Hello everyone. This is my third grow and it's the first time i had this problem. I am using expanded clay pellets (hydroton) in a reciculating drip system. my nutes are GH 3-part flora series, also using Hygrozyme and Cal-Mag when needed. my first 2 grows the ph rised a couple times in the begining, i used ph down both times and it stopped rising. now on this grow for the past 2 weeks the ph keeps rising i drop it down to 5.7 and in about 16 hours it rises to around 7.0, is this normal for certain strains in early veg growth? or does it sound like there is a problem, if thats the case any ideas on how to fix the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Cant think what would be causing such a big change. Thats 1.3 man. Is the expaned clay new as if it has been used from an unknown source, the alkalinity may be leaching from that. I use a hydro system as well and my plants usually take it from 5.7 to 6.2 over a few days. In your scenario, 6.5 to 7.0 is the red zone so in 16 hours, there may be only 1 or two hours when they are at this level. Keep this in mind as well. I never try to keep the ph bang on target every day. The plants actually benefit from it changing through the scale. It actually allows he plant acsess to a broader range of nutrients. For example, at 5.7, a given trace element may only be slightly absorbed but at 6.0, readily absorbed Not too much to worry about if you monitor it every day. Just a pain in the butt really. Look at the bright side. With wishful thinking, they may settle down and mellow out a bit. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!