Ph issue?

[Zack]

How do i manage to get the PH between 6 to 7 using some organic matter how long would it take to lower the PH. The water im giving the plants is above 7 PH. The PH of the plants is above 7 and i have 3 white widows growing which are in their intial stage and 1 guillotine plant which is half way through its flowering stage.

[DW2]

Hi Zack, welcome.
You can use citric acid or vinegar to lower the pH, but I'm not sure what, if any, organics to raise the pH. I use the GH pH up which contain some phosphorus and potassium compounds, all of which are beneficial to the plant. There may be an organically derived pH up buffer, but I'm not aware of it. I grow in a DWC set up and keep the pH at 6.0.
Good luck with your grow

[Zack]

I used vinegar today got the Ph of the water to 6 and watered the plants, after which i checked the PH and it had gone up from 7.2 to 8 very unexpected and alarming. Then after a while i checked the PH again it had gone back to its intial stage of 7.2 And im growing in coco coir.

[Weasel]

Though it's not really thought of as ph up (or down) dolomite lime is probably the most common way to regulate ph in soil. It can be top dressed. I'm not a soil grower -at least not for cannabis though I have grown in soil my whole life with my regular gardens.
Another option more in the 'ph+' category is baking soda, if you can consider that organic. It's salty so you don't want to have to use very much of it.

[Zack]

Thanks mate will have a look into it.

[NebulaHaze]

Earth Juice Natural PH Up (potassium bicarbonate) and Natural PH Down (citric acid) are safe to use with organic growing. They're made of ingredients that won't hurt or otherwise affect the bacteria in your soil

Your plant looks great!

[Zack]

Can i use this with coco coir?
Really thats my first grow..

[Weasel]

Yes certainly you can

[Zack]

Thanks buddy weasel

[PigSquishy]

I used Citric Acid called pH Down by Earth Juice in hydro... and let me tell you honestly it took about 2-3 days in the hydro tank and seriously I will honestly tell you that I had to open the windows, the doors, use a fan to suck the smell out and still had to wear a breathing mask to keep from puking from the stench of what smelled like an unflushed toilet in the heat of a desert summer. It is my understanding the way the citric acid worked was it fed the harmful bacteria in my system and thus why the stench and problem. Now how this will work in soil for you will simply depend on how in balance the bacteria in your soil is at the time you give it something to feed on. The same will go for the vinegar(s) as well, the other problem you will face is the pH will not be stable, and here is what I mean by stable.

Tap water for me is a pH of 8.8... I can bring it down to 6.0 with vinegar, citric acid, and boost the pH with Lime Juice... but in a couple of hours my pH will drift, and by 24-hours having passed my pH of 6.0 will be back to 8.8, my PPM's will have gone up and I now have feed bacteria(s) good or bad, I'm not sure... will I have given the edge to off set the balance of bacteria, I don't know that either. What I do know is this... When I use pH Down by lets say GH (35% Phosphoric Acid), it takes the better part of a week for the pH to drift, and if I use a pH product by like AN (Lab Grade % Phosphoric Acid) then it will stay stable for the entire week. I know all of this because I've done the tests myself on my own water to see what will happen and to better understand what works, what doesn't and try to get an understanding as to why.

If you are a new grower stick to the pH Down liquids would be your best bet, the pH Down "powder" like by Earth Juice is 100% Citric Acid which I could not find anywhere until I bought it myself. pH Down in the Powder used to be made by GH was the powder and was the same Phosphoric Acid they sell in the liquid form. Thus I thought all pH Down products were made equally and they are not, I thought the price told you how good it was, or if it is clear or dyed orange, and in the end I learned there is two major types of pH Down out there for sale, Phosphoric Acid and Citric Acid that are used by growers, those who want to go 100% organic and spend the extra time getting it all right and working go with organic, and those new growers who just want it to work and see results, stick to the phosphoric acid would be my suggestion. A 8oz bottle of pH Down costs about $10 - $15 depending on which brand you buy and seriously in most cases it will go a long way. I can't even tell you how far it would go because it would depend on Cal-Mag in the water as a base point, but it should be safe to say an 8-oz bottle should safely treat 50-gallons of water if you have horrible water like mine; and it should treat even more gallons if your water isn't nearly as nasty as mine is.

At the end of the day keep this is mind if you are the average Joe, use the 35% phosphoric acid pH Down it is safer for you to work with and to handle... If on the other hand you are comfortable with lab grade chemicals then go with the pH Down as such. Citric Acid is super cheap to buy and you can buy it even on Amazon, health food stores, cooking stores, etc... But at the end of the day when you look at cost verses results the pH Down liquids are cheaper to use then the powder, the powder blows around, gets on everything and gets everywhere was my experience, because it is a very light powder that loves to drift in the air currents away from where you want it. Hope this extra information helps you to make the right decision for you.

[bobsakamoto]

PigSquishy , thank you so much for this....i have the *exact same* problem, drift and all--my filtered water really, REALLY wants to be 9.0...lol

[PigSquishy]

Well Bob, this might also help you and give you an idea as to the differences in the strength of GH and others compared to AN, I was using an 8-oz bottle of pH Down per a water change just to stabilize it for the week, with AN I'm using 45-50 ml for the same amount of water, there is a serious strength issue. My tap water is 980-ppm's high in Cal-Mag, so that is why it takes me so much pH Down to get to 6.0, on top of all of that Cal-Mag in the water I then add another 90 ml of Cal-Mag to the water, plus all the nutrients I use and yes I've got a way of sucking up all that Cal-Mag and my plants are doing just fine... My point is in telling you this, to give you an idea of just how hard my pH is to move... but in using AN pH Down I have more safety steps I need to take to do the job because I am working with lab grade acid, and NOT Food Grade acid.

[Zack]

Great post GT you made it much simpler for us beginners. And im growing in coco coir will the PH down liquids solve my issue?

[PigSquishy]

Zack Yes, a liquid pH Down would work well in all conditions, including Coco coir. I am happy to know I am helping to make all of this make more sense for you.

[Zack]

Haha by the amount of knowledge you have im sure you have been growing from a long time now.