Can someone please help me with hydro ph

[tyler_ hobbyist]

Good morning everyone, any help would be very much appreciated.
I have always grown in soil but I am now trying to grow in aeroponics for the 1st time.
Can anyone give me tips or tricks?
Grow details,
18gal Rubbermaid container
30w fishtank pump
6gallons of water at 1time in the container
Emerald harvest nutrients 3part plus additives
General hydroponics ph up/down also,and test drops
In seedling stage 3 florescent lightbulbs, (but veg/flower will be mh/hps)

My number one question, I'm hoping someone can help me with is about PH. I understand I need a ph between 5-6 but my question is how often do I need to ph my water and keep an eye on it? Is it like a daily thing or every 12hours or every couple days????
Is it normal to go from 5ph to 7ph in 5days?

Any and all help will be much appreciated

 

[Jsimo]

You want to be between 5.5 and 6.5 (unless aeroponics is different than dwc for some reason). you want it in that range at all times. It's ok and actually preferable if it drifts between those numbers because different nutrients are absorbed in different ranges.

Only you'll know from your experiences in how often to check it. Probably quite often for a while until you kinda know how your system reacts. I generally have a swing in the first 24 hours. After changing the nutrients but then it settles and will stay the same after that. So I'll check every 12 hours after a change and just make sure it stays in range, then if needed I'll adjust back in and i know i won't need to check it as often, usually do every couple of days to be safe anyways.

 

[tyler_ hobbyist]

Awesome! Thank you very much.

 

[DW2]

Howdy tyler_hobbyist, Jsimo is correct on the pH range and letting it fluctuate within that range for proper nutrient absorption. I grow in a 10 gallon tote (six gallons usable) and change out the water a nutrient every seven days. I use plain old tap water because it has some of the necessary nutrients already in it and it seems to be more 'stable' when adjusting the pH. At the mid week, I check the pH and if it is out of range, I top off the reservoir with pH'ed water. If the reservoir is out of the desired range, I adjust the added water up or down as needed to get the reservoir back to within range. I learned, the hard way to not chase the pH up and down during the grow, just adjust it at the feeding and let it fluctuate. The pH changes as the nutrients are taken up by the plants and is normal.
Good luck with Your grow.

 

[tyler_ hobbyist]

Thanks you what kinda ppm should I feed my plants in the different stages? IV started my seedling out at 500ppm but not entirely sure what I should be leaning more towards because IV always done soil grows.

 

[DW2]

I do not use a PPM meter, I have just been following the recommended feeding schedule from the GH web site (for DWC with the MaxiGrow and MaxiBloom nutrient line).

 

[HappyDaze]

I use the same GH nutrient line that DW2 uses, but at half to 75% or the recommended strength for the run I've got going now. (around 400 PPM, NaCl scale using RO to start) You might be starting the seedling out a little hot, depending on your base water hardness.