Okay Grass City, this problem is really pissing me off. RDWC Grow. Starting in week 5 of flower my pH drops from 6.0 to as low as 3.8 in a matter of 24hours. Tomorrow makes 1 full week with this problem. Funny thing is, the plants still look healthy as ever, however growth has slowed. Yes, I've tried the obvious solutions. Lower ppm- My ppm was at 1350, I lowered to 1000 with no luck. Then down to 800. Then down to 500ppm and still within 24hrs the pH was back down below 5. I saw another thread where some growers found that the solution was raising the ppm. So I flushed with florakleen added fresh nutes up to 900ppm. No luck. Then I read that bacteria and algae could cause this drastic drop, not likely in my system because my water temp is never above 68 and I use GH subculture-b & m. But, I bought some hygrozyme anyway, applied as directed and still nothing. Yesterday I flushed again (for 24hrs) with florakleen and hygrozyme. Then removed my babies from the system, drained it, and then ran bio-green clean through the system for half an hour. This would have killed anything in its path. I rinsed thoroughly and started over with fresh everything. When I got home today the pH was right back down to 4.3 WTF!!! System- RDWC- (3) 5 gallon buckets- 2 plants- 1 control bucket Lights- (2) 600w HPS Nutes- Fox Farm- GB BB TB plus solubles, MagiCal (I did just switch to AN Jungle Juice Grow,Micro,Bloom with B52 & Bud Candy but the problem began before that) Water- R/O with brand new filters Temp- 75-78 day 63-67 night I apologize for the lengthy post, and appreciate any insight. Thanks everyone.
They are asking for more potassium! Use ph up that is potassium based. I got this tip just yesterday. Hope it works for you!!
Never tried it but it seems like a simple fix that would be good just to hold off before your resi change.
I'm using GH pH up. Potassium? Never had that problem before. I'll give it a go. Thanks fellas. I'll let you know how it works. Oh, would a hydro store carry potassium based pH up? Or is that a specialty item?
pretty sure they would Atlantis Hydroponics Shopping Cart - VIAGROW Natural pH-Up, 2 lb this is it!!!
the one lb is only 9.99..............lasts forever since you will hardly use it. Once you get the ph in check it will drop again but not as much. Put a lil bit in there when it needs it. Then poof! Ph problem is gone! Your plants are happy! And your buds will thank you!
Okay, I found it at a store not too close by. Apparently it's not a popular buy around here. I'll apply when I get home. Then it's time to play the waiting game...
Good luck bro! Let me know how it works! i'm not as far in flowering as you so when it comes time if it works i'll be trying it too!
well when I got home, once again the pH was was down. 4.2 to be exact. Added way less than a teaspoon of the organic pH up to my 14 gallons and it jumped up to 6.0 Now we wait... I just hope, with as little as it needed, that the amount of potassium is enough to help.
Just checked em' 5.5 hours after, pH has dropped from 6.0 to 4.6 Hopefully this stuff works within the next 48hours, or on to the next possible cure. I'm still open to any suggestions please. I'll post more results tomorrow after work as usual. Hopefully they'll be good.
So far no luck with the organic potassium based pHup. I'm at a loss. I spent the last year growing and learning with lot of little problems, but never a pH problem. Now that I've gotten better and dodged all of my previous mistakes, my favorite plant on earth throws a pH problem at me. One that it seems nobody can help me solve. Odd thing is, the plants are still looking amazing and producing nicely. Thanks for the help rockcrusher, at least I'll have a good organic pHup for a long time to come. Still hoping to find an answer everyone....
I asked the one that told me about this trick about your problem and said it takes a little time to satisfy it's cravings. I have known this guy for a while and he does know his plants. Give it some time bro. I REALLY hope this works for ya. I'll feel bad if you went and bought something just cause I recommended it! :/
Rapid ph drops are usually bacteria in the rez. A cheap possible fix is chlorine, pool shock is 3 bucks for a small bag (lifetime supply). Mix ½ teaspoon in 1 gallon of water then 1 oz of the mix to 5 gallons. Dissipates so reapply every 2-3 days. Good Luck
No worries Rockcrusher, I've found that it's always good to have extra anything in stock while growing. I'll keep using it and see what happens. Mile- I already sanitized the system twice with bio-green clean, which is just as good as chlorine or bleach accept its all natural. Thanks for the suggestion though. I may just have to ride it out these last few weeks, unless the organic pH does the trick. Like I said, I'm not super bummed because the plants still look great. Production is just a little slower than I'd like.
[quote name='"mile"']Rapid ph drops are usually bacteria in the rez. A cheap possible fix is chlorine, pool shock is 3 bucks for a small bag (lifetime supply). Mix ½ teaspoon in 1 gallon of water then 1 oz of the mix to 5 gallons. Dissipates so reapply every 2-3 days. Good Luck[/quote] This... Except I would use beneficial bacteria. I don't think op realizes that he is describing rot. The rot may be there, even if you can't see it. The signs are there. Ph drop, slowed growth. Sterilize all you want (which isn't even possible unless you own an autoclave) and asking for more advice but it won't get better unless you take the proper steps. Beneficial bacteria will return your res to the proper balance needed. The rot may be just being kept at bay with the other crap you tried and as soon as the stuff is gone, it's going to overtake the roots. It's your plant though.... What do I know....
I've been using General Hydroponics Subculture-B & Subculture-M since the start. They basically equal AN voodoo juice. Is that not enough beneficial bacteria? What are the steps to curing root rot? I'll try those and see if it works.