NORTHERN LIGHTS Hydro grow: PH Out of Control...Tried Everything...HELP!

What is your nutrient line up? RO or tap water? Are you doin a single 5 gallon bucket? When you refill your reservoir from scratch and add all your nutrients, what are you pH'ing it to, to start off with.. from 6.0 - 7.5 that's dramatic.. you may need a new pH pen..

Off the top of my head based on the minimal information given, I'd first take a shot at saying you're probably not using a water chiller.. So if your water is on the high 70s or low 80s temperature wise, you will see a pH rise constantly. My first hydro set up I was pH down every morning and evening when I would check. It was never anything that drastic though.

I vote ph pen problem, i have the same thing happen. New ph pen somved it fast.

Just buy yourself a water ph tester b4 you go an buy another, just in case it's not your meter playing up,i know the heat can raise the PH slightly but do can your nutrients, im using advanced nutrients GMB, grow micro bloom along with advanced nutrients B52,cal-mag,shogun, silicon & shogun katana root start an liquid oxygen in my bubbler bucket, the Advanced nutrients are PH perfect (so they say) it sets your PH to 6.1 after about 4 or 5 days it's at 6.5,i like it to at 5.6-5.8 when i change the water an feed over so as it rises over the correct ph range it gets everything it needs from the feeds cause certain nutrients are only available at different levels of ph sobi like it to raise, anything over 7.0 with hydro will put your plants in shock, try putting a frozen bottle of water in your res if your water to warm.

Tap water? That can do it. You get an initial drop of the pH when you first add your pH down then the minerals in the water use up all the pH down and you're back to the pH of the tap water. The harder the water the more pH down it takes to neutralize all the alkaline minerals in the water.

Check the ppm of your water. Anything over 100 will eventually cause problems unless nute changes are done more often and pots flushed to get rid of the salts buildup from the water.

Switch to RO, problem solved.

I use pH Perfect nutes with RO in DWC and soilless and haven't even bothered checking my pH for a couple years. Leave them alone and they work fine.

I've similar problem... what is the base of ur ph down? phosphoric acid or citric acid? I lost my sleep last two weeks adjusting my buckets every two tri hours...

randybishop said:

NORTHERN LIGHTS DWC Hydro grow

The PH keeps going up and I keep using PH down.....and it goes up again to 7.5!
Everyday, twice a day it goes up to 7.5 PH after I dose it with PH down.
She has stayed 5" inches tall for a month, not growing.

- Changed the water several times
- PPM is 450
- Hydroton rocks are not touching water

I'm at a loss what to do and on the verge of throwing her away...HELP!

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how big is the reservoir or water tray ?

pics?

Going through the exact same thing mate for about a week now I didnt have this problem with H&G nutrients but gh and and another brand the ph rises from 5.5 to 7.5 in less then 6 hours others use those nutrient lines with no problem ... There's nothing els left to cause the problem tho

I have found that adding a high-quality fulvic acid additive buffers pH and keeps it from rising as quickly. Mad Farmer NUTS has given me the cleaners, most optimal results.
J/s

This gotta be a cheap ph pen is it 450 with ppm of tap ?which shouldn't matter the key to succeed in hydro is cool water hands down you could have bacteria from warm water bring up ph but I doubt it will shoot up that high.

MADD farmer nutes are organic it really shouldn't be used in hydro that's why ph is going up you might get root rot

Macmac124 said:

MADD farmer nutes are organic it really shouldn't be used in hydro that's why ph is going up you might get root rot

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Yes, it is an organic product. But stable enough to recirculate. Unless it is an undercurrent system. Those systems have a mind of their own.
I am just offering an alternative that has worked through the years, not only for me but for my clients. I have no emotional or monetary stake at mad farmer, so you can dispute it or you can try it. Makes no difference to me. I will still be crushing it all the same.
You're welcome.

I found HG nutes were very stable but I also use a higro product that works as well. Without RO it can be a struggle to find a stable mix, I know lol. I have to add 30ml of 85% phosphoric to bring my well water down to 5.7ish but it stays there for a week. I run chilled res's with hydroguard, vitanimo, and a general grow a&b. Switch to half and half grow and flower 4 weeks in to 12/12. Plants stay green till chop with very little fade. Next run I am going to try lowering temps last 3-4 weeks to see if I get fade but still feed as usual.

Bubbling water raises ph. Peace

Thanks for the tips!
Turns out it was my tap water. it worked fine on my last grow a year ago but the water quality had apparently gone down.
I used distilled water and now it is A-OK.

it is still strange,are you by any chance using vinegar or lemon juice to lower ph?

OldMedUser said:

Tap water? That can do it. You get an initial drop of the pH when you first add your pH down then the minerals in the water use up all the pH down and you're back to the pH of the tap water. The harder the water the more pH down it takes to neutralize all the alkaline minerals in the water.

Check the ppm of your water. Anything over 100 will eventually cause problems unless nute changes are done more often and pots flushed to get rid of the salts buildup from the water.

Switch to RO, problem solved.

I use pH Perfect nutes with RO in DWC and soilless and haven't even bothered checking my pH for a couple years. Leave them alone and they work fine.

Click to expand...

What's the PH on with a RO system? I know ppm is close to 0.
What's the different with UV purification and RO?
I'm asking cuz I'm looking to buy a system, one last question , what PPM miter u use?

jaa soo said:

What's the PH on with a RO system? I know ppm is close to 0.
What's the different with UV purification and RO?
I'm asking cuz I'm looking to buy a system, one last question , what PPM miter u use?

Click to expand...

Pretty sure it varies depending on what's going in but could be wrong, I'm going to do some water testing next week and I'll see what RO and non RO is. UV kills bacteria, RO removes minerals and not recomended as a purifier.

RO generally falls in the 6.5 range. acid is removed from water thru air bubbles are created removing carbon dioxide from the water creating carbonic acid, which is what raises ph levels in water. you can aerate water without removing carbon dioxide creating an acidic condition requiring alkaline to drive the ph back down again. Check your nutrients. many nutrients are shipped at high ph levels for longer shelf life. Some nutrients are natural and not made for long duration storage. two factors to look at now, nutrients and water/air ratios.

Good RO water has no pH of its own as it has no minerals in it to give it a pH. And adding alkaline drives the pH up, not down. Adding acid drives it down.