# why does my ph go up in my hydro grow



## tony8404 (Feb 21, 2012)

I have a 5 gallon bubble bucket hydro setup going on . I just change the res on saturay. I ph'ed the water to be 6.0, I came home Monday and checked the ph and it was up to like 6.9 I then went ahead and added ph down to get back to 6.0.

     Not sure why this happens. any advice?


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## ozzydiodude (Feb 21, 2012)

the ph will change as the plants use nutes


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## Locked (Feb 21, 2012)

tony8404 said:
			
		

> I have a 5 gallon bubble bucket hydro setup going on . I just change the res on saturay. I ph'ed the water to be 6.0, I came home Monday and checked the ph and it was up to like 6.9 I then went ahead and added ph down to get back to 6.0.
> 
> Not sure why this happens. any advice?




*First question I hve to ask is why are you ph'ing your rez so high?*

_* I think most hydro peeps ph their rez to the middle spot or so. Looking at the chart for hydro we see that is 5.8.*_ 


*Most times the ph in your res will gradually rise over time as the plants uptake nutrients. I find this drift is beneficial and usually let it rise to 6.1-6.2 before ph'ing back down to 5.5-5.6. I don't grow hydro often so let's see what some of the other hydro peeps say. THG shld be by and I am sure she can help.*


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## Hushpuppy (Feb 21, 2012)

Yeah The guys are correct about PH rise. I usually set mine about 5.5-5.7 during veg and let it rise for a few until it get about 6.8 then adjust it back down. You will find sometimes also that while in flower the PH will drift down instead of up. One way to slow this down is to make sure your ppm is high enough to prevent the plants from sucking it up so fast. If you are as much as 5-6weeks in veg then the nutes should be around 700-900ppm, and if you are going into bloom then you want the ppm to be up around 1000-1200. If they are from 3-5weeks old, I start out around 350ppm and work up to 700ppm by week 6(if they are growing from seed) This will keep the ph drift from occuring too quick. But be careful to not raise the nutes too much at a time as that can cause some nute burn.


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## OGKushman (Feb 21, 2012)

Question: Do you use hydroton expanded clay? If so It sounds like you forgot to condition it. Most people don't know that you need to soak hydroton for 2-3 days in ph 5 water. You will constantly add ph down for the first 2 days, but then it will stabilize. I found out the hard way. Now I have zero problems with pH rise. Your numbers of 6.0-6.9 sound exactly like the hydroton is trying to stabilize at its natural & neutral 7.0 pH.

FWIW, I had the same issue


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## The Hemp Goddess (Feb 22, 2012)

How are you mixing your nutes and how are you pHing your solution?  What nutes do you use?  What ppm are you mixing them?  What are you using for pH down and do you have a meter?

Also the others are correct about your pH and hydro.  A pH of 6.0 is too high.


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## oldsman (Feb 22, 2012)

is there a sticky on the proper way to pH your water?I'm trying to learn this process myself as I've never pH'ed my water before.i either get straight from the hose or from the creek.i have those little strips for now just to roughly check it but would like to know how everyone does it.I'm planning on getting a tent for the "off season" and feel my girls could benefit from getting my pH under control.Sorry Tony for jumping into your thread.


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## Locked (Feb 22, 2012)

oldsman said:
			
		

> is there a sticky on the proper way to pH your water?I'm trying to learn this process myself as I've never pH'ed my water before.i either get straight from the hose or from the creek.i have those little strips for now just to roughly check it but would like to know how everyone does it.I'm planning on getting a tent for the "off season" and feel my girls could benefit from getting my pH under control.Sorry Tony for jumping into your thread.




When just ph'ing water I fill my 5 gallon buckets then ph the water to 6.5 and let them sit for 12-24 hours...then I recheck the ph again with my ph meter and adjust the water back to 6.5 if it has drifted. When doing nutrients I fill the bucket with however many gallons of tap water I need, then add my nutrients in the correct order for GH 3 part (Micro, stir, bloom, stir, grow,stir ) then ph to 6.5. This sits for at least 24 hours to let the buffers finish doing their thing and then I check the ph and adjust if needed. I find nutes always drift a bit and need to be re-ph'd.  I don't like the strips at all....I use meters.

Cheap place to get good meters is Eseasongear.com. Jmo


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## oldsman (Feb 22, 2012)

Thanks Hammy.It all seemed intimidating to me but now it seems so simple that I'm kicking myself for not doing it the whole time.My wife is giving me 1000 dollars from our tax return to spend on getting set up for a tent so I'll be able to grow year round.As you can tell by my number of posts that I usually just watch and learn from all of you here on the site and it looks like I'll be trying to apply it as well.


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## Locked (Feb 22, 2012)

You shld be able to get a really nice set up for a grand....jmo but when it comes time to get light hangers look into pro grip hangers. I can't say enough good things about them. One of the better buys I hve made.


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## oldsman (Feb 22, 2012)

I've been noticing you carrying on bout them and they will no doubt be on my shopping list.I have a physical disability and those look like I could work them easily.Somewhat like a mini blind.


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## CXHydroponics (Jul 1, 2012)

You may be interested in checking out the I AM A SPAMMER...we get so many people asking the same questions about this stuff that we made a series about some of the common ones.


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