1st Time Grower/ PH Problems - Please Help!

[TinyPaperStar]

this is my set up
high output Fluorescent lighting
Hydroponics Bubbler system.
rockwool medium
General Hydroponics nutrients
2 Clones (Grape Romulan and Hawaii 5-O) I've only had them 2 days. But they seem to be a few weeks old.

My main problem is I CANNOT keep the Ph balanced and I don't want to keep adding more chemicals and create a nute lock out but, I'm so afraid of loosing my clones. The Ph Slowly creeps down to low 5's and even dip down into mid-low 4's... then throughout the day creep all the way back up to high 6's and low 7's, and the reason I'm finally asking for help is because its now peaked almost to an 8 and nothing I do will bring it down. ( don't worry I haven't just been adding a shit ton of chemicals to adjust, just small amounts of lemon juice when its too high but it doesn't seem to have any effect now and like i said... I fear for my girls. The sativa (Hawaii 5-O) seems to be taking the abuse pretty well with no drooping or limping and only 1 branch is showing signs of chemical burns. Still very green and healthy looking. The indica (Grape Romulan) seems to be taking it harder. Shes showing signs of chemical burns on almost all lower branches is yellowing at her new ones and is a little droopy...
PLEASE! PLEASE! Any advice would help so much. I'm literally on the verge of tears because of all this. I'm so frustrated Im about to say EFF the Hydro and go to a soil/wick system... seems like less stress and A LOT easier.

 

[InhaleShanti]

shitballs ~!!
uhhhmmm
i'm gonna give some bad advice in the hopes that sum1 smrter will correctify =D

flush~!??
are u pre-pHing your nutes??? whats the pH of ur nutes before they're goin in ??
pull the babes and put them in soil~!??
ummmmmm??
i'd get my ass some pH-up/down & drain the res and be certain your nutes are where u wntem before the babes are in ??
take a healthy cuttin justincase??

hope you gettem back in line TPS !! =D

 

[kdogsgirls]

I personaly dont have the tkme to deal with hydro, I have had nothing but sucess woth promix, all I have to do is ph adjust before feeding and ill nsver ever have issues..soil imo is just better

 

[Captain Kronic]

I haven't used a system like that but I will just throw this out there... how often are you changing out the nutes? Are you cleaning the reservoir out also?

I have had probs w/the PH dropping but not dropping and then rising on it's own!

I used GH 3 part in my grow and if I remember right, their chems are self buffering... mine were anyways... what is the starting PH?

Also, when you say "slowly creeps down and then up"... how long a time is that? A day, hours?

 

[kdogsgirls]

I believe the order you mix your nutes in can fuck up the ph also, capn correct me if im wrong but an example would be you always add boost first, the the bloom food...just an example not nessicarily coinciding with your issues as your starting veg, but maybe the mixing process is wrong..not sure cuz im hydro organic in promix, im the pump, but the food is still in the water not the soiless mix..i think its called hydro organic..im burnt..anyway just a thought.

 

[TinyPaperStar]

I haven't used a system like that but I will just throw this out there... how often are you changing out the nutes? Are you cleaning the reservoir out also?

I have had probs w/the PH dropping but not dropping and then rising on it's own!

I used GH 3 part in my grow and if I remember right, their chems are self buffering... mine were anyways... what is the starting PH?

Also, when you say "slowly creeps down and then up"... how long a time is that? A day, hours?

its a few hours that it'll go in either direction. It wont stay put (Except now its stuck at 8... WAY TOO HIGH!!!) I only put the nutes into the tank when I put the water in. I've only had them 3 days. I think my problem is Im using purified water (which has a base Ph of 7) instead of distilled or reverse osmosis water) I've heard tap water could help too but I live in Sou Cal so my tap water is really hard...

 

[TinyPaperStar]

I personaly dont have the tkme to deal with hydro, I have had nothing but sucess woth promix, all I have to do is ph adjust before feeding and ill nsver ever have issues..soil imo is just better

thats why I was thinking about switching to a soil wick system since i dont have the money/experience to build an ebb & flow system. And since Im a newbie, soil is more forgiving and has wider windows to fix problems like this...

 

[TinyPaperStar]

I believe the order you mix your nutes in can fuck up the ph also, capn correct me if im wrong but an example would be you always add boost first, the the bloom food...just an example not nessicarily coinciding with your issues as your starting veg, but maybe the mixing process is wrong..not sure cuz im hydro organic in promix, im the pump, but the food is still in the water not the soiless mix..i think its called hydro organic..im burnt..anyway just a thought.

Thanks I'll try that when I put the new water and nutes in here soon.

 

[kdogsgirls]

I love soil, and im very hands on with the plants..i spray em with a mister every day, and theres just something about mixing the food and hand watering the girls that brings me closer to them...i look at every leaf every day to check for stresses, insects, or deficiency..and with promix if your worried it may have been over fed just flush the soil...i have a dwc five gallon bucket, but it was a pain in the ass..i wonder if your rez could have some chemical it was treAted with that could be raising the ph

 

[kdogsgirls]

I was reading some stuff anout hydro vs soil, and what I found made sense..hydro doesnt grow better pot which most people think, it just grows faster, like 20% faster during veg..the only reason I could find to use hydro was if I was growing commercially ..the sped up growth coupled with harvesting early allows the big commercial guys to get in an extra harvest a year..and that equals a lot of money when your talking twenty pounds at 3 grand or four grand a pound...they dont flower any faster, only veg...hey I veg for a month then flower under 400hps & a 600hps, in five gallon buckets im gettint four plus oz dry from each plant..had one cola thirty inches long as thick as a two liter bottle almost