need quick help with PH, have clones coming tommarow

[ixisnowixi]

So i have a 4 bucket DWC return system, with 1 more bucket as a reservoir. All are 3.5G. So any ways step by step...im new to hydro...
i bought 20 gallons of distilled water...0 ppm, 7.1 Ph. I mix 10 ml Botanica Pure Bloom,shake, then add 5 ml cal mag,shake, to each gallon at a time.
After running the system, for a bit the ppm read 560 with a pH of 3.5. I added more Pure bloom and brought the ppm to 710. Btw my PPM reader is a 500 measurement.
My Ph is still 3.6 and i dont know what to do, do i add Cal Mag? Not sure how to lower or raise Ph at all. Can someone shed some light, ive been searching the forums endlessly for answers, but most just say keep it in the 5.6 - 6.0 range, rofl well how do you bring it up and down?

 

[Warlock1369]

There is a ph up and down. Also comes in a kit with drops to test. I don't know how you are testing but meter might not be right. I have the drops on hand for anytime I think my meter is wrong. And if you didn't calibrate your meter yourself font trust it. Use the 7.0 to test the meters right. I've used many nutes never Sean them take 7.1 down to 3.6. So I think your tester is wrong.

 

[ixisnowixi]

hmm thanks for the info

 

[ixisnowixi]

damn i need a buffer solution, any idea where i can pick some of this stuff up, only if it wasnt so late

 

[Warlock1369]

Got a true value near you? But most garden places have them. Your clones will be fine a day or so in tap water. So dont stress out. Just don't let then dry out.

 

[ixisnowixi]

i actually have a ton of hydro stores near, actually one thats 2 miles away. So tommarow i will adjust it, im sure the Ph is fine now, realizing i spent $70 on a PPM pen, then like what $4 on a ph pen

 

[Warlock1369]

My milwaki has taken a beating and is still right. Well the first one died cuz I threw it at my GF but this one works great. Cheap enough I can replace every year.

 

[superstoner1]

the more nutes you add the lower the ph will go. thats a very little res for 4 plants, a larger res will save you a shitload of problems and work.

 

[ixisnowixi]

so i went and bought ph7.0 and calibrated my ph stick, and my Ph in my system is 4.0, i exchanged some water for fresh distilled water, and now its only 4.3 with a ppm of 560. Should i add baking soda at this point? need quick advice, clones are here and need to be xplanted

 

[Warlock1369]

Mix baking soda in a jug of water. Then add a little at a time. Get it just above 5.0. Then plant and run system for a few hours then retest.

 

[superstoner1]

you want 5.6-5.8

 

[ixisnowixi]

Now i the ph is 6.3, lol jesus, im already starting to hate hydro

 

[ixisnowixi]

i think i might just return this hydro system, its pretty rediculous, its worse than a salt water fish tank. at least in that you can just adjust salt or water

 

[ixisnowixi]

can someone link a complete guide on a dwc, like PH, nute changes, the whole 9 yards. using the search tool here is futile and painful.

 

[Warlock1369]

you want 5.6-5.8

Not when starting a fresh system. You need to find where it stables at. You should run your systems 1 cycle min. Before adjusting the ph for the first time. Or what happend to the op can happen.

Ixis just let it run for a little. It might drop or go up. You don't know what was in the clones or you media. Nothing will happen at 6.3. Just have some lemon juice ready to drop the ph if it dosnt go down in a hour or 2. There is always a swing. I say my res is fine if it's between 5.0-6.0. If you watch it every hour you will be adjusting almost every time to keep 5.6. So for now see where it stabilizes at and go from there. After you ran the system a few changes it will be easyer. Them you would get it close to 5.6 30 min after you mix the nutes.

 

[Warlock1369]

i think i might just return this hydro system, its pretty rediculous, its worse than a salt water fish tank. at least in that you can just adjust salt or water

Just give it a chance. You will like it. It realy isn't as hard as your making it. After a few runs you can almost know what it will do from the start.

 

[ixisnowixi]

thanks man, i actually havent dropped in any of the clones yet, as well,im scared they will die if i do...

 

[Warlock1369]

Your fine to drop them. Just check ph after a hour or so. Relax man. You growing a weed. They live thru hell. It's over thinking that kills most plants.

 

[GreenThumbSucker]

Your fine to drop them. Just check ph after a hour or so. Relax man. You growing a weed. They live thru hell. It's over thinking that kills most plants.

Warlock is right. Don't stress out, we all went through the learning phase. When you do adjustments to PH you should do so in baby steps. Bring it up, or down, incrementally and wait an hour or so before you readjust it. Eventually you will know exactly how much to add to raise it where you want it.

When you first get the clones, put them into the system and adjust the PH to 5.5 - 6.0 then let them go with very little fertilizer until you see roots coming out the bottom of the pots. It usually takes 5 - 7 days to drop roots, sometimes quicker. Once you see roots coming out the bottom, they can handle more fertilizer. Raise the PPM to 500 or so, once they take off in about 3 days bring up the PPM to 650 - 700 and keep it there.

If you throw them into the system and turn up the fertilizer right away, some of them will take right off and some of them wont. In the end you will have three plants all different size. If you wait til they drop roots before cranking up the fertilizer, they will all take off at the same time and be roughly the same size throughout their whole life cycle. Makes it a lot easier to manage them and you will get a better yield too.

The yield from hydroponics is easily three times more than you get from soil and a LOT LESS work; don't look back!

 

[ixisnowixi]

UPDATE
so i dumped,washed and reset the whole system, bought Ph up and down, because i read lemon juice, baking soda all bad, alot of argument. Anyways 580 ppm, 5.6 PH, ready to xplant, my Question is....do i try and put the roots through the holes in the water? or do i lay the root on a little medium, then cover the rest up? Also for this purpose, they are teens clones, do i have the water level in my system to the medium bucket? or still an inch below? or even an inch above to keep the medium wet?
Thanks for the fast response warlock, a true connoisseur