How Long does PH stay stable?

[yamiacaveman]

I would like to regulate the PH on like 8 -1 - gallon jugs of water. After adjusting the PH, does it remain stable for a long period of time?

For watering in soil, and I am using, General Hydroponics PH down

Just wondering if i can, plan ahead for my watering needs or should I just do a gallon or two at a time?

[Flockshot]

If you PH your water, and then shake it all up to get more oxygen in the water, the PH will have changed.

[DW2]

I have made (pH'ed with the GH down (dry type)) as mush as three days ahead of use and have not had any problems with it. I have seen where some folks do have troubles with their water staying in range, but I'm not sure why, their water source or the additive that they use (organic or not).
Set up a test, pH a gallon, let it sit for how ever many days that You plan to have it in advance and check it again. That twill let you know for certain.

[fozzy]

Great question! I have wondered the same thing.

[yamiacaveman]

Hi DW2, I did set up a test gallon, and if I remember I will post my results -- week by week. I know there are a lot of variable to consider and I also thought maybe someone here already did this type of experiment, or had a link to other test results.

[NebulaHaze]

The more extra "stuff" in the water, the more stable the pH will be. So if you're starting with heavily filtered water (like reverse osmosis water) the pH will swing quite a bit. If you're using hard water, the pH will be a lot more stable because the extra minerals act as a buffer.

[DW2]

Thanks Nebula, My local water is hard but within the FDA limits, or at least, it is a 'Public Approved water Supply' by the State. I only say it hard because to turn it off, I reach for a hammer and chisel !! LOL

[NebulaHaze]

That's about where I'm at!

The other thing that really helps stabilize pH is to use a bigger reservoir. The pH drifts a lot faster in 5 gallons of water than in 10 gallons of water

[DW2]

Good to know.
Thanks Nebula!

[yamiacaveman]

Thanks, I have been using distilled water from Wally World, and that's been running like 6.5 so I haven't really did anything to it. On a second note I was going to use my well water -- that runs about 7.5 and was thinking about using that on my next grow.

Just found out, I have been using and will use Kind Soil for my next grow, and they don't recommend phosphoric acid with their product, only a citric acid crystal base products.

[Beach_Town_Brit]

I filter my tap water using a Brita filter, and then use GH PH Down to bring down my PH. I was away over the holidays and left my girlfriend to water the pants (which she did an admirable job of). To help her out I ordered a bunch of 1 gallon black food grade plastic bottles and premixed all the nute solutions. She checked Ph before using each bottle and saw very little drift across two weeks (like 0.3 change in Ph).

[bobsakamoto]

I ordered a bunch of 1 gallon black food grade plastic bottles

BTB, thank you! did not know these even existed...i've been looking for just something like this and couldn't find ANYTHING...not even close...so thank you!!!

[Beach_Town_Brit]

Hi Bob, they were tricky to find. These are what I ordered:

http://www.thecarycompany.com/plastic-f-style-bottle-68wbf3

Somehow I ended up with more jugs than caps, not sure what I did wrong in my order.