Problem with pH. Can't drop it down

Budzbuddha said:

Give us all info from your grow …..

medium
Nutes
Water / ph
Temps / rh
Lights
Light schedule ( that first pic looks reveg )
Etc.

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bio buzz soil and I topped with worm castings cuz it started to compact after the 3rd month .

From time to time I was top dressing with masterblend 4-18-32. Epsom salts and calcium nitrate. Humic acid. Kelp. Silica. And some food for the bacteria like vitamins and cane molasses. Also I went heavy on the mycorrhizae.

Water pH stays at 6.2. But for a week a while ago o left it to a friend of mine to take care of it and I guess he didn't pH it for a week but I didn't had any problems until the flower started. The water I use is tap stayed over like a day or something so the chlorine evaporates.

Usually the temperature is 24C running on a 100% light intensity. And the relative humidity is 65%.

The light is Spider Farmer SF-4000. And yes I did suffer a reveg because it went to flower on a 12-12 cuz the seeds I bought apparently were photo period not auto as it said on the package and I was already like 3m in in veg. So when the bloom started I went a bit gready and thought if I bring it back to 16-8 I would have a better harvest.

Here are some pics before the shit happened

First things first.... even if you truly believe you have an issue, you must change only one thing at a time other than the obvious, as an example when to change more than one being over watering or distance from light.

Be slow and methodical in your actions.

Amafuckitup said:

Well can't you see that they don't look very healthy. And what I get from the 4plants is the closer it is to 7 the less deficiency it shows. That's why I was thinking it's nutrient lockout due to the very high soil pH.

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I've seen much worse, actually look ok. Purple lights ?
All I'm saying is that it's easier to reverse things when making a single change v. Many changes and then wondering what worked or made it worse is all.
I say good luck to you.

Amafuckitup said:

Well can't you see that they don't look very healthy. And what I get from the 4plants is the closer it is to 7 the less deficiency it shows. That's why I was thinking it's nutrient lockout due to the very high soil pH.

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Your first problem is trusting any reading that meter gives you. I'd start by throwing it in the trash.

twentyeight.threefive said:

Your first problem is trusting any reading that meter gives you. I'd start by throwing it in the trash.

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I had three of them. Just threw them all away. Had a yellow pen too and it got slow to react. So it went out too. Got a Apera PH-20. Not a soil measuring device though.

All the flushing with various waters at various pHs to try and flush my flowering to a higher pH than 5.5 were fruitless. Didn't change a thing but drain out the nutes and give me the yellow tips.

Skunkbudz said:

I've seen much worse, actually look ok. Purple lights ?
All I'm saying is that it's easier to reverse things when making a single change v. Many changes and then wondering what worked or made it worse is all.
I say good luck to you.

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Today I actually did a partial flush to one of the plants with 15l of pH down and white vinegar. And I did see a small drop down from runoff of 7.9 to 7.3 and will monitor the next few days how is going to react. Also I removed some of the bottom fan leafs and popcorn buds to redirect more energy to the top growth.

How are you getting such a high pH in the soil?

I've was using Masterblend 4-18-38 with calnit and Epsom salts. Drainage pH was around 7.2. I'm working on this problem right now, I believe the solution lies in the nitrate:ammonium ratios, desired is supposedly somewhere around 3:1. However, my drainage pH was not near 8. To me that suggests you've got something out of balance in the potting mix, possibly too much lime. Oh, measuring pH is a PITA! Get some good tools. I would not trust that meter reading.

Amafuckitup said:

Fyi the wierd goop in the water is sulfur

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I looked into the use of elemental sulfur (such as dusting sulfur) for acidifying soil, and I read that the breakdown of it is a long term process in excess of 6 months. I decided not to use it since my cannabis crops are done after a few months in the potting mix. I put the old, used mix under my trees outside and start with new potting mix for each new plant.

Iron sulfate is said to work very quickly at acidifying soil and potting mix, though I have not tried it.

Three Berries said:

Got a Apera PH-20.

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Can the bulb be replaced? I've been using those inexpensive $15 yellow or red glass-bulb types with digital readout, but the bulbs cannot be replaced. I think I've bought 4 or 5 over the last 10 years or so, and only have 2 good ones remaining. That's maybe $75. Although replacement bulbs are likely pricier than the replacement cost of one of these types. Also need calibration solution. Gotta use a screwdriver to calibrate, it's a little tedious.

simpleleaf said:

Can the bulb be replaced? I've been using those inexpensive $15 yellow or red glass-bulb types with digital readout, but the bulbs cannot be replaced. I think I've bought 4 or 5 over the last 10 years or so, and only have 2 good ones remaining. That's maybe $75. Although replacement bulbs are likely pricier than the replacement cost of one of these types. Also need calibration solution. Gotta use a screwdriver to calibrate, it's a little tedious.

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No it cannot be replaced.

Three Berries said:

How are you getting such a high pH in the soil?

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Because he's trying to measure runoff pH with a cheap 3-in-1 in soil at that.

Someday he'll figure out about worrying about what's going in not what's coming out. But like most new growers he constantly has to try to fix things without really knowing what's going on.

Amafuckitup said:

bio buzz soil and I topped with worm castings cuz it started to compact after the 3rd month .

From time to time I was top dressing with masterblend 4-18-32. Epsom salts and calcium nitrate. Humic acid. Kelp. Silica. And some food for the bacteria like vitamins and cane molasses. Also I went heavy on the mycorrhizae.

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My head is spinning. This would definitely be too complicated for me.

I would start with a light mix, then feed it your fertilizer of choice, not more than two different bottles. Do that until harvest. Use 6.5 pH water.

If you have to handle more than 3 different "stuffs" including supplements, it's too complex. Would not attempt until you have your grow dialed in completely and can go from seed to harvest without issues. Then you can consider using supplements, but often they don't do anything noticeable, or create issues.

twentyeight.threefive said:

Because he's trying to measure runoff pH with a cheap 3-in-1 in soil at that.

Someday he'll figure out about worrying about what's going in not what's coming out. But like most new growers he constantly has to try to fix things without really knowing what's going on.

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i never said that i'm testing the runoff with the 3in1, am using it inside the pot mostly for moisture levels. am using this baby https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ST3VTQ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amafuckitup said:

i never said that i'm testing the runoff with the 3in1, am using it inside the pot mostly for moisture levels. am using this baby https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ST3VTQ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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That’s a good meter. Do you do 2-point calibrations and use storage solution for the bulb?

Amafuckitup said:

i never said that i'm testing the runoff with the 3in1, am using it inside the pot mostly for moisture levels. am using this baby https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ST3VTQ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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Regardless you're testing runoff in soil.

Who knows with all that stuff you've been throwing on. Should of stopped adding stuff after the first 3.

"masterblend 4-18-32. Epsom salts and calcium nitrate. Humic acid. Kelp. Silica. And some food for the bacteria like vitamins and cane molasses. Also I went heavy on the mycorrhizae."

xtsho said:

Who knows with all that stuff you've been throwing on. Should of stopped adding stuff after the first 3.

"masterblend 4-18-32. Epsom salts and calcium nitrate. Humic acid. Kelp. Silica. And some food for the bacteria like vitamins and cane molasses. Also I went heavy on the mycorrhizae."

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+ sulfur, and vinegar.... This probably isnt going to end well

Boatguy said:

+ sulfur, and vinegar.... This probably isnt going to end well

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Amafuckitup said:

Today I actually did a partial flush to one of the plants with 15l of pH down and white vinegar.

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This, on top of everything else.