Aquarium solution? +reps

genuineapbts

genuineapbts

Active Member
Hey all... As some of you might have already read in a previous post I am having problems with my ph. I am using the ebb & grow system with 12 pots. I am using tap water and my ph keeps rising everyday. Within two days it is up in the 7s. I have not been able to find any h2o2.

So my question is....I was at the store today and was looking in the aquarium stuff and found a bottle of Start Right. It says it removes chlorine. Here is the product description..

Keep your fish buddy happy and healthy with this complete water conditioner. A complete water conditioner that stimulates the natural secretion of slime to protect fish from the harmful effects of handling, shipping, fish fighting and other stress. Removes chlorine instantly, breaks the chloramine bond, neutralizes heavy metals, adds beneficial electrolytes and guards against secondary infections.

Has anyone ever used this? Or does anything think this could work or would be harmful?

Thanks
 
ganjaluva2009

ganjaluva2009

Well-Known Member
I never used the product before, so i cant say if its cool to use or not. I run an ebb n flow system also..my ph varies also, but i use ph up/down to adjust....sell it at local hydro store, and actually i was at lowes the other day and i see the sell a powder base, ph up/down..but anyway, u mentioned about the h2o2, and i think thats ur fix...i never ran h2o2 and always had nasty ass rezs'...my buddy gave me a gallon and i will never go without again...so i would say get the h2o2, whenever u can....but if u do get that fishtank stuff(IMO dont buy it)at least make sure that its safe for plants...just my 2sense...peace...ganja
 
BluBerry

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
Order some pH up/down online if there is no store but I would not buy the cheap fish stuff. I bought a 1L jug of Advanced Nutrients pH down for $20 and use en eye dropper to lower my pH becuz it is very potent and a little bit goes a long ways. Meaning I should have that bottle for a long time. Or you could get a bottle of GH pH down for around $10-15 And I didn't think that H2O2 had anything to do with pH problems. I thought that was more for algae and bacteria problems. But in the same sense you are trying to remove the chlorine from the water and I add chlorine (bleach) to my rez. Chlorine is actually in the water we drink and it doesn't kill us. That is a whole different topic there and others may have their own opinions but I think a small amount of bleach is helpful and I have never had any problems with bleach harming my plants or any plants for that matter.
 
Muffy

Muffy

Active Member
I never added bleach but I don't worry about it either. :D What's the tds of your tap water?
 
REALSTYLES

REALSTYLES

Well-Known Member
Just let the tap water rest 24 hours and the chlorine will evaporate. I use tap water and here's what my plants look like

IM000744.jpg

IM000769.jpg

Oh yeah I use sulfuric acid for PH down works better than any PH brand you buy from the hydro store.
 
zem

zem

Well-Known Member
yeah sulfuric acid (battery acid) or phosphoric acid. h2o2 can be found in chemical companies that sell raw chemicals in bulks high concentration, i have 35% grade, very nasty if you spill on hands gives you burns but when handled carefully, works like a charm
 
genuineapbts

genuineapbts

Active Member
Thank everyone. I do have a bottle of ph down that I got from the hydro store. I set it at 5.8 within 2 days its at 7.

Muffy..Im not sure what tds is but my tap ppm is 250-300 and the ph was 9.6.
 
hellraizer30

hellraizer30

Rebel From The North
it will be alot easyer to stablize it was you start adding nutes to it.
due to PH buffers in the nutes
 
REALSTYLES

REALSTYLES

Well-Known Member
you can get battery refill kit from Kragen-Orielly auto part store for like $8.99 and it lasts a while, for you only have to use a few drops at a time or you'll put too much and the PH will go way down. I've been using it for 3 years so I know how to use it so you'll get the hang of using it too if you decide to go that route. Oh yeah my PH doesn't change until 24-28 hours from 5.8-6.1 but I check my PH in the morning and when I get home from work.everyday (YOU HAVE TO )
 
