The Hempire Strikes Back!

Weaselcracker said:
Sometimes I lull myself into believing that my ph meter is fine when I haven't actually checked it over as well as I should.
I always store the meter with the tip wet. Storage solution is made for that purpose but almost any solution is better than letting it dry out. If it stays dry for too long it will screw up eventually.
All probes are really only good for a year or so it seems before they start getting weird- which is also what the manufacturers generally admit, I think. You might get one that lasts longer. But there's a limit.
I calibrate mine with ph7 solution, then ph 4. (Not all meters are set up for that).
It's worthwhile to adjust the ph of your nute mix - test it, then let it sit for an hour or overnight and test it again to see if it's changed. Mine doesn't seem to change overnight -though I went through a period where I was convinced it was.
I haven't found soilless to be very good buffering against wonky ph and I've had lots of ph problems in the past as you guys know.
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Maybe thats what I am doing wrong i don't let it sit over night. See i always thought that i shouldn't be mixing nutes ahead of time but I guess i misunderstood that. Like i said my ph meter is spot on this was just my screw up apparently.
 
I don't normally let mine sit overnight either. Just sometimes when I'm managing my workload/watering schedule timing. But it's reassuring to do it once in awhile just to make sure the ph is stable- and is what I thought it was when I mixed it. I don't think it hurts to mix it up the day before. At least I haven't heard any concrete info on why it would be a problem + haven't experienced any problems or noticed any changes in the mixture when doing this.
 
Ya im thinking i should definitely give more time for the ph to stabilize.
 
My PHing routine is different.
I use tap water. Let it sit for at least 2 days to allow chlorine to off-gas.
Grab 1 gal in a milk jug. Add CalMag. Add nutes.
At this point, I know that I'm gonna have to add a slightly heaping 1/4tsp of my ph down. My water starts high, and the additions I make drop the ph some, but not as far as my 5.5 target.
My target is 5.5. I've tested my mix and see a drift up over a 3 day period. If I start at 5.5, my mix should be at about 6 by the time I refresh. This allows my plant's ph to drift thru the low and high end on either side of the nutrient chart... hopefully giving a bit of a boost to the nutrients better absorbed on either side of the recommended PH of 5.8.
After I add my ph down, I shake for about 30secs. The ph down I use is powdered and it takes a little shaking to get it to fully dissolved.
I pour some into a cup. Let my ph pen set in it for about 2min. I often stir it thru the water a bit. I keep an eye on it and see the numbers settle... usually right around 5.5.
If I need to boost it up any, I just put in a small bit of baking soda (not baking powder). A little bit on the end of my 1/8tsp spoon will drop it a point or two.

Different than your routine in a few ways... not saying better.... just different.
 
Lex I am wondering why you pH to 6.2? Seems more like a soilless pH. When I was doing hydro I pH'd like Tead to 5.5 and let it drift upward to 5.8 or so. 6.2 seems high to me.
 
I m just a soilless kinda guy with horrible town water (ph7.5 and TDS around 450) and all I do is airate the res, use the o ll milk jug to mix. I did ask the people at GP for proper procedure and they said with my conditions ( assuming they are taking my crap water, not RO d stuff) they said to ph water THEN add nutrients, they say it ll climb with nutes being added but will regulate in the medium.... So now I don't even measure ph, just from memory I add a little muriatic acid/hydrocloric acid I get in a big 4L hug from the hardware store, shake the shit out of it then add food. It's been pretty bullet proof for me lately. I found PH ing the whole res was a waste, it changed overnight so was pointless for me..... I HAVE read that a guy can and should ph the res and let it sit for days as well but I think TDS has a funny effect on things and the make up of said minerals. If your running RO no worries but if not then there may be your issue lying in there somewhere... I know we're running totally dif setups but I figured any insight might shed some light, hate too see a brotha suffer esp a kick ass individual such as yourself! Good luck bro, I hope your issues get hammered out so you can kick back and coast:thumb:
 
ShiggityFlip said:
Lex I am wondering why you pH to 6.2? Seems more like a soilless pH. When I was doing hydro I pH'd like Tead to 5.5 and let it drift upward to 5.8 or so. 6.2 seems high to me.
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I could be partly the cause of this- because I mentioned it seems to have helped with some of my strains to bump the ph up a notch. Experimental tactics.
 
Tead said:
My PHing routine is different.
I use tap water. Let it sit for at least 2 days to allow chlorine to off-gas.
Grab 1 gal in a milk jug. Add CalMag. Add nutes.
At this point, I know that I'm gonna have to add a slightly heaping 1/4tsp of my ph down. My water starts high, and the additions I make drop the ph some, but not as far as my 5.5 target.
My target is 5.5. I've tested my mix and see a drift up over a 3 day period. If I start at 5.5, my mix should be at about 6 by the time I refresh. This allows my plant's ph to drift thru the low and high end on either side of the nutrient chart... hopefully giving a bit of a boost to the nutrients better absorbed on either side of the recommended PH of 5.8.
After I add my ph down, I shake for about 30secs. The ph down I use is powdered and it takes a little shaking to get it to fully dissolved.
I pour some into a cup. Let my ph pen set in it for about 2min. I often stir it thru the water a bit. I keep an eye on it and see the numbers settle... usually right around 5.5.
If I need to boost it up any, I just put in a small bit of baking soda (not baking powder). A little bit on the end of my 1/8tsp spoon will drop it a point or two.

