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pH down is making my water smell bad/rancid...any ideas?

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    pH down is making my water smell bad/rancid...any ideas?

    hey all. ^ happens within i'd say 6 or so hours of correcting. i first noticed it because of the smell but i thought it was the soil. then i tracked it to the water i had been using to germinate and water. i had only mixed it up the day before. so i threw it out and chalked it up to ? then just now i noticed it smells again. and i only mixed that smaller batch up a few hours ago... please advise. thanks.
    "i try to play the ball not the opponent."--Roger Federer

    #2
    What sort of water are you using.? What's your ph down/ phosphoric acid? It shouldn't cause any trouble. May be the water itself. Are you sure you need to ph the plain water? What is the ppm of it?

    Comment


      #3
      hey weasel. thank you for responding. i am using tapwater that has had only the chlorine and chloramine removed. ph after that is 8+ so i have to use the general hydroponics product ph down to lower ph. i am open to other products of course. just picked that one bc it was recommended by nebula. it's not the water itself because it's the same water i drink, bathe in, use all day, so if it smelled like that--well, it would be noticeable... i mean, this water REEKS... the first time it happened i figured it was some weird thing. but the second time i wrote down what time i added the ph down and 6 hours later...STINK. i am really really puzzled. the only possibility that makes sense to me is if the ph down product itself is expired but it has no expiration date. otherwise i got nothin....
      "i try to play the ball not the opponent."--Roger Federer

      Comment


      • St.buds
        St.buds commented
        Editing a comment
        I use tap water too and general hydroponics pH up and down and have not had tht issue but remove wht chlorine I can by letting the water sit for a few days. How r u removing it?

      #4
      Ph down is just acid. Usually diluted phosphoric acid. It should say on the bottle.
      Have you left plain water to sit, without the ph down? Oftenwell water will come out clear looking and nice but have iron or sulphur in it which starts to stink over time as it oxidizes.

      Comment


        #5
        see that's why i wasn't really feeling the expiration explanation...how could acid expire? but it was the only reasonably plausible thing i could come up with... i really am fairly confident it's not the water itself...i have stored the filtered water, especially more so since starting a grow, and i checked my stored jugs when this first happened, thinking like you that something was the matter with the water itself...water stored for over two weeks (checked my journal to make sure) doesn't smell....water i've used the last several days...doesn't smell.... only water that smells is all and only the water that i ph-ed down and let sit in an open glass pyrex cup and also in a spray bottle....they each smelled and were cloudy (so i was able to rule out container causes)...approx 6 hrs after adding ph down.

        thank you for your help. i really really appreciate it. so weird...
        "i try to play the ball not the opponent."--Roger Federer

        Comment


          #6
          Hmmmm. Not much help. Do you know the ppm of your water?
          I'll google what acid is used for GH ph down- since you don't seem to have found any info on the bottle. The most common ph-down acids, Phosphoric acid and Nitric acid are both nutrients to some extent, but I'm not sure that the ph down could have caused a slime type outbreak within six hours- seems awfully fast.

          Edit- its phosphoric acid. How much do you add - say per gallon, or five gallons?

          Comment


            #7
            it is truly an uninformative bottle, i have to say. i've been over it 2-3 times now, literally w/a magnifying glass, in case i missed something. am now in the process of using google to see if this is A Thing.

            i add only enough for the amount of pre ph-ed water i need at the time...so since i'm in germination it was 1 cup in the pyrex measuring cup and i'd guess a little less in the spray bottle; i divided them evenly when i "made" the batch.

            you don't have to google for me, i can do that...although i appreciate very much that you're trying to help... and apparently are the only one that has opinions and info to offer on this particular topic, which i find....curious.
            "i try to play the ball not the opponent."--Roger Federer

            Comment


              #8
              They're all watching tv and stuff.
              I edited it in right after I made the comment. Phosphoric acid.
              I don't understand your answer about how much ph-down you're using. A cup full??????!!!!!! No...

              Comment


                #9
                sorry, i see now the confusion..... i mean i use the final amount of ph-ed water i need for say the next 24-48 hours as the constraint and just add ph down accordingly with a pipette until i arrive at desired ph. so if needed amount is 2 cups i'd say i added 1/2 a pipette so approx 2 ml. but i just stand there and add and test and add and test until i get within .10 either way.
                "i try to play the ball not the opponent."--Roger Federer

                Comment


                  #10
                  hey weasel. i appreciate all you have done tryin to help me. ima go to bed now bc i have not had a lot of success googling and so i'm just gonna let it sit until morning. worst case scenario is i've effed up these seeds/germination irrevocably, and that's not the terriblest thing ever.....either way i think i'll go to a pet store tomorrow and get some alternative acid and order some non ph down product in the a.m. thank you again.
                  "i try to play the ball not the opponent."--Roger Federer

                  Comment


                    #11
                    So you use about 2ml to balance a cup of water? So about 32ml for a gallon? That's a lot.
                    I'm not sure what you would need such a tiny amount of water for- but why not just use rainwater or buy distilled water?

                    Comment


                    • St.buds
                      St.buds commented
                      Editing a comment
                      My tap is 8 + and I add one ml of pH down to a gallon and tht brings ph to 6

                    #12
                    Oh you're sprouting seeds. I see. Alright- have a good sleep mate.

                    Comment


                      #13
                      thanks, MATE. love that expression...always have. seriously Weasel thanks for all your help...really REALLY appreciate you...*handing you all the rep points*....
                      "i try to play the ball not the opponent."--Roger Federer

                      Comment


                        #14
                        One time I bought a gallon of drinking water from 7 11 and had it at work I think the second day after I took a few drinks I realized the water smelled awful dnt no if it was the bottle or the water

                        Comment


                        • tortnjane
                          tortnjane commented
                          Editing a comment
                          Had the same thing happen with bottled water at a Costco. Smelled and tasted almost sulphuric. I've bought water from them on dozens of occasions without problems.... odd. I threw it out.

                        #15
                        Bobsakamoto, I was noticing a rank smell in my water jugs as well, usually when I was going to fill them up for the next feed. I was keeping the GH pH down in an air tight clear jar until I read the label and it said "to keep away from light". I changed it to a light proof container and that seemed to lessen the smell but not git rid of it. I now, add 2 ml per gallon, of the GH Florashield as a preventative against algae, fungi, and mold in my reservoirs. This has helped control the 'off' smell and kept the reservoirs relatively clean.
                        Smoke weed,.....grow peace!

                        Comment

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