Im almost out of my ph down and I have to get more. I seen there is a big difference in price of General Hydroponics and other brands. Dose it make a difference? Is there certain ones I should stay away from? I’m a ferm believer in you get what you pay for but money is tight. Covid sucks.
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Cyco brand is great. It’s just phosphoric acid and very cheap, concentrated, and sold in most hydro stores. It’s what I use. $10 bottle lasts me a year or more.
GH isn’t the best pH down. It is a mix of phosphoric and citric acid.
Auto store battery acid (sulfuric) is also good. Pure sulfuric acid drain cleaner also works. Dilute them a little before you work with them for safety. Acid to water, not the other way around.
For pH up I use silica products. Protekt is a good one. Raises pH and is a silicon/potassium supplement. Two birds stoned at once.
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Vinegar or lemon juice brings it DOWN
Bakeing soda brings it UP
Baking soda is a poor adjustment product. It raises alkalinity more than pH, and the sodium is unnecessary. It’s also temporary.
Potassium hydroxide or potassium silicate is much better.
Citric acid (lemons) and vinegar (acetic acid) are also weak acids that are temporary and feed bacteria growth. Much better options exist.
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I’m running DWC vinegar and lemon juice would not stay stable enough. I appreciate the information tho @CADMAN. I found some GH down for 10 bucks. That’s not bad. I just seen other products where you can get both for 15 bucks. So I decided to ask. Plus I’m shure someone could refer to this in the future.
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yes differences
Who do you recommend @Who?
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battery acid for down still on the fence for up … the differences I see are cost and drift and ease of use
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Dose this sound right?
Get a gallon of distilled water, pour out 2 cups. Put 1 cup of battery acid in your gallon jug of water. Wait a minute or two. Put top back on.
Dose it mater what kind?
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I can’t speak to differences but I use Root Farm brand and it seems to work fine. I think it was $6 for a small bottle.
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Some differences I noticed:
- different acids for PH- (phosphoric, nitric, sulphuric, citric with P2O5 being the most common)
- different concentrations, with ~25% being the most common
I chose Plagron PH Min for it’s high 59% concentration of P2O5 for pretty much the same price as everyone else… I don’t believe in grow phase specific PH regulators, they don’t affect the ppm’s enough to be relevant (in concentrations that I need).
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I think its called growth technology ph down or up is very strong. You dont need much and is very stable. Good pricing too.
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