Plain Water pH keeps rising. Please Help.

K

kubat

Member
I use 26 ppm water for my DWC system. No nutes, no additives, nothing. pH is around 7.2.

I lower the pH to 5.8-6.0 using Terra Aquatica pH down, and after like 3-4 hours, pH goes back to 7.0.

I again add pH down and reach 5.8 pH, wait another 4-5 hours and it is still the same. I repeated at least 5-6 times.

I changed the container several times, now I use a food grade container, and the result is still the same.

Same happens if I add nutes as well. I lost many seedlings due to pH fluctuations for the last 4 months. I tried everything, it feels like a spell/curse.

Please help. I started laughing hysterically by myself at home.
 
JamieThePainter

JamieThePainter

Well-Known Member
That's wild man. I know pH will slowly go up as the plants take in the nutes, but with plain water I'm a bit baffled. Does the EC change at all?
 
Bareback

Bareback

Well-Known Member
You might try conditioning the water for a week before using it. When I grew hydro it really helped me.
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
Its whats in your water,do a test.Ph some down in a glass let sit 12 hrs or so and re check.See if it goes back to neutral.
 
JamieThePainter

JamieThePainter

Well-Known Member
It's been a while since I bothered with the science of it all, but IIRC, plants only need 5.8 pH to intake the nutrients from the water properly. With regular water there's no point.


Happy to be proven wrong here, but I don't ever remember pHing my water with no nutes in it.
 
1

1212ham

Well-Known Member
kubat said:
I use 26 ppm water for my DWC system. No nutes, no additives, nothing. pH is around 7.2.

I lower the pH to 5.8-6.0 using Terra Aquatica pH down, and after like 3-4 hours, pH goes back to 7.0.

I again add pH down and reach 5.8 pH, wait another 4-5 hours and it is still the same. I repeated at least 5-6 times.

I changed the container several times, now I use a food grade container, and the result is still the same.

Same happens if I add nutes as well. I lost many seedlings due to pH fluctuations for the last 4 months. I tried everything, it feels like a spell/curse.

Please help. I started laughing hysterically by myself at home.
Click to expand...
Running an air stone?
 
JamieThePainter

JamieThePainter

Well-Known Member
kubat said:
I wanna stabilize the pH and then add the nutes. otherwise it already skyrockets after adding the nutes anyway.
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But you'd stabilise the pH only to add nutes then you'd need to stabilise the pH again. Waste of time imo, especially seeing as it's sending you off your rocker - and in my experience, the less pH up/down used, the better. Just add nutes then pH and save yourself the stress imo.
 
Hook Daddy

Hook Daddy

Well-Known Member
I had the same problem with my well water. I had to get an ro filter, since no problem. Your water ppm is very low though so I don’t think that will help but you could try.
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
myke said:
Its whats in your water,do a test.Ph some down in a glass let sit 12 hrs or so and re check.See if it goes back to neutral.
Click to expand...
Ha,just re read your post.Thats what your doing.26ppm of Calcium Carbonate in your water?
Mine does the same.
 
K

kubat

Member
1212ham said:
Always ph after adding nutes. What nutes? They don't lower ph?
Click to expand...
Adding nutes doesnt change the result. I have to adjust the pH at least twice a day.

Herb & Suds said:
This is opposite how it works
Adding nutrients lowers ph unless you are adding silicate
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They say silicate stabilizes pH is that true? if so how much should I add, do you know? I have Terra Aquatica's silica powder. generally using 1/3 of the suggested dose give the desired ppm for nutes (AN tripart). is it the same for the silica?

myke said:
Ha,just re read your post.Thats what your doing.26ppm of Calcium Carbonate in your water?
Mine does the same.
Click to expand...
I donnow whats in the 26 ppm water.

rkymtnman said:
what nutes? and what additives?
your plain water has no buffers in it so it will keep going back to 7ish. with nutes in it, it should stabilize after 1 or 2 days of adjusting it down.
Click to expand...
no it doesnt. I have to adjust it at least twice a day after adding nutes.
 
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