New Grower Proper water ph level?

[atpmixx]

Hello AFN'ers! Im back to growing after my maiden voyage, and wanting to get EVERYTHING correct (my first grow had a few missteps). I have my soil ph figured out. Now, my water. What should be the correct ph? And how do you go about lowering/raising it if you have to?

Thanks, again, for all the help!

 

[Muddy]

Both the soil and water should be the same level, 6.3 - 6.5. Usually adding nutrients will lower the pH and often pH Up is need to bring it back to the correct level. If you're feeding plain water it will likely have a higher pH, so pH Down is needed to lower it. http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/technaflora-ph-up-solution-liter-p-3260.html

 

[atpmixx]

Thanks Muddy! As always, you are the man.

 

[Inf3cted]

I need to fix this - I have not controlled PH and it is affecting 2 of 4 of my seedlings. Tap water PH is almost 7.8 - 7.9 and if filtered around 6.5

Soil PH is about 7

Is it true that soil PH should generally stay at a slightly higher level than coco / hydro ?

 

[Spanglish]

I need to fix this - I have not controlled PH and it is affecting 2 of 4 of my seedlings. Tap water PH is almost 7.8 - 7.9 and if filtered around 6.5

Soil PH is about 7

Is it true that soil PH should generally stay at a slightly higher level than coco / hydro ?

The PH levels you are looking for are what Muddy posted above (6.3-6.5), looks like you know the PH of the water going in already, just remember when adding any kind of nutes this may change so when you start adding them it would be a good idea to get a PH reading again of the water and nutes mixed so you know again what it is when going in (liquid test kits are not to good to test a water nute mix as the nutes will change the colour of the liquid you are testing, so is hard to get a good reading).

You will also want to know the PH of the water runoff after you water her, for example if your water or feed going in is 6.5 and the runoff is coming out 7.5 then something in the soil is raising the PH, so you would then want lower the PH a bit of your water or feed going in till you get the correct range of the runoff after the water passes through the soil, same if your runoff was to low then you would want to increase a bit the PH of whats going in.

Once you get everything stable and know what works for your soil +water+ feed it will make things alot easier for future grows.

If money is not a problem, in a perfect world you would want a digital soil PH meter + digital water meter and can work out the exact PH of your water and nutes, the PH of your soil and then do the math and get everything worked out before you water each time.

 

[Inf3cted]

The PH levels you are looking for are what Muddy posted above (6.3-6.5), looks like you know the PH of the water going in already, just remember when adding any kind of nutes this may change so when you start adding them it would be a good idea to get a PH reading again of the water and nutes mixed so you know again what it is when going in (liquid test kits are not to good to test a water nute mix as the nutes will change the colour of the liquid you are testing, so is hard to get a good reading).

Appreciate it Sir! First Indoor and first AF. Never had to track PH etc before - so I'm keen to learn!

Ok - so PH level is not significantly different for coco/soil - I will aim for 6.5 range for my organic soil.

You will also want to know the PH of the water runoff after you water her, for example if your water or feed going in is 6.5 and the runoff is coming out 7.5 then something in the soil is raising the PH, so you would then want lower the PH a bit of your water or feed going in till you get the correct range of the runoff after the water passes through the soil, same if your runoff was to low then you would want to increase a bit the PH of whats going in.

What is the generally accepted ratio of water to a dry pot? E.g. For my 3gal/12lt pot thats bone dry, am I looking to water say 2L and measure the corresponding runoff?

Since these are indoor, I plan to sit them in a laundry tub and drench them.

Side question - Up until now I have only been giving tiny glugs of water as they were into week 2. Need to start feeding them. I have organic fert - the ratio is 20ml x 9L and needs to be fed within 24 hours of mixing. How do I go about this? Any linkt on how to mix and feed will help. Maybe I'm overthinking it but I feel like mixing in fert in that much water will just result in it being runoff. Should I be making a more concentrated mix (however would this not burn the plant then?)

Once you get everything stable and know what works for your soil +water+ feed it will make things alot easier for future grows.

Sure sounds like it. I should have paid a bit more attention to this topic, especially knowing that the Skunk is fussy.

If money is not a problem, in a perfect world you would want a digital soil PH meter + digital water meter and can work out the exact PH of your water and nutes, the PH of your soil and then do the math and get everything worked out before you water each time.

I actually just got a digital WATER Ph meter and that's how I measured. The soil PH is a probe and not digital.

I'm going to buy bulk bottled water - the PH is around 3.5 and do a flush with nutes to offset and then ensure its 6.5 +/-

 

[barbarca]

I guess you just have to search for the best answer