Originally Posted by
Up_in_smoke
Hi guys
My mate kindly lent me his ph and ec meters this weekend to check out my values and see how far out mine are to determine if this is the cause for my yellowing issues amongst various other rust and necrotic patches.
Well, as it turns out, I've now measured all my regular values and it draws shocking conclusions to all soil growers out there like myself that until now has never measured my ph after thinking it didn't matter. If you don't currently measure, do consider it, its probably worse than you think and if you're getting away with it without adjusting, well done, but I'm afraid this looks to be more luck that your house has a good water supply than anything you are doing.
My tap water comes out the tap at pH 7.6, when left overnight, this then creeps up to 8.1!
As I had assumed, when I add my nutes, as they are Hesi and pH correcting, they do level out to an ok level of 6.9. However this is still quite high.
Even with all the controversy over pH here lately and soil, I am going along with C.W. with a pH value of 6.3 for soil. Purely because, if my pH can change from 7.6 to 8.1 just left standing 24 hours, then in the soil its got to gradually change over the few days between waterings meaning hopefully the gradual average over the 3/4 days between waterings will be around 6.5 meaning optimal nute uptake and no lockout like I've been suffering.
As I feed my plants on a nutes, plain water repeat schedule every feed then currently I've been giving them 8.1 one day then next time 6.9 so it'll fluctuate and plain waterings will be worse for it than nute feeds, but my current average soil pH should be around 7.6 meaning its too high and that is no doubt the cause of pretty much all my issues to date.
So the plan is, get myself a pH meter and do this properly at 6.3 all the way.
To get my pH down to the right level of 6.3 in each solution, plain water and with feed added I had to use about 0.5ml of pH down per 5L. I found it a bit strange that I needed 0.5 to go from 8.1 to 6.3 but also 0.5 to go from 6.9 to 6.3 but I imagine thats down to the pH correcting stuff added in the Hesi nutes, my question is, is this bad to add pH down to this. Should I just feed 6.9 for the nute feed with no pH down and then use pH down to 6.3 on the plain water feed?
Also, I was wondering, as leaving my water 24 hours only raises my pH and the EC stays the same at 0.6, is there any point? Does it really 'evaporate' off any nasties? or is it one of those old wives tales that holds no, forgive the pun, water.
This brings me to my last questions and these are all regarding pH meters and their best practices.
How is it best to use one? Do you turn it on before you dip it in to whats to be tested? Or turn it on when submerged? Does it matter? Once I have tested a solution, is it ok to just then shake the meter off and then dip it in another solution to be tested? Do I have to put it in plain water between or something? When I first put the meter in the solution, sometimes it would start counting down slowly and then eventually settle on a pH, is that the right level? once its settled?
Is there any do's and don'ts with pH up and down? At the mo, if its at 8.1 I add 0.5ml of pH down (the phosphoric acid type). If I overshoot it and end up at like pH 6, is it then safe to correct it with a bit of pH up?
How often should they be cleaned? How often should they be calibrated? Why are there different calibration fluids? Like for example, my mates meter will calibrate on buffer 4, 7 and 10. Is there any advantage to doing all three? So far I have just used the 7.
Same questions for EC meters too, regarding the calibration of those though, which fluid should be used? I have two with two different numbers (cant remember them right now) but the ec meter just has a calibration button on the back and has no numbers with it.
Now guys, lets keep this clean and wholy educational, C.W. For me mate, it was always just the way you came across, you can seem quite arrogant and self righteous at times, sorry I have never taken you seriously before, but you do appear to talk some sense, perhaps even know what you're talking about and I'm prepared to listen, please keep it civil people, we're all here to learn and all I wanna do is grow some awesome pot, which so far in 2 years I've struggled to do.
Peace, love, and good Ganja
Up_in_smoke
P.S. Sorry that was such a long post guys, I know China wants its wall back but I've got so many questions on this subject.
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