G.H. PH Down kill bacteria in Mosquito Dunks?

DrDukePHD

DrDukePHD

Well-Known Member
As the title suggests will General Hydroponics PH Down diluted in a gallon of water kill off the bacteria released from a Mosquito Dunk?

I'm growing in FFOF soil
My Tap Water has a PH of 8'ish
I've been adding 20 tiny drops of PH down to a gallon of water in order to reach a PH of 6.5 to 7.

Then I soak a mosquito dunk in that for 24hrs. So will those 20 droplets of diluted
Phosphoric Acid kill the mosquito dunk bacteria?
 
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Last time I had fungus gnats I used mosquito bits (I believe same as dunk), and Ph Down together and it was still effective at decimating the gnat population. I can't tell you the number of 'drops' of pH Down though, I measure in ml.
 
LeastExpectedGrower said:
Last time I had fungus gnats I used mosquito bits (I believe same as dunk), and Ph Down together and it was still effective at decimating the gnat population. I can't tell you the number of 'drops' of pH Down though, I measure in ml.
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Cool, I googled it & researched on here first but saw conflicting information. Also saw some people claiming the PH Down might kill microbes in organic soil etc. Those posts were from 2009-2011 though, figured I'd get some updated info. Thanks!
 
DrDukePHD said:
Cool, I googled it & researched on here first but saw conflicting information. Also saw some people claiming the PH Down might kill microbes in organic soil etc. Those posts were from 2009-2011 though, figured I'd get some updated info. Thanks!
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I've used pH down (and up when needed) when also using mycos and not had a problem...even got those white fuzzies on the top of the soil & in the drainage holes that suggests a healthy pot biome.
 
DrDukePHD said:
Yea thanks PJ I'd love to use that better option but it was $10 for dunks & i see $30 on amazon for Microbe-Lift. Maybe when i run outta dunks!
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Yeah, and you use one drop per gallon of the microbe-lift, so it lasts a long time. I never had much luck with the dunks myself.
 
The granules are called Gnatrol. I have to keep my grow budget super lean but I was able to find a small bag, about a quart size, for 20 bucks at the garden center. You only use 1.5 tsp per gallon at the heaviest dosage recommendations so it lasts a long time and mixes up really easily. I tried the mosquito dunks first but they are harder to use and didn't seem to work as well for me.
 
PJ Diaz said:
Yeah, and you use one drop per gallon of the microbe-lift, so it lasts a long time. I never had much luck with the dunks myself.
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Oh wow, Alright then, I'll continue using the dunks as a preventative & the moment i see a gnat, ill order the microbe-lift for sure. Thanks for letting me know it doesn't work.
 
Maybe you'll have better luck with it than I did. Some people crush them up and soak them in the water like making an organic tea then strain out the bits through a pantyhose. That is supposed to work better than shaving bits into the water and just letting it soak like I tried. I have a disability where my hands shake bad on some days so dealing with the dunks and trying to shave off little splinters with a sharp blade was a recipe for a missing fingertip eventually :bigjoint:. The powder is just easier and mixes up instantly like chocolate milk or instant coffee. I do treatments 3 days apart two or three times and leave sticky traps around and hardly ever see them anymore. I had a bad problem with them before I tried the Gnatrol because we live in the woods and everytime we open the damn door gnats and bugs fly in. I tried peroxide soaks too and they seemed to help some but the mix has to be right or you'll burn the roots.
 
DrDukePHD said:
As the title suggests will General Hydroponics PH Down diluted in a gallon of water kill off the bacteria released from a Mosquito Dunk?

I'm growing in FFOF soil
My Tap Water has a PH of 8'ish
I've been adding 20 tiny drops of PH down to a gallon of water in order to reach a PH of 6.5 to 7.

Then I soak a mosquito dunk in that for 24hrs. So will those 20 droplets of diluted
Phosphoric Acid kill the mosquito dunk bacteria?
Click to expand...

That water is basic! I mean alkaline AF. My tap water tested above 7 and I tried adding some pH Down to just tweak it a bit and the plants immediately started looking healthier. I put about 1 cc of pH Down in a gallon of tap water. I am growing in soil/coir.
 
FirstCavApache64 said:
Maybe you'll have better luck with it than I did. Some people crush them up and soak them in the water like making an organic tea then strain out the bits through a pantyhose. That is supposed to work better than shaving bits into the water and just letting it soak like I tried. I have a disability where my hands shake bad on some days so dealing with the dunks and trying to shave off little splinters with a sharp blade was a recipe for a missing fingertip eventually :bigjoint:. The powder is just easier and mixes up instantly like chocolate milk or instant coffee. I do treatments 3 days apart two or three times and leave sticky traps around and hardly ever see them anymore. I had a bad problem with them before I tried the Gnatrol because we live in the woods and everytime we open the damn door gnats and bugs fly in. I tried peroxide soaks too and they seemed to help some but the mix has to be right or you'll burn the roots.
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I used the bits, measured them into a strainer and hung it in a a pitcher of water for a few hours, before lifting up/out the strainer, gave the bits a quick rinse (retaining that water too) and then used the 'tea' it made as my watering water.

I honestly haven't had a gnat since moving over to Promix HP.
 
That's good to know, there's a lot of conflicting information on how to use them. It's good to hear from someone that's had success using them with a short method.
 
Jim Haddar said:
That water is basic! I mean alkaline AF. My tap water tested above 7 and I tried adding some pH Down to just tweak it a bit and the plants immediately started looking healthier. I put about 1 cc of pH Down in a gallon of tap water. I am growing in soil/coir.
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Right? I ph'd my Deer Park & its like 6.5.. so imagine my surprise when I went to PH my city tapwater & it came out royal purple. I mean its an 8 minimum.

People said no need to PH your tapwater in FFOF, i doubt the people saying that have 8.5+ tapwater lol ;) I bet water drinkers around here don't even need Pepcid AC.
 
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