First Timer: pH increasing in DWC with small plant

987anon

987anon

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Res: 6 gallon bucket with about 5.5 gallons of water
Water: Tap water, 150ppm, 7.4pH
Nutes: Floranova Bloom
Res Temp: 69-70* F
Medium: peat pellet with well washed, then low pH soaked hydroton

I started with 5.5 gallons of water, sat out 24 hrs with air bubbling. Added 1/4 strength Floranova Bloom, pH'd down (using GH pH Down) to 5.5 on 5/26. 5/27 pH was up to 5.75. 5/28 pH was up to 6.3. pH'd down to 6.0. 9 hrs later pH is back up to 6.3.

Bucket is double coated on top with duct tape to prevent light. Bottom is double wrapped in a black out curtain. I didn't check the ppm before adjusting pH (foolishly), but I doubt this little thing and two seedlings used up that much nute in a 2 day span and then again after 9 hrs to raise the pH.
 

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987anon said:
The roots look fine. No slime or odor. Just a light brown/tan color (good ole Floranova staining). No sliminess in the bucket or foam/froth.

Edit: Picture added of roots
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I would have to disagree that your roots are fine, they are clumping together and poorly developed. IMO they are struggling and that should be addressed. More air, cooler temps in the Res possibly. You could also try a preventive dose of sterilizer or a hydroguard like product.
 
Budley Doright said:
I would have to disagree that your roots are fine, they are clumping together and poorly developed. IMO they are struggling and that should be addressed. More air, cooler temps in the Res possibly. You could also try a preventive dose of sterilizer or a hydroguard like product.
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I meant fine as far as color. The initial roots grew that way due to it being started in a small cup so they grew clumped. The new growth is nice and loose, hard to see from the picture since I was trying to get a picture of the color. I'll massage them loose gently though.
 
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987anon said:
I meant fine as far as color. The initial roots grew that way due to it being started in a small cup so they grew clumped. The new growth is nice and loose, hard to see from the picture since I was trying to get a picture of the color. I'll massage them loose gently though.
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No sorry but your roots are not healthy, I know lol. The pic is a cutting two weeks after it was taken. You could try hydroguard, it seems to work well for me. Are you using anything for the Res, sterile or not?
 
Budley Doright said:
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No sorry but your roots are not healthy, I know lol. The pic is a cutting two weeks after it was taken. You could try hydroguard, it seems to work well for me. Are you using anything for the Res, sterile or not?
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Lack of backstory on my part, my apologies. This plant was started by a friend of mine in some cheap store soil. It lived, though struggled, for a month before I got it. The root staining was pretty much that color out of the soil. They were thoroughly cleaned before hand. It was placed in a small makeshift DWC (soda bottle) until my supplies arrived on some 1/2 strength Floranova as all the bottom leaves were dead and it was on life support. It stayed in the cup for 1 week. It has only been in the DWC bucket since Friday. Attached is a picture of when I got it to where it is now. It bounced back well after placing it in the DWC.

I'm currently not using hydroguard. Other than water, pH down, and Floranova nothing has been put in the res. The res was sterilized with bleach and alcohol before use.
 

Attachments

987anon said:
Lack of backstory on my part, my apologies. This plant was started by a friend of mine in some cheap store soil. It lived, though struggled, for a month before I got it. The root staining was pretty much that color out of the soil. They were thoroughly cleaned before hand. It was placed in a small makeshift DWC (soda bottle) until my supplies arrived on some 1/2 strength Floranova as all the bottom leaves were dead and it was on life support. It stayed in the cup for 1 week. It has only been in the DWC bucket since Friday. Attached is a picture of when I got it to where it is now. It bounced back well after placing it in the DWC.