Muffy

Muffy

Active Member
TDS is total dissolved solids and at 250ppm you have very hard water. There are carbonates and other stuff that are buffering your tap to 9.6 which is really high (why it keeps climbing when your plants take up nutes). The best thing you can do is get an RO filter. The pH of RO is about 6 so the nutes you add will more effectively buffer the pH to something more usable by the plant. If not that then you could always add more nutes to the feed to hold the pH down longer, but if you can't do either you'll have to get used to adjusting with acid every day.
 
zem

zem

Well-Known Member
Muffy said:
TDS is total dissolved solids and at 250ppm you have very hard water. There are carbonates and other stuff that are buffering your tap to 9.6 which is really high (why it keeps climbing when your plants take up nutes). The best thing you can do is get an RO filter. The pH of RO is about 6 so the nutes you add will more effectively buffer the pH to something more usable by the plant. If not that then you could always add more nutes to the feed to hold the pH down longer, but if you can't do either you'll have to get used to adjusting with acid every day.
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i have to call B.S. on this one lol the 250ppm on tap is fine, it's not that high it's mostly cal-mag things your plants need, just let it sit a day for chlorine to evaporate. the fluctuating ph is probably underfeeding. ph goes up slowly as plants feed, when underfed it rises fast, and when overfed it drops... i really think a R.O. is a lost investment now, you will not be hitting the nail at all, not the worst idea, just that i don't think that the 250ppm tap water is the source of your problem at all. how big are the plants and in what stage of growth and what's the ppm after ferts???
 
hellraizer30

hellraizer30

Rebel From The North
zem said:
i have to call B.S. on this one lol the 250ppm on tap is fine, it's not that high it's mostly cal-mag things your plants need, just let it sit a day for chlorine to evaporate. the fluctuating ph is probably underfeeding. ph goes up slowly as plants feed, when underfed it rises fast, and when overfed it drops... i really think a R.O. is a lost investment now, you will not be hitting the nail at all, not the worst idea, just that i don't think that the 250ppm tap water is the source of your problem at all. how big are the plants and in what stage of growth and what's the ppm after ferts???
Click to expand...
I got to agree with zem 250 ok
 
REALSTYLES

REALSTYLES

Well-Known Member
zem said:
i have to call B.S. on this one lol the 250ppm on tap is fine, it's not that high it's mostly cal-mag things your plants need, just let it sit a day for chlorine to evaporate. the fluctuating ph is probably underfeeding. ph goes up slowly as plants feed, when underfed it rises fast, and when overfed it drops... i really think a R.O. is a lost investment now, you will not be hitting the nail at all, not the worst idea, just that i don't think that the 250ppm tap water is the source of your problem at all. how big are the plants and in what stage of growth and what's the ppm after ferts???
Click to expand...
no magnesium and calcium is what the plant needs and Epsom salt and Molasses is way better and 10 times cheaper then cal-mag that doesn't fix deficiencies as well. Plus it's 100% natural
 
zem

zem

Well-Known Member
REALSTYLES said:
no magnesium and calcium is what the plant needs and Epsom salt and Molasses is way better and 10 times cheaper then cal-mag that doesn't fix deficiencies as well. Plus it's 100% natural
Click to expand...
RS i wasn't referring to the cal-mag product, i meant that 250ppm tap water has calcium and magnesium...
 
pdillo

pdillo

Well-Known Member
… and the chlorine content of tap water will have what negative effect on your plants?
 
genuineapbts

genuineapbts

Active Member
zem said:
i have to call B.S. on this one lol the 250ppm on tap is fine, it's not that high it's mostly cal-mag things your plants need, just let it sit a day for chlorine to evaporate. the fluctuating ph is probably underfeeding. ph goes up slowly as plants feed, when underfed it rises fast, and when overfed it drops... i really think a R.O. is a lost investment now, you will not be hitting the nail at all, not the worst idea, just that i don't think that the 250ppm tap water is the source of your problem at all. how big are the plants and in what stage of growth and what's the ppm after ferts???
Click to expand...
My plants are still seedlings. About 6 have or are getting their 2nd set of leaves and the other 6 or less dont have their 2nd set yet. I havent started nutes yet but plan to start them soon. I thought I had to wait until all plants got the 2nd set but maybe if I start at 1/4 dose it will be ok...
 
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