my last auto DWC grow hermed and I’m trying to figure out what stressed the plant. The only thing I can think of is during ph adjustment. Most of the plant’s life was in a container holding about 10 gallons. After taking readings I would drop the ph adjust directly into the rez and stir with a large spoon. How do you go about adjusting your ph?
You can get hydro specific ph testing and adjusting kits. Usually just a vial with indicators, and ph up/down solution that you stir into your water. They’re usually pretty cheap around $15 unless you wanted some hefty digital indicators. But just make sure they’re specifically for hydro, I almost made the mistake of buying a ph adjusting kit then I found it was for pools.....wouldn’t have been my smartest moment.
It's possible that pH up/down put directly into a tank could injure a small number of roots, and that over time, these injuries could add up. To avoid that (unlikely?) possibility, add it to some water before putting it into the tank.
You’re not wrong but depends on the tank. A 35L tank won’t be badly affected as say a 5L or 10L. The major problem with your method is if you’re testing and adjusting a small amount - do you scale to the rest of the volume?
The pH up/dn can be added to regular water if the reservoir needs that, or nuted water if the reservoir needs that. If the reservoir needs no added fluid, then I drain some from the reservoir and add pH adjust to that, and then dump it back in.
What sort of nutes are you using, some have buffers in them. What I do is mix my nutrients and let sit for a few hours, check the PH, and if adjustment is needed add a few drops of up or down. Mix well and recheck. I always add drops at a time, 20 drops equals 1ml.