Are you looking for a cheap way to manage pH?

Just thought i would make a few comments on a recent item i cam across. I was looking for a way to manage my pH levels as well as test it in a cost effective way. I came across API's pH Tester and Adjuster Kit. It is available online at petco.com for like $8 and in store $10. That is the cheapest i have found so far. It comes with testing equipment AND a small bottle of pH up and pH down scheduled for 250 tests! That is super cheap and a great way to manage pH

Here is the link.... http://www.petco.com/product/8236/API-Freshwater-Deluxe-pH-Test-Kit.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

I tested both my water supplies today and the distilled water/superthrive solution i have been using for my stressed seedlings is at a perfect 6.5 and surprisingly pure distilled water is less than 6.0 pH after being exposed to air. Using the kit i brought it up to 6.5 and have not had any problems yet!

Also, i heard superthrive is acidic and can be used to lower pH. This is true to an extent. I tested water solutions with different concentrations of Superthrive and ******no matter how much superthrive i put in, it actually raised my acidic distilled water to 6.5 and stood there**** (i was wrong superthrive is acidic. I rechecked it bc it seemed odd and sure enough the ST/water solution was way below 6. I used 10the drops of Ph up to raise it to 6.4)end edit******* 6.5ish is perfect for growing. I thought at first i bought the ph up/down for nothing (the test alone was $5) but i do not want to use superthrive too much due to chances of stretching, so i just need to raise the pH of my pure distilled water.

And yes API ph up/down is safe for the plants and distilled water is not 7.0 pH after being opened due to carbon dioxide in the air dissolving in the water to form carbonic acid (low, acidic pH). Hope i help at least one person, i know i could of used this information during my first grow! Happy growing!

i lower my ph with lemon juice from the 99 cent store & i bring it up with baking soda

Thanks....looking for something like this.

horribleherk said:

i lower my ph with lemon juice from the 99 cent store & i bring it up with baking soda

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I heard that lemon juice can make your water cloudy and that baking soda raises the sodium level to unhealthy quantities??? i do not have any experience or evidence of this just saying what i heard...i was going to go with lemon juice and baking soda too but i became weary after reading about these side effects....

thanks for your input though that is probably definitely cheaper then $10 and if it works that's an awesome way to manage pH! but you would have to buy a separate testing kit in your situation too no?

.........................ph buffer from your local pet store

scotty0129 said:

Thanks....looking for something like this.

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no problem glad i could help. I kept checking Lowes/Hydro stores and all the tests/solutions were so expensive (i almost spent $23 trying to buy em separate until i realized how dumb that was since i did not need that much)....i think most of us can afford $10 for the test and ph up/down! let me know how it works out for you

If you're in soil, a $4 bag of dolomite lime takes care of the pH and will supply cal and mag to boot.

No need to pH anything.

Wet

Wetdog said:

If you're in soil, a $4 bag of dolomite lime takes care of the pH and will supply cal and mag to boot.

No need to pH anything.

Wet

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are you saying if I simply add dolomite to my organic soil, my PH should be fine for the whole grow? Doesn't dolomite increase PH so wouldn't that mean I would be in danger of having my PH too high?

I am a newbie so some clarification would be much appreciated.

The dolomite lime is a neutral 7pH, meaning it will raise an acidic soil to around 7pH...of your pH is higher I don't think it will lower it but it shouldn't go any higher than it already is since lime is at 7pH and will not go.higher

Hope that helps