Ph Down

[Joe Dirte]

So I've been chewing the ph down through my recirc system to keep my ph in check and I'm needing to buy another bottle. Does anyone just use vinegar or any other alternatives? I'm running grow a n b plus silica and rizo.

 

[Joe Dirte]

So adding to this my ph is swinging up everyday, I've nearly used 250ml of ph down in my grow so far, seems excessive but I'm not happy when my ph keeps swinging up to 7 so I knock it down to 5.5 every morning and every night. It's a 100litre res, plants are healthy not sure why this is happening I'm using tank water which has a ph about 6 than adding cyco nutrients a and b, silica and rizo to ec of around 1.2

 

[Pedro de pacas]

Change brands of PH down ?

 

[Pedro de pacas]

what are you using ATM

 

[Joe Dirte]

what are you using ATM

It's the flairform one what do you use?

 

[Pedro de pacas]

Hygen now, had the same prob as you with flairform

 

[smileysmoke]

algae causing the rise? are you running beneficial microbes in the res?

 

[HGO]

So adding to this my ph is swinging up everyday, I've nearly used 250ml of ph down in my grow so far, seems excessive but I'm not happy when my ph keeps swinging up to 7 so I knock it down to 5.5 every morning and every night. It's a 100litre res, plants are healthy not sure why this is happening I'm using tank water which has a ph about 6 than adding cyco nutrients a and b, silica and rizo to ec of around 1.2

you need to put the silica in first then adjust the ph to where you want it then add the nutes & additives
The silica acts as a buffer and keeps it stable

 

[Joe Dirte]

Hygen now, had the same prob as you with flairform

Thanks Pedro I will grab a bottle of hygen

 

[Joe Dirte]

algae causing the rise? are you running beneficial microbes in the res?

It is possible, no beneficial microbes running, would the ferts and phosphoric acid not kill them anyway? Anything you recommend?

 

[Joe Dirte]

you need to put the silica in first then adjust the ph to where you want it then add the nutes & additives
The silica acts as a buffer and keeps it stable

Thanks HGO I wasn't aware of this. I will try that next res change

 

[Pedro de pacas]

Not used sillycar here ?( not often anyway, I do have some), its got a PH of about 7, not sure it matters when you put it in ? first or last
just make sure whatever goes in first is well mixed in, then PH ya mix after everything has been mixed together properly

Not sure how it stabilizes the PH ?, plants grow perfectly fine without it in hydro, they say it increases bud size(cooper) but its the Potassium that's doing that IMO ?, its good for plant health tho, bug attacks and pathogens protection

 

[Deleted member cpr]

I did say I takes everything a bit bigger, didn't mean the buds though. I was thinking about stems, leaves etc. They all get chunkier.

 

[HGO]

https://hydrobuilder.com/learn/mixing-plant-nutrients/

this explains why you should add the silica 1st

 

[Pedro de pacas]

https://hydrobuilder.com/learn/mixing-plant-nutrients/

this explains why you should add the silica 1st

I could put one up explaining why you should use it last ? as long as the ferty or the sillycar is mixed thoroughly it don't matter ?
here ya go
How To Get The Most Out Of Silica In Your Grow Op
It’s been well-established that making sure your cannabis plants get silica is important for their health and for your bottom line. Once you’ve picked out the right silica product for your grow, using it correctly is the next step.

Silicon requires a pH higher than seven in order to stay soluble. Because of this, it can’t be included with other nutrients, rather, it has to be stored and added separately. It shouldn’t be added into a feed until all the other nutrients have been dissolved. If you’re using a two-part feed, silica should be your third part.

It’s best practice to dilute your silica with about one gallon of water. This will help avoid nutrient lockout that can occur when silica mixes with other nutrients.

Be sure to begin adding silica to your plants in the early veg stage. It’s also wise to stop feeding your plants two to three weeks into bloom, depending on the silicon product you choose.

Most silicon comes in the form of potassium silicate, and any product you choose will come with detailed instructions. Be sure to follow these instructions carefully, as silica behaves differently than other nutrients and should be treated as such. The benefits of this natural and simple element for plants are clear, but they’ll be of no use if you don’t use it properly.

 

[HGO]

I only use the Cyco brand of Silica and found that if you Ph the silica and water to 5.7 then add nutes etc
the Ph will settle back to 5.7 after a half hour or so and it's good to go .
Any top ups between res changes only have nutes or additives no extra silica

 

[Pedro de pacas]

I only use the Cyco brand of Silica and found that if you Ph the silica and water to 5.7 then add nutes etc
the Ph will settle back to 5.7 after a half hour or so and it's good to go .
Any top ups between res changes only have nutes or additives no extra silica

Interesting HGO, never had much to do with it, its not needed in Hydro IMO ? used it once and didn't like the result, THC sillycar
probably did it wrong lol
but I might give it a go on half me inside outside plants, see if it makes any difference to them, bugs and pathagens

@ joe Don't use floraform PH liquid tester, it shows the wrong PH, its .5 higher than the Hygen shows
I swapped to the Hygen, plants look heap[s better

 

[HGO]

Interesting HGO, never had much to do with it, its not needed in Hydro IMO ? used it once and didn't like the result, THC sillycar
probably did it wrong lol
but I might give it a go on half me inside outside plants, see if it makes any difference to them, bugs and pathagens

@ joe Don't use floraform PH liquid tester, it shows the wrong PH, its .5 higher than the Hygen shows
I swapped to the Hygen, plants look heap[s better

I only use it (silica) in hydro Not needed probably but It cant hurt to chuck it in
Interestingly the Diatomaceous earth I love to use in soil is made from Potassium silicate

 

[Sedge]

Hey-gen Bud Link Silica .

kinda confusing reading this ..
the procedure part seems to be for recirculating reservoirs. ?
i use it as three part adding it last ..after fixing PH.
probably been doing it wrong ?.

Also got some Power Si. ,,,says to add that first .

photo from Bud Link bottle

 

[Joe Dirte]

I only use the Cyco brand of Silica and found that if you Ph the silica and water to 5.7 then add nutes etc
the Ph will settle back to 5.7 after a half hour or so and it's good to go .
Any top ups between res changes only have nutes or additives no extra silica

Thanks for the info, I might just drop it out on my next res change and see if the ph settles down. So I've run out of flair form phdown today and live no where near a grow shop (good forward planning haha) so I just gonna use vinegar to get me through till Monday when I can get some hopefully. Will stick with hygen by the sounds