1st Indoor ever - RQS Gorilla Auto

I Still have some problems for which I need a little bit help in my next grow. I usually overwater a little bit, so I can test the PH of the water coming out of the pot. The PH of that water, is mostly 7.3, which I think is odd since I always PH-control my feeding-water to 6.2-6.7... Very weird but I think it is because of my soil which isn't fairly enough adapted to 6.5 or something acidous.. Now, this week was a good week: plant didn't grow that much, but the buds are really starting to develop and you can see there are many many potential buds. That's why I did some defoliation in the "1/3downpart" of the plant. I removed all the little leaves and little buds where no direct light can get to. There were 2 little stems who had developed little, but still potentially big buds, so I LST'd it to the side (with a hook/pen for tents, as you can see; very handy instead of wiring it down to the pot) so that they can catch more light... For the readers, if there are any, I have a few questions: - Can I still get the PH of the soil to drop? Or has this ship sailed? Is it worrysome, since I always make sure the PH of my feeding-water is about 6,5? Will they take up enough nutrients if the water's PH is OK? See you next week!