I'm currently not using hydroguard. Other than water, pH down, and Floranova nothing has been put in the res. The res was sterilized with bleach and alcohol before use.
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Lol yes a great improvement :). Ok so can't explain it lol. I'm not a huge fan of the Nova line but only used in drip and it clogged everything, so know little about it. When I first started my ph was always going up and I was always bringing it down, now it stays very stable with the nutes I use which are not available to the public, I get them factory direct :). I also had great luck with House and Garden Aqua Flakes.
 
I find my ph always goes up when I change the RES. I bring it down and then it generally stays as stable.

My roots are also brown, but that's due to some of the additives I'm using. :)
 
For the first at least 24 hours possibly a little more depending on your factors, you should expect PH to climb up to around 6.3 because of the PH buffers in flora nova bloom. When i mix my nutes and change my res i just drop ph to roughly 6.2ish because i know its gunna climb up anyway. After a day or two I worry about getting the PH to the stable level I want.
 
Anon Emaus said:
For the first at least 24 hours possibly a little more depending on your factors, you should expect PH to climb up to around 6.3 because of the PH buffers in flora nova bloom. When i mix my nutes and change my res i just drop ph to roughly 6.2ish because i know its gunna climb up anyway. After a day or two I worry about getting the PH to the stable level I want.
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I kept track of the total amount of down needed to get it to a stable 5.7 and just add that amount when filling but yes I do check the next day as well. My Rez takes 30 ml to get to where it needs to be.
 
Budley Doright said:
I kept track of the total amount of down needed to get it to a stable 5.7 and just add that amount when filling but yes I do check the next day as well. My Rez takes 30 ml to get to where it needs to be.
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How big is your res? I'm running 30L, appx 8 gals and I've never had to put more than 5ml of ph up or down in to get my adjustment. I've heard of people using large amounts of the stuff, but I assume they are in huge a res.
 
WeedFreak78 said:
How big is your res? I'm running 30L, appx 8 gals and I've never had to put more than 5ml of ph up or down in to get my adjustment. I've heard of people using large amounts of the stuff, but I assume they are in huge a res.
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We're talking about when using Flora Nova Bloom, probably quite different for you with dif nutes and your starting water PH.
 
Anon Emaus said:
We're talking about when using Flora Nova Bloom, probably quite different for you with dif nutes and your starting water PH.
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It's the flora nova that different? I've used GH 3 part, AN connie and Botanicare pure blend pro, GH and AN with tap and RO, botanicare with RO only. The largest dose I've ever done was around 15ml in a 60 litre res. I've always used 3ml pipettes to dose with so I could keep track.
 
WeedFreak78 said:
How big is your res? I'm running 30L, appx 8 gals and I've never had to put more than 5ml of ph up or down in to get my adjustment. I've heard of people using large amounts of the stuff, but I assume they are in huge a res.
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100 liter and yes I use lots lol. I really struggled at first because I was following what everyone else said they added per liter and I'm like WTF!! I fill my Res at night and add the same amount of nutes every time and same amount of PH every time and don't even bother to check until morning and it's typically real close every refill. If I change or add a additive then I need to dial it all in again :(. Vitamino drops it to like 3 FYI lol.
 
Budley Doright said:
100 liter and yes I use lots lol. I really struggled at first because I was following what everyone else said they added per liter and I'm like WTF!! I fill my Res at night and add the same amount of nutes every time and same amount of PH every time and don't even bother to check until morning and it's typically real close every refill. If I change or add a additive then I need to dial it all in again :(. Vitamino drops it to like 3 FYI lol.
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30 ml in 100L isn't too bad, works out to 0.3ml/L. That's the high side of what I've run in the past.
 
Anon Emaus said:
We're talking about when using Flora Nova Bloom, probably quite different for you with dif nutes and your starting water PH.
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I'm actually using something different but yup depending on what your using changes everything. I found that Aqua Flakes was very stable but have used other products that just didn't work re huge ph fluctuations. I used a Botanicare product that really fucked with ph. But yes writing the shit down for the first three years in journals really helped understand things way better. I have finally got things really dialed in Res wise, now I need to get light and environment rocking :).
 
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