Indoor confused pH

[PoopsMcDoogle]

Today was the second watering of my lil girl. I was experimenting with the pH trying to get it at around 6.3-6.5. I first watered with 6.5 and runoff came off at 7.0. I then watered with 6.0 and it came out at 7.0 again. I finally watered at 5.5 and still 7.0!!! Is this because the lime in my soil is quickly buffering it back up to a neutral 7.0? What is the point of adjusting pH if the lime does it for you? What should I do? I'm guessing I about flushed most of my nutrients out of the mix by watering so much too. I"m not worried 'bout that though. Just this damn pH bitness. I still haven"t found out the correct answer to what the runoff comes out at. I have heard it's spot on. I've heard 1 to 2 tenths lower. I've heard 3/4s to a full point lower.it seems as if there isn't ever a definitive answer for anything to do with pot. :cry:

 

[Kindest]

Haha perfect. I'm looking for the same answers right now. Watering as low as 5.5 pH with nutes and still getting a 7.0+ runoff reading. I don't get it.

We will wait for answes together.

 

[bgrt]

hey i was asking similar things heres what i got told,....

can someone explain or point to me to an article on the basics of ph control?
i have just received my first ph meter just a simple pen ph hydrotester with glass electrode etc. i think i have had a ph problem causing a lockout and had to wait for an order for a few weeks so im wanting to correct that and to know how to properly ph my nutes for feeding etc.

i am growing in soil and have a bottle of ph up and down, calibration fluid 4 and 7
and only a small sachet of storage solution that came with the pen. can i use one of these others to store in safely? or will that degrade accuracy etc.
i will be using general hydro 3 part nutes and tap water which i havent tested yet.
i hear the terms runoff etc and have a basic idea of what to do but it is only ever mentioned never explained so sorry if it seems stupid or arbitrary.

just dont want to fumble through and break the pen and be waiting another few weeks uselessly.
cheers

All the company literature I've seen says to only keep the probe in storage solution, but I've read where many use the 7 calibration and have no problems. What you want to avoid is storing it in distilled water, which will apparently damage the probe over time.

I test runoff by pHing my solution to something middle of the road like 6.5. Then I water until I get drops coming out of the drainage holes, and I collect that fluid and test it. I think the first drops are most accurate as they show you exactly what affect the soil has on the water, but the more that comes out you're going to naturally see it drift towards the same pH as the water coming in. I use a small pitcher and I know roughly how much each pot takes before it starts draining, so it's pretty easy to do all this. If I watered with 6.5 and my runoff was 6.3, I'd figure that my soil pH is somewhere around 6.2. So the next time if I want to bring that up I may water with 6.7 until my runoff comes up to exactly where I want it. It'll move around some depending on the plant and what stage of growth it's in, but you can keep it within range fairly easily with some practice.

im not sure why yours isnt moving but watering so much in one go will not get you accurate readings so it might just be that, or as you say the lime but id say get another reading after letting the soil dry out and follow andy on catching the early runoff and measuring that. it seems like yours would all be late runoff since you had the soil saturated for both other tests unless you left time just didnt sound like that.
i wouldnt flush too much like that without a break is all. the plant will suffer not just the soil.
what are you measuring with?
changing ph can take time i had to for a week or two.
all i can think of but id say someone more experienced will come along soon

https://www.autoflower.org/f2/ph-control-info-8016.html
heres the thread might havea a few more bits of info

great name btw