If the p.h levels in the soil are reading around 7.5-8 should i adjust the p.h. in the water jugs to maybe 5 or 5.5 and flush it out to correct it?
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Yes get it down to 5.5-5.8 if you can. But make sure your draining well or your gonna drown the roots. How are you measuring the soils ph? What tester? Or are you testing run off? Or a slurry of soil and water? Need a bit more info on what your growing with nutrient wise and water type?
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Soil should be 6.5 to 6.8ish area. Lol. He is running soil not coco but lower going in to lower the soil pH should be done. Yes. Get the soil out come reading about 6.5ish
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I have a meter that i stick in the soil. I balance it right at 6.5 before adding water but its still getting up to 7.5-8 once i put water on the plants.
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WOW ! 7.5-8.0 is going to cause a lot of problems for you.
What is the pH of your water??? Also, what is the brand of your pH meter???
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The water is 6.5. The meter, idk the name brand but has two prongs that stick in the soil and test for moisture and ph.
Jay Johnson
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Hey Jay, thanks for the info…
Well, if you’re going to grow anything seriously, I’d advise investing in some quality meters…
Bluelab makes quality meters…it’s gonna cost you a little over a hundred bucks, but it pays for itself.
A cheap meter is going to cost you more…More frustration, more wasted nutrients and more lockout issues…
FWIW
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I absolutely agree 
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I don’t know if the meters are the issue. I bought em and forgot I had em so I wasn’t using them till it was too late. I adjusted some water to about 5 and put 3 cups on it to see if that starts to lower the levels.
Jay Johnson
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Good move…
If you check your pH of the feed water and then check the pH of the drainage water, over time you should be able to gauge the effects.
Jay, another thing that will REALLY help you out long term, is using R/O (reverse osmosis) water for all your plants needs… I guess my biggest concern would be where did that pH8 come from…
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I’m really not sure how it got that high. I should also say my vision isn’t as good as it used to be and it’s hard to see the exact number. Looking at it with my jewlers loupe it seems to be right at 7 and I shoulda thought about that first but this is my first grow and kinda went into panic mode. I read that certain soils will effect the ph also?.
Jay Johnson
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Sure,
There are many different planting media. Some have added fertilizers, some don’t.
Then there is coco coir which is basically very similar to hydro grows in that it is basically a totally inert media.
You can use well amended and aged ‘soil’ from your garden, but it can be problematic as you never know what parasitic fungi might be present.
You didn’t mention what your ‘soil’ is. Regardless, don’t overwater! And don’t fertilize at all until your plants have 3 or 4 sets of true leaves where you can watch their color!
More new growers kill their plants with too much love, than not enough!
You can use that magnifying glass at the top of the page to search ANY subjects you have questions about. Growers network also has a ‘UNIVERSITY’ to get you started with the basics !
Looking at the posts here you’ll often notice the pros advise ‘LITFA’ (leave it the f*** alone!).
You have a weekend coming up and I believe it would serve you well to take advantage of the knowledge base already here!
Good Luck my man, and there are many excellent, generous growers here for help!
Bob
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I appreciate that.
Jay Johnson
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That will do phonly yes it’s a good one. There is another model of u want it’s multi purpose and does tds and pH both but if u want pH only that’ll do
Make sure to get the correct storage solution for that pen also
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Namn of the brand
Tds? What is that
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That’s a fine instrument! In fact that’s my own portable pH meter…
TDS is ‘Total Dissolved Solids’. That will work well for you in determining the ppm or EC.
Here’s the formula for you…
EC= TDS Divided by 0.67
BTW, EC is ‘Electrical Conductivity’ is the preferred method of determining your nutrient concentrations.
EC= ppm X 2 Divided by 1000
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I have a TDS meter also another one idk the brand of but the 2 pronged meter that reads ph moisture and w/e else it is. I lowered the ph in the water before giving it to the plant but its still high. The meter doesn’t seem to be the issue but not sure why its not dropping. I have 4 plants going and it works properly on them. Im using fox farm ocean and their big bloom, grow big and tiger bloom fertilizer. Possibly raised from using that?
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Thanks for the info…that helps.
@jhrdcr13, have you tried preparing your nutrients in water and letting them set out overnight?
The only thing that seems feasible to me is that you may well have a compatibility issue when mixing those nutrients together…if you let it set out on a table for about 12 hrs and come back and look at it…
Is there precipitation in the bottom of the container?? (looks like sand or grit??)
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