Different than your routine in a few ways... not saying better.... just different.
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Ya your method is definitely different. You use tap water and i use distilled because oldmeduser told me my tap water was way too high in ppms and that I should use distilled so i switched in my last journal towards its start. My tap water ranges from 390ppm up to the 500 ppm being the worst ive seen from it. The ph of my tap is usually 7.5-8.3 not that it can't be brought down or anything just saying. Back when I used the tap water if i recall correctly I was constantly having what seemed like a mg deficiency that is when OMU stepped in and told me i shouldn't be using my tap water, he is the reason why i ended up buying a ppm meter lol.
 
ShiggityFlip said:
Lex I am wondering why you pH to 6.2? Seems more like a soilless pH. When I was doing hydro I pH'd like Tead to 5.5 and let it drift upward to 5.8 or so. 6.2 seems high to me.
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Ok so heres why i ph to 6.2 might not make alot of sense but bear with me lol. I used to ph to 5.5 but over time my girls seemed to not be able to uptake cal and mag and the were always droopy so then i would ph to 5.8 and they seemed a little better but still droopy as crap so then i racked my brain with a lot of research and the only thing that I could figure out was that cal and mag always seemed best absorbed according to the charts at 6.0 to 6.2 without making everything else be out of a range where they could be absorbed as well, so I figured based on the charts for hydro ph that in order to stop having cal and mag deficiency, when i know there is plenty of both in the nutes i give, that i should aim for 6.0-6.2 . so thats why I ph to 6.2 and i hope it wasn't to confusing lol.
 
Bearded Budz said:
I m just a soilless kinda guy with horrible town water (ph7.5 and TDS around 450) and all I do is airate the res, use the o ll milk jug to mix. I did ask the people at GP for proper procedure and they said with my conditions ( assuming they are taking my crap water, not RO d stuff) they said to ph water THEN add nutrients, they say it ll climb with nutes being added but will regulate in the medium.... So now I don't even measure ph, just from memory I add a little muriatic acid/hydrocloric acid I get in a big 4L hug from the hardware store, shake the shit out of it then add food. It's been pretty bullet proof for me lately. I found PH ing the whole res was a waste, it changed overnight so was pointless for me..... I HAVE read that a guy can and should ph the res and let it sit for days as well but I think TDS has a funny effect on things and the make up of said minerals. If your running RO no worries but if not then there may be your issue lying in there somewhere... I know we're running totally dif setups but I figured any insight might shed some light, hate too see a brotha suffer esp a kick ass individual such as yourself! Good luck bro, I hope your issues get hammered out so you can kick back and coast:thumb:
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Ya i just feel a little confused with ph i always have been really. I hope this can be figured out so im not always screwing up my girls. I appreciate your input brother i must admit however that im a bit more confused now lol.
 
Weaselcracker said:
I could be partly the cause of this- because I mentioned it seems to have helped with some of my strains to bump the ph up a notch. Experimental tactics.
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You are partly correct lol. You definitely have been with me through all my ph troubles and know how many times we were stumped by my ph issues lol. I did see your post about uping the ph and it did coincide with the research I was doing at the time and it definitely made me think you were onto something there.
 
It definitely seems to have worked for me with that Thai strain to bump it up a notch. I won't know this for sure until I get a few clones of it going and torture them with science experiments.
But I suspect that your ph mis-readings would be the main factor to look at first if you maybe haven't been feeding the plants at the level you thought you were.
I'd also be inclined to follow Tead instead of myself when it comes to the hempy ph.
 
Definitely agree with you since we do grow in different methods so i probably should be listening to Tead but i do value everyones input.
 
Tead said:
Disclaimer: Tead lives in an extreme world. Things that work in his neck of the swamp may not play out well in anyone in your world.
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Duely noted lol
 
Ok so as much as i didn't want to i went and took pictures. The clones have kinda perked up and by kinda i mean their tops are up but the rest isnt.
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Sally is looking rough but that isn't too surprising since i learned her last watering was a higher ph then i initially thought.
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Ok so i decided to give you guys the info on me making a batch of nutes in hopes that it can help you help me figure out what is wrong with the way i do things so i can learn the proper way.
I start off with 1gal of distilled water and the following is how im supposed to mix these nutes in order.
Calimagic 1.5ml
Flora micro 4ml
Flora grow 5ml
Flora bloom 1ml
Rapid start 2.5ml
I shake in between adding each nute so when im done adding all that i let it sit for 15-20 mins then i checked the ph and it was 4.72 now its time for me to adjust the ph and so i added my homemade ph up shook it a bit then let it settle for another 15-20mins then i checked the ph and it was at 6.05 and i was trying for a little lower so i adjusted it once more with a little homemade ph down and waited 15-20 mins and the ph was at 5.91 then i decided to be thorough and check the ppms and they read as 715ppm. Now my plan is to let it sit while i sleep and check it when i wake up and report it back here then. So i just ran you guys through what i just did now. Any and all input is welcome.
 
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