Aero2 by Mickpascal posted Apr 2, 2023 at 12:43 AM Aero3 by Mickpascal posted Apr 2, 2023 at 12:43 AM Aero4 by Mickpascal posted Apr 2, 2023 at 12:44 AM Aero5 by Mickpascal posted Apr 2, 2023 at 12:44 AM Aero7 by Mickpascal posted Apr 2, 2023 at 12:45 AM Aero1 by Mickpascal posted Apr 2, 2023 at 12:40 AM Aero1 by Mickpascal posted Apr 2, 2023 at 12:40 AM Hello. I made my own aeroponic bucket system. I keep have problems with ph dropping. It happens after 1-3 days after flush. I have been disinfected the whole system and start with new clones. After 24 hour in the system the ph start to drop again!? The temperature of water is 18-20 degrease Rootzone temp 20-21 degrease I use reverse osmosis water filter to treat water I use a uv sterilizer 24 w I add hydroperoxide (around 75 ml 12% for 100 liter) Tank size 500 liter 0.2 mm mist nozzles 120 liter pr min airpump for tank The roots of the clones are plearly white. I will add pictures of the system. Can anybody tell me what im doing wrong here!?
I think you have no buffering capacity in your solution. Consider purchasing some Calcium Carbonate (cheap) to increase and buffer your solution's pH. nice system btw, and welcome to GrassCity
Buffer solution? I just added grow a and b and some hydroperoxide. Can you tell me how calcium carbonate would help help here?
I got some ph up i could add to the tank. I just think its weird that the ph dropping indicate that i have root problems ore bacteria in my newly transplanted clones. I use uv sterilizer 24/7 with hydroperoxide and still problem.
It sounds like English isn't your first language, which may be causing some confusion. A buffer is something that cushions or protects if you will. By adding calcium carbonate (base) to a solution it will regulate PH fluctuation by neutralizing acids, much less likely to have wild PH swings. @trojangrower is far more experienced with the type of growing you are doing than I am. I'd listen to what he has to say.
Yeah thats right, im from Denmark but live in Thailand Make sense. So is it normal that the ph can start to drop when using RO water? Does it matter in which from the calcium carbonate is added to the nutriens solution? And how much would you recommend to add to 100 liter nutrien solution? Would you somehow desinfect clones before transplanting to aeroponic system? I fear it can be bacteria ore funges..
So calcium carbonate is it same as cal mag? I can buy that. I have some silica rhino skin. Would it have any effect?
I'm not the guy with the DWC experience, my knowledge is limited. Like I said before @trojangrower would be the one to ask.
no sir it is not the same. Calcium carbonate is lime... what you want is something like: Calmag solution uses Calcium Nitrate ... not the same thing. You may find AlkCalc useful... along with the other calculators.
Sometimes there are pathogens or other organisms (like algae) that cause the pH to drop. You should use beneficial organisms to help control this.
Yes that also what I fear. i see the ph drops relatively slowly. Around 0.1 in 5-6 hours. Would you somehow disinfect the clones before interducing them to the aeroponic system? If yes how!? And can I ask how much calcium carbonate to add the 100 liter nutriens solution?
Yes but I just disinfect the whole system. I use hydroperoxide and uv sterilizer. Then it have to be the clones that somehow are infected. I just see a very slow ph drop. 0.1 drop in 6 h. When I had fungus problems beforr normally ph drop fast. Do you somehow disinfect your clones before transplanting to aeroponic system? If yes, how? I also add pictures of 2 different kind of calcium carbonate. Which one is the right? Foodgrade?
that's not always a bad thing... the pH is affected by what the plant is uptaking. I will attach a short paper for you to read. You've added enough hydrogen peroxide. There is no 'sterile' hydroponics. See this article. Beneficial organisms will help to over-populate the reservoir and keep other species populations down. Refer to the ALKCALC link I posted previously. It does this all for you. I've been starting seeds in 1% hydrogen peroxide. One imagine clones could use some exposure to hydrogen peroxide (say 1% final concentration) for a short while... but the key is to inoculate beneficial organisms afterwards. technical grade is fine. Whichever is cheapest for you. I suggest looking over the paper I attached. If you change your nutrients, you can change the pH and its sway.
Yes I have experiencen with ph dropping and being a good thing, but thats normally in flower stage. This is brandnew clones. Only 2 days in the system.
Ok foodgrade is the cheapest for me. Do you have a guideline for how much calcium carbonate to add to 100 liter nutriens solution?
yea.. my pH is pretty stable. But listen, before you buy anything... what is your local Water Quality Report look like? Look for it online. It will tell you what is in the tap water. The tap water maybe hard water, in which case it's full of calcium carbonate. But check the report. If it does contain ca-carbonate, then add ~10% tap to the res before making your solution up. Also, I use potassium silicate to help prevent infections and maintain healthy roots. This will also increase pH.
So you recommend to soak my rockwool clones in 1 % hydroperoxide for 30 sec ore so before transplanting to aeroponic system?
Aaah yeah that right. I hear another hydroponic grower use 80 % ro water and 20 % tap water to give calcium carbonate. Im from Denmark but I grow in Thailand. I heared that 20 % tapwater i used here. I use 100 % ro water. Can it be the reason the ph drop? Ec is 0.2 tap water
yes, just soak them once and then place them in the system. The aero spray will wash out the peroxide over time, but that will help rid contaminants. But you need beneficial organisms after that, or the opportunistic pathogen will grow instead. you need to look up the water quality report. It could be soft water filled with sodium and that's not good to use. Look up the alkalinity and the contents of the other chemicals. It should be available even in Thailand, but idk. RO water has very low EC, and has no buffer capacity. You need a buffering agent to bring the pH back up. Sometimes nutes can take care of that. Adding too many nutes can lower the pH (depending on the nutes), but normally the EC is affected. anyhow, i'm getting zzz . check out the links and paper fyi *edit ~ I've also heard of people using bleach, but I don't do that. Maintain cold temperatures 18C in the res. That is the best solution to prevent infections.
Super i will dip my clones om 1 % hydroperoxide before transplanting. If I use hydroperoxide how not to kill the beneficial bacteria? I think hydroperoxide kill every kind of bacteria? And what kind of bacteria you recommend?