Ph problems! Did my research but no solution found!

Skylander

Well-Known Member
Strain: CC 818 Headband
Stage: 9th Day of Flower
Media: Bottom third Hydroton/Middle Rockwool cubes/ Top Hydroton
Method: Hydro (2 5gal Flood and Drain buckets) Oxygen Pot System /with 55 gal Res
Nutrient: Blue Planet Nutrients 3 Part with Seaweed and Root Magic + Cal-Mag
Water: 20% Tap water at 70 ppm/Ph 6.4 80% RO water at 10ppm/PH 5.4
Lighting: Two BD XLs (750w ea) LED
Training: Each plant has its own Scrog Net
Temps: 84F Leaf surface Temps Lights on/ 65-73 Lights off
Humidity: 50-65
PPM: 640


Im having a hard time trying to figure out why my ph is dropping. I ph up my res to 6.1 and in 24hrs it gets as low as 5.4! My roots are very white and my plants show no signs of def. Matter of fact I brew a tea every week. The base of my plants are at least 2in in diameter! I veg these girls for 8 weeks. They look very healthy and are reaching for the lights. I spotted my first pistols about 5 days ago!:-P Im concerned because I leave in about three weeks and I want my ph to be a little more stable then that. I have someone to adjust the ph while Im gone but thats about it. Im leaving for two weeks and my plan is to do a res change before I leave.


I have a Tri-meter by nutradrip that sits in my res 24/7. I calibrated it today with 7.0 and 4.01 solution. My 7.0 solution reading was 7.1 on my meter and my 4.01 reading was spot on before I made that .1 adjustment. The nutrient solution temp stays at 65/66 with the help of a chiller.

ANY HELP OR INSIGHT IS HIGHLY APPRECIATED!:bigjoint:
 
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rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
don't know anything about the blue planet stuff but is the seaweed additive organic? that would scare me in hydro.
 

Skylander

Well-Known Member
Yeah it is! I have had great results with it. My roots are white! Im sure I have no pythium! Or correction I know my beneficial teas are working. Who knows it might be a constant battle of the microbes. To the human eye my root system is ideal.
 

Velvet Elvis

Well-Known Member
means your plants are drinking water, not the nutrients. more salts you put in ph goes down right? so if ph goes down it means they are drinking water and making solution more strong.

ph goes up because they are drinking just the ferts, and making it more dilluted. if your tap water is only 70ppm I would use more of it after dechlorination or add a silica product that helps buffer and stabilize PH.

being majority ro water along with organic inputs, there isnt much for buffering the solution.
 
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Velvet Elvis

Well-Known Member
might also want to mix up batch 24 hours in advance and give the reservoir a good 12 hours to stabilize ph. then use it, if it still fluctuates rapidly, refer to my first post
 

Skylander

Well-Known Member
Thats exactly was i was thinking but the ppm stays the same. Example , I did a res change Sunday and my ppm were at 680. Today the ppm is 670 and I have 5-10 gallons less water in my res so I know they are eating at a pretty even rate. Thats why Im so confused.
 

Velvet Elvis

Well-Known Member
ppms dont necessarily work with organics. should be a decent indicator, and makes me scratch my head too. do you test ec?

most organics are very volatile? mercurial? I mean changes way too fast, not enough buffers.

what do you use for ph up? maybe try baking soda next time as it will buffer at same time
 

Skylander

Well-Known Member
I will try preparing my nutes 24 hrs in advance! I start off with 10 ppm and then I add 220 ml of cal-mag and I let it sit for around six hours. I then add my nutes. I add a gallon of tea to my root base every week. It helps flush the salts you refer too.

Just when I thought I had it all figured out!:confused: Again they look really healthy. Just want to catch whatever it is before it gets out of hand because I am in flower.
 

Skylander

Well-Known Member
No I just have a ppm meter. I look around and mostly everyone is using higher concentrations of nutrients by this time in there grow. Especially with plant as big as mine. But like I said they are showing no signs of any kind of stress whatsoever. Personally I think they are the best looking plants Ive ever grown.
 

Velvet Elvis

Well-Known Member
i didnt realize blue planet was synthetic, I read your post fast.

how are you checking ph? if you really want to dial in your grow and keep them looking awesome, mix at least a few hours in advance if not 24 hours. do not add down then up then down or vice versa.

something youre adding is making it volatile. try a round without the root magic or cal mag perhaps. see if it still swings. one thing at a time so you know what the culprit is. and yes, ,you are at light doasage for how nice they look. in nextweek or two bump it up to 900ish, which is still safe side
 

Skylander

Well-Known Member
I have a tri-meter that stays in the reservoir. I can see exactly what happens after each feeding. Ive been looking for them to start demanding a heavier feeding. I will keep a close I on that as well. Thanks Elvis!
 

Skylander

Well-Known Member
Just thought about it! Could I be adding to much tea to my system. I make a brew a tea using ancient forest, molasses, orca bennies, hydroguard, and the root magic. I know the ancient forest has humic acid. Just a thought. I wont stop using it but I might need to drop the dosage.
 
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