Keeping a steady PH

[Greenfingers]

Good day to you all, at the moment i have a 25ltr tub set up with a small heater and an air stone.
water out the tap has a ph of 8.6 and im wanting it down to 6.2, ive added white vinegar to the tub which brought the ph down but the next day it was back up to 8.6

how would you go about it if you was trying to achieve a steady ph in preheated water ? ......... get rid of the air stone and replace with a small pump to move water about

Cheers

[2-Scoops]

You need some proper ph- because vinegar will do it but it doesn`t hold steady at all. Theirs 2 different types one is more aggressive than other, maybe wrong wording so lets say one is stronger than other i use the growth technology ph- cus i know it holds steady which is phosphoric acid. TBH i just mix up a 80 ltr tub and leave it alone nowadays. I dont use airstones myself and always ph last.


I also use growth technology silicon which helps lots in keeping a steady ph, this can be used as ph+ but i use it as it should be used growing hydro around 1/2 to 1ml per liter dependent upon where i am in my grow.

[ncrypta.core]

Hey hey,
I had similar problem when I switched from hand watering to drippers , where over time the air stone will raise the ph, plus more ph you need to add could effect the ec too. I switched to using a wave maker and since then my ph barely moves.

This is the one i use

I’ve never use vinegar for ph before I just bought the growth technology one as I was using the bio buzz up and down before that, my water temp normally sit between 20-24c

[Marcus]

Hi GF, I'd ditch the airstone and heater for a start and just ph it when you are about to feed the plants.

[Mafooo]

I have also found that when I pH fresh tap water and let it sit for a day then I retest it with the pen and it says like 0.5 higher than when I adjusted it the night before.

I assume this has something to do with the acid spreading more throughout the water and finally settling down to the actual pH of the solution.

I dont really know though. I think its weird

[ncrypta.core]

I have also found that when I pH fresh tap water and let it sit for a day then I retest it with the pen and it says like 0.5 higher than when I adjusted it the night before.

I assume this has something to do with the acid spreading more throughout the water and finally settling down to the actual pH of the solution.

I dont really know though. I think its weird

Tap water has excess C02 in it that lowers the ph when you first fill your res for example. So over night the excess co2 will leaves the water, by gas exchange, which will in turn raise the ph of the nutrient solution to where it would have been if it wasn't for the excess co2. Air stones just speeds this process up.

In Athena FAQ
Q: "Should I use an airstone?"

A: No. Airstones will cause pH to rise over time. We recommend using a circulation pump to keep your solution mixed.