My water is 9.9 pH and growing in Happy Frog

What should I use to lower the pH or should I even lower it. Some say that a soil like Happy Frog has pH buffers and doesn't require any pHing. Others say use pH down or lemon juice. This is what the water department says.

"The KCMO Water Treatment Plant employs a lime-softening (lime is added to our secondary treatment phase) water treatment process where the pH of the water being treated is raised sufficiently to precipitate calcium carbonate in order to remove hardness (calcium and magnesium) ions. Next, the water is then stabilized in our third treatment phase (carbon dioxide, chlorine and ammonia are added) where the pH levels drop and then is ready for delivery to the consumers. We keep our KCMO Delivered Water pH levels between 9.2 thru 10.1. This does not affect the pipes. This important water treatment process takes place 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. "

Would the lime and oyster in the soil be enough to hold the pH steady until feedings start? This is for an indoor grow using 3 gallon fabric pots and autoflowers. Oh, and our ppm is around 100... Thanks

That seems rather high, even for buffering additives. The only way to know is by a)testing runoff(least accurate)
b) slurry test better
c) soil ph test at root zone ( apparently the most accurate, I myself do not have the ability)
Adjust waterings/feedings ph accordingly.
Hth's,
FF

FastFreddi said:

That seems rather high, even for buffering additives. The only way to know is by a)testing runoff(least accurate)
b) slurry test better
c) soil ph test at root zone ( apparently the most accurate, I myself do not have the ability)
Adjust waterings/feedings ph accordingly.
Hth's,
FF

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I also thought it'd be safer to stand on the side of caution and pH down the water. Is lemon juice okay or should I use pH down. So much information out there. Read some threads from experienced growers who say they've been using lemon juice for years and others say don't use it. What about pH down? Some say it'll hurt the stuff that's beneficial in the growing medium. thanks...

tybolton said:

I also thought it'd be safer to stand on the side of caution and pH down the water. Is lemon juice okay or should I use pH down. So much information out there. Read some threads from experienced growers who say they've been using lemon juice for years and others say don't use it. What about pH down? Some say it'll hurt the stuff that's beneficial in the growing medium. thanks...

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I cannot speak for others, but I use generic ph down and it works for me.
When watering I keep my ph around 6.8-7, when feeding I ph to 6.5 ish.
I also use HF.
Hth's,
FF

I use ph down if needed, but only after adding all nutrients. Some synthetic nutrient lines will drop your ph quite a bit so adjusting ph is the last step. I've never tried lemon juice but I've heard from others who have. They said it works to lower ph but it does not last very long and the root zone ph starts going up fairly soon after adding the lemon juice.

FastFreddi said:

I cannot speak for others, but I use generic ph down and it works for me.
When watering I keep my ph around 6.8-7, when feeding I ph to 6.5 ish.
I also use HF.
Hth's,
FF

Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I guess I'll order some pH down. Have you ever tested your soil or roots when using a high pH water to see if the HF will adjust the pH? Either way, I'm going to pH down my water. My city tap water has been on average 9.7-9.9 ph for the last 5 years.

SheeshM said:

I use ph down if needed, but only after adding all nutrients. Some synthetic nutrient lines will drop your ph quite a bit so adjusting ph is the last step. I've never tried lemon juice but I've heard from others who have. They said it works to lower ph but it does not last very long and the root zone ph starts going up fairly soon after adding the lemon juice.

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Yeah, I have seen lots of comments where they said it (lemon juice) only kept the pH down temporarily. The water also has chlorine in it so I guess I'll pH 24 hours before and let it sit and then check it again before watering. Thanks...

How did your grow turn out?