by joanna
Proper PH Lvels
5:53 am in Materials and Resources, Plants, Seeking Advice by joanna
Reading up on ph levels. Anything that falls between 5.5 and 6.5 seems to be the acceptable range. Is this true?
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Yep. For certain plants, like tomatoes, there’s a different ideal pH, but in general the hydroponic solutions should be in the high 5 or low 6 range.
To be more specific, experts say 5.5-6.5. To raise a low (acidic) pH you can use baking soda. To lower a high pH, you can use distilled white vinegar. Homeharvest.com sells a pH adjustment kit by General Hydroponics that includes both a pH test kit and two bottles of stuff marked pH up and pH down.
Thanks. I meant to reply to this sooner. I’m going to do my very first nutrient solution change in a bit. You should see how the farm is kicking along.
“To lower a high pH, you can use distilled white vinegar.”
OK, yes this can work. A few considerations:
1) You are introducing a potentially harmful bacteria into your solution. Have you noticed it turns MIKKY WHITE after a few days to a week if you use vinegar? That’s because it has a bacteria in it which is not harmful to humans at all, but it is deadly to plants if it gets out of control. You can use hydrogen peroxide to keep in in check.
2) Hydroponic nutrient solutions often have built in pH buffers. That means the pH up/down solutions are specifically geared to not chemically react with these buffers to effectively change your pH. However, vinegar or citric acid ( simple lemon juice) often reacts with these pH buffers. What you will see is the pH drop at first, and in 4-8 hours or even a day or so it spikes back up. This is BAD for the plants. My suggestions, find vinegar that is pasteurized and adjust the pH SLOWLY and over a few days.
Hope that helps!
MILKY not MIKKY…
And I didn’t say this, but obviously the pasteurized vinegar would have all the bacteria killed since the high temperature would denature the proteins essential for it’s reproduction. You can do this yourself at about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. I personally am building an enclosed box with a germicidal lamp. I plan to pour the vinegar solution in a thin clear container and leave it in there a few days to rid it of bacteria. I don’t have an accurate way to heat the vinegar, but I suppose I can try that first and see. I’m worried it will just evaporate and stink up my home, LOL! Plus, I can use my germicidal box on citric acid or utensils… but really I just want to build it!