Is there a reason for this that doesn't indicate a problem? I'm on my first DWC grow and my impression was that it's normal for the PH to do a slow creep upwards, and that's how my grow has been going. I'm running a diluted Lucas system, entering the 3rd week of 12/12 and PPM at last feeding was about 450. Since day 1 PH has done the slow climb, and I've been letting it go through the range from about 5.2 - 6.0. Over the last few days though, it peaked at about 5.6 and since then has started to drop and is now at 5.1. Nothing else has changed, the little flowers look great, as much as I can see the roots look white and fine, no smell of rot. In short, nothing else is going on but my PH now slowly drops. I didn't even get any PH up thinking I would never need any but I'm going to go buy some now. Any input on this would be appreciated. DS
baking soda will raise your Ph. use it SPARINGLY if you must at all. Decreasing Ph is usually a sign of root decay. check your roots. whats your res temp? and aeration? Are using any beneficial bacteria/fungi type products? they help but arent a cureall for bad practices. Since youre at it, how bout some pics? feel free to add EVERY measureable thing about your grow while youre at it. We may be able to fix other things before they become a problem
They're probably using more water than nutrients leaving a higher concentration of nutrients in your solution which will lower PH. Using PH+ in bloom is pretty common, but I'd guess your nutrient levels are rising.
Ace, got some PH up. WTF, it was cheap and i might as well be consistent with all my products. Naturally rot was my first worry but I read that it comes on fast, and I have a slow drop. No signs of rot, res temps are mid to high 60s F. Aeration is abundant for my res size. Lil & Tavid, PPM has dropped to about 390 in the 4-5 days since I added nutes, just like it's been doing all along. I also got some calibration solutions from the hydro store. The easiest and most obvious solution might be that my meter is off. I'll check it later when I have a few minutes. Thanks for the replies.
It was the meter after all. The guys at the hydro store probably tried to sell me some of the calibration solution back in the day and I shrugged it off, thinking I'll get it if/when I need it. Well I needed it and didn't even know it, so lesson learned. It's hard to run this science experiment if your measuring tools are out of whack. EDIT: I did use the PH up to get me back in range. Now I just hope it goes back to the slow climb.