PH question

[gitgud420]

Hey yall. New grower here. Got a odd question coming your way.

Im growing in soil with biobizz nutes. My tapwater is about 8-8.3. Ive been using this with no ph adjustments what so ever since most forums say you dont need to when growing organic. I do however think my plants got problems because of this.
Ive read that you can use lime to get your ph down and would like to try it out. Does anyone have experince on how much limejuice i need to add to correct atleast 1 liter of 8.0 PH water to about 7 PH?

Also, how much does biobizz nuts add or lower the PH? I also bought some epsom salt to get my mag up abit. How much should i use pr liter water? Does the salt buff or lower the ph of the water?

Peace peeps

 

[drsaltzman]

I think you have too much going on for a newbie. Forget the epsom salts and lime right now.

My 8.0 tap falls right into range with just the nutes added (GH Floranova).
If I am adding just water I put a pinch of citric acid to lower it into range.
Lime is going to raise your PH, not lower it. Do not add lime.
In fact, don't add anything at this point.

Some pics would help.

 

[drsaltzman]

Duh ... you meant lime "juice". I thought you meant dolomite lime.
Citric acid is organic. You can get a whole big bag for cheap on Amazon or even at some supermarkets.
Start with a pinch. Check and add. Add your nutes first though because that will lower your PH off the bat.

 

[hotrodharley]

Hey yall. New grower here. Got a odd question coming your way.

Im growing in soil with biobizz nutes. My tapwater is about 8-8.3. Ive been using this with no ph adjustments what so ever since most forums say you dont need to when growing organic. I do however think my plants got problems because of this.
Ive read that you can use lime to get your ph down and would like to try it out. Does anyone have experince on how much limejuice i need to add to correct atleast 1 liter of 8.0 PH water to about 7 PH?

Also, how much does biobizz nuts add or lower the PH? I also bought some epsom salt to get my mag up abit. How much should i use pr liter water? Does the salt buff or lower the ph of the water?

Peace peeps

Do you have any idea what the EC/PPM of your water is?

 

[gitgud420]

Duh ... you meant lime "juice". I thought you meant dolomite lime.
Citric acid is organic. You can get a whole big bag for cheap on Amazon or even at some supermarkets.
Start with a pinch. Check and add. Add your nutes first though because that will lower your PH off the bat.

Cool. Ill try not to overthink this. I just want some dense buds damn it

Do you have any idea what the EC/PPM of your water is?

No idea bro. I have not bought a ph or ec meter yet. I soon get some ph papers in the mail though

 

[hotrodharley]

Cool. Ill try not to overthink this. I just want some dense buds damn it



No idea bro. I have not bought a ph or ec meter yet. I soon get some ph papers in the mail though

Look online for your water company quality report. Check the breakdown on minerals.

 

[gitgud420]

Look online for your water company quality report. Check the breakdown on minerals.

The only info i found was calcium. 20 mg/l. I guess thats not alot

 

[Lucky Luke]

Cool. Ill try not to overthink this. I just want some dense buds damn it



No idea bro. I have not bought a ph or ec meter yet. I soon get some ph papers in the mail though

How do you know what the PH of your tap water is if you haven't PH'd it?
Pics would be good.

 

[gitgud420]

How do you know what the PH of your tap water is if you haven't PH'd it?
Pics would be good.

I asked the company who supply it. Ill give a pic tomorrow bruh

 

[Lucky Luke]

I asked the company who supply it. Ill give a pic tomorrow bruh

You may find that the PH may change from them to you.

I think your problem lies elsewhere. Soil buffers by fair amount. Ever been to a Botanical garden? Plants from all over the world growing in the same soil.

 

[hotrodharley]

The only info i found was calcium. 20 mg/l. I guess thats not alot

That's very soft water. You'll need occasional cal mag. Not just Epsom salts because that's only magnesium. Important.

 

[greencropper]

citric acid(buy from ebay) in powder form mixed with distilled water is the most cost effective method of lowering ph ive found yet, i mix(blender) six standard cupfulls in quart of distilled water then add to main water reservoir, that quart is enough to down around 1000gal of very high alkaline water

 

[drsaltzman]

You may find that the PH may change from them to you.

I think your problem lies elsewhere. Soil buffers by fair amount. Ever been to a Botanical garden? Plants from all over the world growing in the same soil.

Even if his problem is elsewhere, learning how to PH water is a good practice.
It will never hurt you to put proper PH'd water in soil.
And sometimes it will come in handy, especially with store bought soil. Or when flushing salts.

 

[Lucky Luke]

Even if his problem is elsewhere, learning how to PH water is a good practice.
It will never hurt you to put proper PH'd water in soil.
And sometimes it will come in handy, especially with store bought soil. Or when flushing salts.

Store bought potting mixes generally have a fairly neutral PH as that way it suites the vast majority of plants.
People are more than welcome to PH whatever they like. I'm just letting the OP know that they don't need to.

 

[gitgud420]

 

[CMOYK]

citric acid(buy from ebay) in powder form mixed with distilled water is the most cost effective method of lowering ph ive found yet, i mix(blender) six standard cupfulls in quart of distilled water then add to main water reservoir, that quart is enough to down around 1000gal of very high alkaline water

Hello greencropper.
My tap water is 350 ppm, straight from the tap.
Can i use distilled water in a mix with the tap water to reduce the ppm of the water?

 

[greencropper]

Hello greencropper.
My tap water is 350 ppm, straight from the tap.
Can i use distilled water in a mix with the tap water to reduce the ppm of the water?

yes you can, im using bore water which is up around 800-1000ppm, im running it through filters to bring it down to 150ppm, i use distilled water to mix the citric acid powder with because it remains in solution after mixing, if i use the bore water to mix with it will not stay dissolved and separates after a day or 2, maybe you can look at some form of filter to cut down on that high tapwater ppm?

 

[CMOYK]

yes you can, im using bore water which is up around 800-1000ppm, im running it through filters to bring it down to 150ppm, i use distilled water to mix the citric acid powder with because it remains in solution after mixing, if i use the bore water to mix with it will not stay dissolved and separates after a day or 2, maybe you can look at some form of filter to cut down on that high tapwater ppm?

I found some 190L, a day reverse osmosis system. I plan on investing on one, before my 2nd grow. And by the way what kind of system are you using? RO?
My ppm meter was off the other day, i calibrated it, and measured my tap water at 330 ppm\ is it still high for tap water ppm ?

 

[greencropper]

I found some 190L, a day reverse osmosis system. I plan on investing on one, before my 2nd grow. And by the way what kind of system are you using? RO?
My ppm meter was off the other day, i calibrated it, and measured my tap water at 330 ppm\ is it still high for tap water ppm ?

yes im using an RO system, it can do 3000 ltr per day, my water is 50ppm after going through it, im not an expert on how much ppm & what type of minerals which make up that water profile would be best, you may have to ask more experienced people here/elsewhere on that issue, i know here with the extremely high ppm that the plants cannot grow with it, it has to be filtered, and the filters(sediment) block every 5000 ltrs and need to be replaced/cleaned, ive a lot to learn about it all yet only having started a few weeks ago