What am I doing wrong? Ive only added liquid kelp. I check my Ph its 4.5. Ive been adding ph up and mixing and retesting to the point I checked my meter twice to make sure I wasnt doing something wrong. Just got so irritated I poured the whole gallon of water down the drain.
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What pH up are you using?
Are you using an electronic meter?
Are you using R/O or rainwater?
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Spring water, general hydroponics ph up. No electric mixer.
You’re testing with strips or drops? OK, good, we can rule out a faulty or uncalibrated meter.
GH pH up is a good product and it doesn’t “go bad” so that can’t be the problem.
Try mixing a gallon with tapwater. It is very possible the spring water you’re using has almost nil alkalinity.
It is unlikely the pH of the kelp is so low as to just crash pH entirely unless you’re starting with very soft water.
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Thank you so much! I will try tap. Ive read alot on PH and nutrient absorption* but didnt see this, could you point me in a direction to educate myself on this interaction?
*feel like ive read alot
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It’s called alkalinity. It’s a measure of resistance to pH change. dkH.
Usually higher pH tapwater is more alkaline as well. The dissolved calcium and magnesium keep it high.
If you add nutrients to distilled water (zero dissolved minerals) pH can easily be 4.0 or less.
If you add nutrients to my extremely hard tapwater, the pH is about 6.5-7
Bottled spring water can be either, but I’m willing to bet it’s very soft if a little kelp tanked your pH.
I’m sure there’s some videos out there. I learned it from aquarium hobby.
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Ahhhh. I will take myself back to high school lol! It might be distilled. my father in law gave it to us. Thought it was spring because thats what they usually get. He just got too much.
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@vernal I checked the ppm of our tap water and it is 69. That should more than fine right?
also, with the tap water it seems one ml is only raising it by .2
That’s much lower than mine, but much better than distilled. There are additives to increase alkalinity.
Seachem Alkaline Buffer is one, but any calcium product or cal-mag will increase pH and alkalinity.
Silica products also raise pH and alkalinity. One of the few additives I use.
1mL is also not very much at all.
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I wasnt sure how much ph up to add at a time. Is there a rule of thumb per gallon?
Each pH up formula is varying in strength. Start with directions, work up from there.
I use silica as pH up. I’ve pretty much always had hard water, and hydroxide based pH up is something I’ve never needed.
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That helps alot. I have protekt and want to try that in the future. Instead of giving it on a schedule.
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I use it pretty much every time I mix nutrients. It’s great stuff.
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That’s what I’ve been doing lately and it works just fine. My well water is a ph of around 5.9-6.0 and when I add fertilizer it takes it to 5.5. 1/8 tsp per gal on Agsil gets me to 5.8 -6.0. Works out great LOL
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I agree that silica is a great ph up, and your plants will love it - it improves resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens, strengthens cell walls, promotes plant growth, increases resistance to insects and pests, as well as heavy metals, improves tolerance to drought and heat stress. But, be aware that too much silica can make the leaves very tough to the point that they may become brittle. I generally use about 1/4 ml per gal at each watering and stop using it a couple of weeks before harvest.
Also, check your ingredients of your silica and be aware of the difference between potassium silicate and monosilicic acid. Many growers think that they’re applying silica products when they’re really applying silicon products, however, not all silicon products are silica. Here is a breakdown to make it easier to understand:
- Silica: aka silicon dioxide (SiOâ‚‚). Found in the mineral quartz and a major part of sand.
- Silicic Acid: a general term for compounds that contain silicon (Si), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H)
- Monosilicic Acid: aka orthosilicic acid Si(OH)â‚„
- Silicates: compounds containing oxygen and silicon - including potassium silicate and calcium silicate
- Silicon: a chemical element (Si)
Plants can’t take up or use potassium silicate. It must be converted to monosilicic acid by bacteria . Applying potassium silicate does not have the same effects as applying monosilicic acid.
Also, the pH of a solution impacts the form of silicon in solution. Moderately basic (a pH above 8), monosilicic acid will react with minerals which causes the silicon to precipitate out as a solid. So, if you are using silicon to lower the PH of anything above 6.0 you may suffer from precipitation.
Sorry to hijack the thread for a minute, but I felt it was important to discuss the possible dangers of using silicon to lower the ph of any water above 6.0, and to clarify the differences between different “silica” products to avoid confusion.
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Thank you for sharing and you definitely didnt hijack!! It helps me understand the science of it therefore, I can act accordingly in confidence (understanding reactions). I hope someone else finds some helpful information here!
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I am glad it helped you out. You might want to check out my DIY threads here on OG: PH Up, PH Down, M.O.A.B., Snowstorm Ultra, Hammerhead, Cal-Mag+, CarboLoad, Terpinator
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I know who to bug for extra reading now. Thank you so much!! Ill take time to read.
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I’ve never had any precipitates in a solution above 6.0 using any SI product. I think monosilicic acid is hogwash anyways. None of them have the available silicon that Agsil does and it’s price makes it laughable LOL. total waste of money
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