Help please! Relatively new. Have had a few good successes but have been traveling the past year and took break. Anyway did notice on one of my last ventures that the ph from the tap was a little high. Like 8. Have done nothing but soil so I know it should between 6-7. Just started a new one and am about 4 weeks in now and noticed splotchy spots on the leaves. Immediately I knew I should’ve paid attention to the ph. So yesterday i lowered it to 6.5, over watered a bit to test the runoff and the runoff was way low! Like around 5. I’m so confused,I figured if I was using water that the ph was too high I would have high runoff and could just mix some “down ph†and correct. So I have high ph tap water that’s making crazy low ph runoff?! What do I do. Flush? Or give it a few feedings with the correct 6.5 and see if the runoff corrects itself. Help please
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High pH tap water making crazy low runoff. Need advice!
- Thread starter Akapookie
- Start date
Flatlander
New member
What is your setup.? Soil mix?
9fingerleafs
Well-known member
The thing about ph is that the value is a ratio of positive to negative loose particles. And does not take into consideration concentration. And that’s a big part. If you have a soil with tons of nutrients and salts, meaning very concentrated, and the ph is low, you’ll need to put into; not only a high ph water, but a very concentrated one. So just the tap water won’t be enough. You need a concentrated solution with high ph to counter act the very concentrated nutrients in your soil.
You could dilute them all with a flush, tons of water, but they’ll be drained and wasted, better to put a buffer so they all become available.
google alkaline organic amendments or teas or whatever you like to balance the soil contents
You could dilute them all with a flush, tons of water, but they’ll be drained and wasted, better to put a buffer so they all become available.
google alkaline organic amendments or teas or whatever you like to balance the soil contents
9finger. Thanks for the input! Just a couple more questions. So I need a very high ph or alkaline water to bring the runoff down to the 6-7 ph that a soil grow needs. Can I just use the general hydro up ph liquid and mix it in? Just not sure how I will be able to tell how high I get the mixture bc the drop tester colors can only show dark green in so many shades. I know how many drops it takes to bring the ph down from 8 to 7 so maybe go in the other direction w the same formula?
Yeah. Happy Frog and using the Fox Farm nutrients as well.
Really appreciate the advice!
Yeah. Happy Frog and using the Fox Farm nutrients as well.
Really appreciate the advice!
9fingerleafs
Well-known member
In that case the alkaline nutrient you have is big bloom. So you can have a gallon of tap water and with a few drops of ph up or down the ph changes very rapidly. But if you add nutrients first. Then a few drops of ph up or down only change a little bit the ph value.
It’s not that you need higher ph. You need nutrient water with high ph.
I would use big bloom and ph up to water at ph 7 until the runoff come out above 6.
Then in the future always aim for 6.5
It’s not that you need higher ph. You need nutrient water with high ph.
I would use big bloom and ph up to water at ph 7 until the runoff come out above 6.
Then in the future always aim for 6.5
Flatlander
New member
Wood ash works great. However, it makes the soil stiff, almost builds a skin. Just use in moderation. It builds it up and can make watering tricky. I know from personal experience. I personally won't use it. It's counter productive. I had used it last winter and in the long run it's not a good idea. Creates blockage in your medium. My 2 cents.no disrespect, we're all trying to help one another.