need organic way to lower water ph ALOT

chiefrokaho

chiefrokaho

Well-Known Member
Hey all. After a so-so first gro without ever ph my water, i decided to test it. Of course it was very high(alkaline). I live inthe great appalachian hills, have well water in a very good seam. Theres alot of limestone along with every other thing i need where i live. Well i guess its called hard water.


Anyway, i used the tester tubes used for swimming pools. I had read before, and wrote in my notes to use lemon juice to lower ph during veg. So, i started adding drops of lemon juice a cpl at a time and tested each time. At first 2 drops, then 6, up to 12, 16, and still it never changed from the top(8.2) reading. Ok, looonng story not so long, i got it down to bout 7.2 range. Problem is, im up to freaking LEMONADE!!!! It took 60, i repeat 60! drops to get it that low. Does that sound 'normal' to anyone out there?! I dont know if i wana give my girls lemonade. Is there another way of doing this without chems? In my notes i put to use white vinegar instead of lemon during flowering but dont wana do that if it will take that much. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Villane

Villane

Member
Why use lemonade? There's barely any lemon juice in it. I'd recommend get a vial of lemon juice or buy lemons.
 
zack66

zack66

Well-Known Member
What are you growing in? My well water has a ph around 8. My medium is all organic as well as my nutes. I don't adjust my ph or even check it anymore. I grow in pro mix with some worm castings and the medium buffers the water and nutes I put in.
 
chiefrokaho

chiefrokaho

Well-Known Member
well thats what i wondered bout. I heard subcool doesnt worry with his ph in his supersoil. Thats basicaly what i will be using, its cookin now. My last round i started running into problems toward the end but couldnt really narrow down the reason. So i thought it might have been ph since it seems so outa whack. Thx for lookin
 
J

jcmjrt

Well-Known Member
chiefrokaho said:
well thats what i wondered bout. I heard subcool doesnt worry with his ph in his supersoil. Thats basicaly what i will be using, its cookin now. My last round i started running into problems toward the end but couldnt really narrow down the reason. So i thought it might have been ph since it seems so outa whack. Thx for lookin
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I don't know what subcool says but The Rev (True Living Organics) recommends starting with RO water - mostly because of all the particulates in a lot of water - calcium, etc and the chlorine/chloramine for people using treated water. I don't do RO but did go with the sediment and activated charcoal filters and the water quality now is great. I'm guessing that your water is highly alkaline because of the particulates in it and "scrubbing" your water would work.
I really would call and talk with the purewater folks. They'll have a better idea and were quite reasonable when I spoke with them.
 
Trousers

Trousers

Well-Known Member
My ph is pretty high, maybe 8. I do not do anything to it.
My indoor plants and outdoor plants are doing great with plain tap water.
 
bass1014

bass1014

Well-Known Member
hey chief , i too live in the appellation chain and i too use well water. the issue your having is a salt build up.. calimag is the best thing i can tell you to get ,also went to wallyworld and got me a box of the small filters for the fish pumps ,they have charcoal in them.. i made a container that i pour my water thru the filters first and then feed my plants with the water.. helps my ph and ppm's.. my well is ph at 7.2 ish i was told by my well man to drop a few caps of bleach in my well it will dilute and help the alkalinity of the water.. thats kinda high for well water..and yes white vinegar will drop ph
 
chiefrokaho

chiefrokaho

Well-Known Member
Trousers said:
My ph is pretty high, maybe 8. I do not do anything to it.
My indoor plants and outdoor plants are doing great with plain tap water.
Click to expand...
Again, kinda what ive seen most everyone say thats doin organic. Do u ever use teas? Thx alot for respondin, ur 1 of the few i started readin from on here when i first started trollin. Lol
 
chiefrokaho

chiefrokaho

Well-Known Member
bass1014 said:
hey chief , i too live in the appellation chain and i too use well water. the issue your having is a salt build up.. calimag is the best thing i can tell you to get ,also went to wallyworld and got me a box of the small filters for the fish pumps ,they have charcoal in them.. i made a container that i pour my water thru the filters first and then feed my plants with the water.. helps my ph and ppm's.. my well is ph at 7.2 ish i was told by my well man to drop a few caps of bleach in my well it will dilute and help the alkalinity of the water.. thats kinda high for well water..and yes white vinegar will drop ph
Click to expand...
Seems like calimag is the opposite of what i need. Cant get to actual well water as it is a cpl hundred feet down. Dont wana do bleach even if i could get to water. Will it work to just pour water thru char filter or does it need pressure? Thx for reply
 
Villane

Villane

Member
chiefrokaho said:
It wasnt really lemonade, jus mean it took what seemed like alot of lemon juice. Thx for input
Click to expand...
Strange. I use lemon juice to adjust my PH. I use only about 2 tablespoon to fix my PH for a gallon of water, then again, PPM in water probably play a huge factor. If you gotta use 60 drops that some damn hard water x)
 
Villane

Villane

Member
chiefrokaho said:
Hey all. After a so-so first gro without ever ph my water, i decided to test it. Of course it was very high(alkaline). I live inthe great appalachian hills, have well water in a very good seam. Theres alot of limestone along with every other thing i need where i live. Well i guess its called hard water.


Anyway, i used the tester tubes used for swimming pools. I had read before, and wrote in my notes to use lemon juice to lower ph during veg. So, i started adding drops of lemon juice a cpl at a time and tested each time. At first 2 drops, then 6, up to 12, 16, and still it never changed from the top(8.2) reading. Ok, looonng story not so long, i got it down to bout 7.2 range. Problem is, im up to freaking LEMONADE!!!! It took 60, i repeat 60! drops to get it that low. Does that sound 'normal' to anyone out there?! I dont know if i wana give my girls lemonade. Is there another way of doing this without chems? In my notes i put to use white vinegar instead of lemon during flowering but dont wana do that if it will take that much. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Ahhh.
I misread the grammar, bit hard to read and understand the transitions for me. I apologize.

Hope you figure it out perfectly :)
 
Trousers

Trousers

Well-Known Member
chiefrokaho said:
Again, kinda what ive seen most everyone say thats doin organic. Do u ever use teas? Thx alot for respondin, ur 1 of the few i started readin from on here when i first started trollin. Lol
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that I water with pond water. Everyday I grab some water out of it (a small, thousand gallon pond) then top it off with tap water.
I think the pond is a pretty good water conditioner.


I have only done organic teas outside. My veg garden is killing it this year.
I just put three cracked seeds in 3 gallon pots for an indoor run. I will be hitting it with tea in about 10-14 days.
 
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