are there ph down products that work better than others? im currently using GH ph down but anytime I drop the ph of my drain to waste reservoir it will slowly clime back up. I'm currently using RO but I'd like to get off of it and goto just filtered tap water. its about 7.8 starting PH so it needs alot of adjustment. is there possibly a nutrient lineup that drops the ph enough that would remain stable because ph down only seems to work for a day or so.
ph won't stay down
- Thread starter calenk
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Palmerrdgrower
Well-Known Member
That’s all I get.
eyderbuddy
Well-Known Member
Lowering the PH and holding it stable are 2 different things. In a balanced system PH should remain relatively stable. Did you check for light leaks or places that could encourage bacterial growth such as stagnant spots?
GH PH down is pretty much diluted phosphoric acid, by the way...
GH PH down is pretty much diluted phosphoric acid, by the way...
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
Why would you want to downgrade from RO to Filtered Tap?
it's in a pretty light sealed res with a pump constantly circulating. when using RO water it is pretty stable. I don't use any ph down and it ends up at 6.6 which is kinda high but plants seem to be fine with it. thing is I wanna get away from Ro so it's gonna need the ph dropped.
it just a pain. takes too long to make for the amount I'm using, wastes alot of water, and is a constant hassle. yesterday it slowed to producing only about 4 gallons a day and the filters are only 3 months old. so now I have to tear it all apart and see what's the problem.
eyderbuddy
Well-Known Member
Tap water has buffers in place to keep the PH high in order to keep the pipes from rusting. If you need a stronger PH Down solution, make your own using Phosphoric acid or another (safer) alternative.
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
sulfuric (battery acid). any auto parts store has it. just mix it correctly.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Phosphoric or Nitric acids are best as they are also a macro nutrient. Use Nitric in veg and Phosphoric in flower.
70's natureboy
Well-Known Member
Usually the PH goes up with tap water and not RO water. You must have some uncommon nutes
Michael Huntherz
Well-Known Member
Yes. Totally.
RO is likely the problem here. If you are feeding very light nutrients (can you share what is your EC or TDS?) and RO water then you won’t have much total alkalinity which causes unstable pH, aka swing.
Use a mix of RO and tap water, is my suggestion. Your pH meter will not be accurate when testing plain RO, by the way, there is not enough EC for a non-scientific instrument (think hundreds of dollars) to measure accurately. Try 50/50 tap/RO and see how it goes.
Tapwater is not necessarily a “downgrade” from RO. I honestly cannot imagine what that is supposed to mean. Municipal tapwater varies too widely by source and even by time of year to make such an assertion viable. I use tap exclusively, but it usually comes out about 130ppm and 7.0 pH, and surprisingly safe. Look up the municipal water data for your address, OP.
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I dislike AN for many reasons but their pH down is the best, sigh. As for pH up there are cheaper and better alternatives on Amazon.
Michael Huntherz
Well-Known Member
Good to know, I have been thinking about diluting some sulfuric acid myself, as someone suggested, but that’s nasty stuff to have around. The scale of it doesn’t really work for me, either. I only need pH down about half of the year, when the water table is low and EC from the tap is a bit higher, and then only a little bit. AN may get some of my money.
thing is its stable with RO water but not with Tap. running about 700ppm at the moment. I'm gonna try adjusting it repeatedly to see if it eventually stabilizes
Palmerrdgrower
Well-Known Member
I use my dehumidifier water to bring down the ppm and my ph stays good longer
myke
Well-Known Member
Hmmm,something like as said above is in your tap water,Epson salt also helps drop ph.
Michael Huntherz
Well-Known Member
Something is wrong with your measurements, or I would have to guess you have biological contaminants in your tap water. Otherwise that makes approximately zero sense. Good luck in any case.
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
what nutes are you using? and what is your whole nute recipe: everything you put in?