Ok so just just got finished mixing up some food for my girls and used what seemed a ton of ph down by general hydro. For 1 gal mix I had to use 25 drops about 1.5 ml.
I have always used RO water but it sick of try to remineralize my water before adding nutes so I switched to my tap water which I remove the chlorine. My tap water is 16 grains hard, PH 7.9 and TDS 250 so not to bad for city water.
I mixed 1gal with… 3ml calmag… 3 tsp big bloom (organic)…1 tsp grow big (salt based) = PH 7.8 TDS 950. Then I had to add 1.5ml approximately to get the ph down to 6.2. Does that seem like alot? Am I just used to the RO big ph swings because of the lack of a buffer in RO water.
Asking this of anyone that uses tap water and yes before you ask my PH meter is up to par. Its lab grade and calibrated. Thanks in advance for any help
That does seem like a lot for 1 gal but I’m not sure how concentrated that PH down is. I usually add about 2-3ml for about 40 gallons. I do find that you have to give it a bit of time to fully mix and won’t show the proper value right away but then again that is in much more volume.
Seems like a lot but some times it can be like that. I usually add microbes and that will bring the Ph down. I know it isn’t a guaranteed Ph result but you can guarantee that it will lower it. I figured you would get a lot of text book questions and answers, so I hope this mixes it up.
I use well water which is only about 7.2 ph but is 420 ppm oust the tap. With phosphoric acid I usually need 1ml/gal and if I use battery electrolyte solution(dilute sulfuric acid) I need 2ml/gal to get to 6.0 which is what I run at in coco.
Look at your local auto parts store for battery acid and make your own ph down. I added a cup to 2- liter bottle of water. $10-15 and I had a gallon of strong ph down.
I’m growing in soil and have been for a few years and I find you absolutely need to ph your water and feed. Rain water has no minerals and is naturally acid however the soil will only buffer the rain water if you something to buffer like lime stone. Companies add buffers to soil. Fox farm uses oyster shell but in my experience that won’t last the entire grow.
You can build a soil that doesn’t require you ph your water but most bought soils will require a ph adjustment before the the grow is over. I personally would like to avoid lockout and ph issues so ill keep checking my ph.
Your anecdote is contrary to mine but valid, I appreciate your feedback. Odds are ignorance is bliss in my case but to counter that, I’ve been gardening since I was a kid and growing cannabis sure seems a lot more complicated than any other gardening I learned when I read about it, but not when I practice it …
I just wanted to say 25 drops equals 5/4~1.3 ml for tap water not 1.5. you already had +20% error and if I’m not wrong this error increases with concentrated solution.
as soon as you think you have it all figured out and dialed in shit goes sideways. For a damn weed it sure can be a SOB sometimes. Lol