naval jelly for ph down?

[wiseguy316]

Has anyone ever tried naval jelly for ph down? I have been using it and it works fine just wondering if anyone had any troubles using it or can point out a valid reason to not use it. For 5 dollars it makes about 100 gals of ph down. The main thing here is I am not eating anything from the plant. They claim that ph down has food grade acid in it.
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Phosphoric acid is also used in hydroponics pH solutions to lower the pH of nutrient solutions. While other types of acids can be used, phosphorus is a nutrient used by plants, especially during flowering, making phosphoric acid particularly desirable. General Hydroponics pH Down liquid solution contains phosphoric acid in addition to citric acid and ammonium bisulfate (sulfuric acid) with buffers to maintain a stable pH in the nutrient reservoir.

When sufficiently diluted, it can even be nutritious to plant life, containing the essential nutrients phosphorus and iron.

 

[hotboxhatchback]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_jelly

an interesting thought but i wouldn't use it mostly because its too easy to buy stable pH down that has easily predictable results. buying only products made for hydroponics is cheap insurance that cutting corners won't rob you of your investment altogether.

depending on the source, naval jelly (or any phosphoric acid based rust remover for that matter), will have many other ingredients that may or may not affect the plants or other components of your hydroponic setup - including potentially locking out nutrients.

i paid $20 for a gallon of gh pH down over three months ago and i'm not even 1/3 through the jug. complicating things to make them cheaper has never worked out for me...not once.

 

[wiseguy316]

When you label hydroponic on anything the price goes up even if it is readily available at home depot. I looked up all the other other in the naval jelly and could find anything that would harm a plant.. I haven't had any nute lock ups. I used sulfuric acid through veg and I am a two weeks into flowering with naval jelly without any problems. Some people use vinegar, it works but it doesn't last very long. Was just curious if anyone else had tried it.

 

[wiseguy316]

20 dollars for a gallon is not bad, was it a local hydro shop or internet order. My local shop want 19.99 a quart. That's why I looked for other ways to do it.

 

[wiseguy316]

62 views and 1 comment. I guess I need to post pics..lol

 

[hotboxhatchback]

20 dollars for a gallon is not bad, was it a local hydro shop or internet order. My local shop want 19.99 a quart. That's why I looked for other ways to do it.

it was a hydro shop. i have three hydro shops in driving distance that i call to compare prices between and then i go to the one that has what i need the cheapest. their prices are lower because of market competition which is a beautiful thing, now if we could just get the stupid liberals pushing socialist healthcare to understand that....

if it works for you then it works. personally i have too much on my plate besides growing to complicate things that much more. i complicate things enough by being overly analytical and paranoid of failure....