Runoff ph low?

Happyjack42started grow question 2y ago

My runoff ph was about 5.9 this morning, the ph going in was about 6.7. I think for next water I should just add my tap water, which has a ph of about 8.5-9, what would you do?

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m0useanswered grow question 2y ago

5.9 is not to bad. also if the EC is higher the PH tends to drift down in runoff. I had a grow where the PH going in was 8.5 and coming out was 5.1 it has some sort of bacteria or something in the medium messing it up. it was a constant battle till harvest. as long as the plant seems happy and healthy I don't think you have to do much. Maybe monitor the runoff EC to confirm its not to high. and if it keeps trending down past 5.9 then yes alter the PH going in with some PH up or don't add in any PH down and then monitor. Good idea to test soil PH if you have the ability to. Good Luck!

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Sit_Ubu_Sit_Good_Doganswered grow question 2y ago

you need to know what your runoff comes out at under good conditions when nothing is going wrong and the plant is healthy and stays healthy. It is an imprecise measurement due to many factors and is not very representatitve of the substrate. Take all of that x2 for soil. Even soil probes are pretty unreliable for pH. is the plant healthy? do you have a baseline for runoff you are comparing or just assuming what you saw this recent time is a problem? gain familiarity of what is normal before reacting to runoff measurements. If the plant shows symptoms, that's an actionable obsevance. it's good to track this stuff, but it's part of a bigger puzzle as far as how to interpret it.

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Hashyanswered grow question 2y ago

I'm thinking the same as autoflowersucks said that a runoff of 5.9 is fine. I would not push your input PH any higher. I'd imagine your grow medium will be somewhere between your runoff ph and your input ph.

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AutoflowersSucKanswered grow question 2y ago

Nothing wrong with 5.9 I wouldn't use runoff as a means of pH measurement. I would use litmus paper or a digital soil pH Probe

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Krisisanswered grow question 2y ago

So I don’t actually have the answer for you, but I’m having the same issue..and thought the same thing as you, so that’s what i just did. Was just about to ask if I messed up- then I saw you ask. Hopefully some with good experience chime in soon :) I’ll be watching for your answers. Good luck 🍀

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