Hello everyone, I have been struggling to keep pH level of my reservoir at correct range. Yesterday I put fresh water from the reservoir, it's natural spring water with pH of 6.75 and ppm of around 100 and mixed 10ml of canna rhizotonic to 5l of water. I mixed everything and corrected pH to 5.5. I took a little of the water and put it on a mist sprayer. This morning when I went to check the water pH it was exactly at 8 and I checked the water from the sprayer and it was 6.12 so this discrepancy can only be from the airstone which is the differentiator between the two waters. Is there any way to control this crazy increase in pH level? I use GH pH down. Sent from my SM-G965F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
no I use canna rhizotonic with 7.0 ro water ,,, yes the ph wants to change .. but I also use canna aqua veg A and B and that lowers the ph to below 5 .0 and I have to ph up .. I use potassium Bicarbonate to ph up You should be using cal mag or cal magic , zinc and iron , sulfur .
When air containing co2 dissolves in water carbonic acid is produced which lowers pH. The plant roots or possibly microbes are messing with pH. Larger multiple plant reservoirs have smaller swings.
I actually had to stop using an airstone in my rez just for that reason. my ph would be in the zone then after a few days of air, i had to keep bringing it back down quite a few guys have the same issue but seem to have gotten around it by using a smaller rez so by the time its out of range, its time to refill the rez cheers
I am using drip system the roots have no contact with water. The reservoir was sterilised with oxygenated water the same with my mister, the only difference between my reservoir and sprayer is thst my res is light proof and is airenated by a airstone, my sprayer is sitting next to the plant and is not light proof and also only holds 500ml which technically would make pH much more unstable no? Sent from my SM-G965F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Can I just point out that dwc growers don't get this problem, nor does anyone who grows in any active res where the plants roots are actually in it so to answer your question. No. The air doesn't effect the pH cos we all use absolute shit loads of it and it doesn't bother any of us. Not sure what you guys all do wrong but I've been growing over 4 years now in loads of different hydro methods, always with airstones and my pH has never given me any grief. Some dwc growers supercharge their water with oxygen using diffusers and it doesn't bother them iether. See folk asking this all the time and so many people are convinced it's the air stone but honestly, just ask anyone that grows in an active res and they'll tell you it's not the air.
Well since I've received mixed answers I decided to test it myself, I poured some water from the bucket to a bowl and also to a bottle I have. On the bottle I'll just leave the water sit there (0.5l), on the recipient ill throw inside my airstone without being connected to the air pump, on my reservoir I changed the airstone to another one. All water is the same, same nuts, same pH same source. Res 5.57 pH with airstone connected to airpump Bowl 5.57ph still water with just airstone Bottle 5.57ph just water Il wait two hours and run pH test on all sources, take note and run it again in the morning Sent from my SM-G965F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Just as I suspected, the airstone was indeed raising PH, have to think on an alternative now Sent from my SM-G965F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I didn't read the previous "answers".........but I can tell you this with confidence.........when I newly pull water from the tap.....it is well into the 8's..........after an airstone running for even 6 or so hours....it is in the 7's......
So it lowers yours, so it definitely has an effect of the water pH level, either increasing it or decreasing it, I wonder if there's a way around it Sent from my SM-G965F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Well,..............it certainly seems so..........I mean that is the only difference I have to compare to......water sitting out without in there.....and water than has one....and it never fails, its lower with the one that has an airstone.
I run a 55 gallon res that I aerate. I have to ph to 5.0 and as the res saturates with dissolved oxygen, the ph rises to 5.8 in an hr or so. It creeps up to about 6.3 in 5-6 days and I just adjust it back to 5.5 and let it rise before it’s empty. I was getting 10-14 days per res. But aerating water will definitely raise ph until the point of oxygen saturation. Then it’s a slow and manageable creep Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I presume the pH rises with nutrients in the solution containing the air stones. That is probably a fertilizer issue instead of an aeration issue. I have a reservoir without an air stone, and its pH always rises until enough time passes, then it stays constant. On the other hand, the res+fertilizer pH simultaneously drops, either because of the air stones or what the roots are doing, or both.
I can’t remember your nutrient mix. Are you running any biologicals or beneficials in your solution? What’s in your nute mix again.
So I'm having the same problem. My tap water ph is 8.2!!! I'm using Biobizz Activera and I was using a tiny bit of root juice until now as I am bout to inoculate my one-week-old seedlings with a few different microbial fungi and bacterial products. ( I know earlier would have been better but covid and post etc) My DWC is a Tangi Matic auto from fast buds, it's around 12L and has a large airstone in it. I the Activera brings down the ph of boiled and left to cool tap water to 6.5, i wait 10 mins, then come its perfect at 6.3. I clean the DWC with warm water (roots aren't even out the hydro pot yet so just put her to the side and cleaned and emptied and rinsed a load of times. 2 hours later Ph is at 7.5 and needs Biobizz down to 6.3. 2 hours later the same and again and again. it just does not want to stabilise. I'm going to run some bucket tests with full nuet schedule mix to see how that responds but I'm pretty sure its the air stone (gonna try and clean on by soaking hot water? + ph down? But could it be that in a system so small the small amount of citric acid (Biobizz ph down) degrades very quickly (either broken down by the Activera enzymes or just breaks down cause quick and is neutralised because its organic) Does anyone have any ideas on this? Should I ignore it? MY DWC mono pot is the only DWC I have. The rest of my plants are in coco (they are the ones being inoculated with micoriza). Thanks guys happy growing
I just did a routine add of an airstone to my Power Grower's RDWC and the next day I am up from about 7 to 7.5 I have a hunch that a brand new cheap airstone should be conditioned first maybe by soaking in an acidic solution? Is it possible the air blowing through is releasing Silicate; we know that Potassium Silicate raises PH a lot!
The "binder" in a lot of air stones will dissolve in the "soup" because the soup is caustic. That might be one of the causes of the funky PH. Try using a "forever" airstone. BubbleMac Aeration Products Aquarium, Pond, Water Gardens, Aquaponics Air Diffuser/Air Stone/Micro-Bubbler, HYDROPONIC HOSS -{Model# HD0061F Makers of The Forever Bubble Stone
Someone on the forum posted this chart. Thank you who ever you are! Some grows just react differ than others, most things being the same. Perhaps the stone is only part of the issue that needs to be rectified. I found that I need to run a weaker nutrient ppm to keep my pH swinging DOWN. It’s important to keep the water level consistent in your reservoir. Your pH reading will be different at various temperatures. Find your situation and condition on the chart. The explanation on the chart may help to find a solution. I can’t seem to paste the chart in here. Please see next frame.