Hey guys, having a nightmare of sorts! The great news is that all 7 of my babies have sprouted this morning!, the not so great news is that the water, which I had ph tested 2 days ago and was slightly high at around 6.4, is now suddenly 2.8??. At first I figured it must be the ph meter screwing up, so took a glass of freshly poured water, and that came in at 3.2??....I know I live in a soft water area, but can this be correct??. I added some ph up that came with the meter but it made little difference (2.9 to be exact), I then added some first feed to the water, kinda half hoping it would somehow magically boost the ph levels, and instead it has now gone down to 2.4!! Naturally I want to give my babies the best start to life, (even putting 5 quid a week into their college funds already) so I'm dubious about what to do.....would using this water at such a low ph level for the first feed be catastrophic?. is there a good way to raise ph? (I was reading that washing powder does the trick, but I'll be damned if I'm giving them Ariel Bio for the first meal!).....Help would be much appreciated! Breezey
Well I bit the bullet and went ahead with the water.....Fingers crossed it's nothing more than a dodgy ph meter issue.....I know 7 is the standard for pure water, if mine is coming out at 2.8 I might just have to stop drinking the shit! (I don't anyway, but still).
I use a liquid drop PH kit for these reasons exactly. Some meters aren't that reliable and can ruin grows in a heartbeat "It ain't going to grow itself"
Really doubt your water is that acidic. Either your ph tester is damaged or maybe your test samples were contaminated?
Cheers guys, yeah I'm praying it's just the meter is dodgy....seems highly unlikely that the ph can drop from 6.8 to 2.8 in 2 days at room temperature....ordered a better one, not from China this time!.
Praying so mate, seems highly unlikely my water ph level has dropped from 6.8 to 2.8 in 2 days huh lol.....problem is I now don't know the ph of the water I have used, I was hoping to keep everything exact for my journal....4 of them have shot through so far, one of them seems like a super plant, was an inch tall before any of the others appeared! lol
is it properly calibrated? you need to keep the probe wet at all times, not supposed to let it dry i keep mine in a closet, in a small medicine cup of calibration solution
Well now I feel a bit stupid for making sure I dried it out thoroughly after using it the first time.....lol. In my defence the instructions were in Chinese.....ordered another already, now I shall order the calibration solution as well......I will get there eventually haha, cheers mate!