switch light modes but i think rest of the specifications are as defined

Let us keep talking.

So, you have a couple blutples.

You said you do not get amazon, but you showed me amazon items. Are you just using amazon as a reference to show me what you have?

Check next post messageā€¦

OK. if those are your lights. Many would say that they may not be the best lights you can egt. OKā€¦That is OKā€¦

That is what you have. We can always help you build your own, perhpas, or buy a better light. Keep in mind and stay positive. The lights you have will grow decent plants and you can upgrade later.

Your lights were not your downfall. It was the PH issue and water that needs to be Reverse-Osmosis treated. Distilled is great and I used it originally in my first DWC. that is a lot of water to tote around.

In the end, it was much cheaper to buy an EO unit, and I can link you to a rtpe I recommend for you ro find in your area.

I just googled the lights and thought itā€™d be easier if i gave you the amazon links. Okay, iā€™ll look around for R.O.

So for now ill be looking at :

  1. PH, get it to around 5.5

  2. Temperature. Day 30 Degrees C, Night 24 Degrees C

  3. PPM

Iā€™m gonna build a clone box for my seedling, that a good idea? Get a air pump and a water reservoir, in the mix. What im imagining is ill leave a a little ( half inche gap) between the water level and the net pots, and hope the bubbles will splash enough water around to keep the starter plugs moist and airy?

Hold upā€¦Not too fast. Thanks for the Amazon links. Glad you like that diea. Yes. I thought you were just showing me llights. We are on smae page.

No. Since you have acid. pH at 6.0.

We need to start at the beginning. where are you at? Starting over or trying to save the seedlings I saw last week?

  1. Your temps are OK for propagation and veg. Can you control temp and humidity? What is humidity.

  2. Indoor or outdoor

  3. You need ait pump and airstones. Netpots. and hydroton expanded clay ot some rock medium.