harbatures
Well-Known Member
Hello im I have very hard water and need to use alot of ph down then normal to get the ph to move down. Is this ok? Dont want to hurt by using to much just to get it down where I need it.
Hard water & ph
- Thread starter harbatures
- Start date
Billy the Mountain
Well-Known Member
It depends on how hard your "very hard" water is. What EC? Can you view your local water report?
Yes it is, I was just talking about this.
my tap is around 430ppm and 8.5ph. I was going through tons of ph down everyday. Eventually I started seeing issues from the hard water and switched to filtered, and suddenly the ph down/up was like 5x as effective.
i actually had to dilute the ph down cuz i kept going over on accident.
my tap is around 430ppm and 8.5ph. I was going through tons of ph down everyday. Eventually I started seeing issues from the hard water and switched to filtered, and suddenly the ph down/up was like 5x as effective.
i actually had to dilute the ph down cuz i kept going over on accident.
harbatures
Well-Known Member
I dont have a ec meter as of now. But I do have RO water filter too. Its takes 2 drops to get it down a whole point in 5 gallon bucket when using RO water. But when using water from my house, I'm using about a full small eye droppers worth. How much ph down would be adding to much and hurt the plants would be better question?
Billy the Mountain
Well-Known Member
You need enough pH down to counteract the alkalinity of your water. RO has essentially none, so it takes very little to "move the needle".
Tap has much more alkalinity and requires more acid to lower the pH.
Tap has much more alkalinity and requires more acid to lower the pH.
Herb & Suds
Well-Known Member
Just wait till you try adding silicate your ph soars
Seriously though
I don’t know your medium but I grow in pro-mix which is essentially peat and my well water is 8.1
I don’t check ph anymore as I let the nutrients lower it and since it buffers like soil it is an unnecessary step
Not sure if that helps your situation but yes you can get people to say you need to ph but my experience has been not in soil
calvin.m16
Well-Known Member
Get a Reverse Osmosis system if you can connect a garden hose you can setup a reverse osmosis filter. Then you wont have all this guess work. We monitor our well water both raw & softened and they change seasonally, change means inconsistency which can mean more issues and questions that could've been prevented.
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PeatPhreak
Well-Known Member
Step one is to buy a cheap PPM meter. If your PPM is less than 200, it is good to use with some acid. If it is more than that, use your RO filter. We can't tell you how much acid to add. You need a pH meter for that.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Do you reuse it?
Herb & Suds
Well-Known Member
At 25 a bale no
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
OK. Because shit can build up over time. You're well water probably has plenty of Ca and minerals that can build up over time and lock other shit out.
Do you have calcium deposits that accumulate over time on faucets and shower heads?
Herb & Suds
Well-Known Member
Yup
Always a bottle a rust out and CLR handy
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Get some citric acid. Works great. And way cheaper.
Herb & Suds
Well-Known Member
I knew that
So does vinegar
So does vinegar
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
I prefer citric acid.
Herb & Suds
Well-Known Member
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Sour gummies too. Or just use Kool-Aid which is basically flavored citric acid.I have one lb bags
Works great on copper and in beer making and such
I'm actually debating trying Kool-Aid added in my water sometime. I'm gonna start another chapter on broscience.
Gonna make some Mango flavored weed.
Bignutes
Well-Known Member
If you want to use ph down your newly ph’d water will drift upwards after a day or two. I use Rootfarm, it’s both phosphoric acid and citric acid. If I mix it it reads a ph of 5.5, two days later it reads 6. It shouldn’t hurt your plants. I’m considering using vinegar as it’s cheap, it also is drifting up on my test sample.