What happened and why does pH drift? MaxiBloom

1 gallon RO water
2 mL CalMag
4.25 g MaxiBloom
2.25 mL pH up

1.4EC
5.9-6.0 pH

This is how I mix my nutes. 1 gallon at a time in jugs. I then keep them in a room with no real sunlight that stays 68-70°F. I pour 3 gallons at a time into my reservoir for the blumats. It is a 4 gallon bucket that I cover up with a box to block out light and that room stays 70-73°F.

The food in the jugs may drift .1pH over a few days, but its not bad. The solution in the reservoir however, will drift up to 6.5pH after 3 or 4 days. I checked it today and it looks considerably darker than normal and there are what look like cobwebs in the solution. No spiders around and no cobwebs anywhere else in the room or house for that matter. What the hell is going on?



The plants all look healthy and like it is having zero effect on them so I'm not terribly worried about it yet, but I have a feeling when I flip them and they start flowering that there will be more issues.

not sure if this is the cause but i would light proof that bucket. i can almost read what looks like a warning label on the outside of the bucket

rkymtnman said:

not sure if this is the cause but i would light proof that bucket. i can almost read what looks like a warning label on the outside of the bucket

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Thats where the box comes in. It covers it up. Leaves about a half inch exposed, but there is little light in there while I'm not using the room.

I am working on setting on my first auto feed next time but I was suggested to get a bigger container as I had a thread on ph drifts.

Said it holds ph better and I realized it is true for me because I prepare 5 gal at a time and they hold their ph for a few days then as the jug gets low, the ph spikes.

Makes sense, so I was going to do 14-20gal for 1-2 plants and do ph by hand as ph dosers are costly but the cheaper timed ones might work as the ph down I add does come in a pattern with volume.

I understand ec fluctuations and ph drift in systems like ebb and flow and dwc, but for the blumats that are DTW, I don't get it because the feed is just running down a line and dripping into the containers. Is this going to just be a temperature issue and I need to get it lower?

Do you add the nutrients individually and mix thoroughly before adding the rest? The residue might be gypsum and, while neutral in pH, it would remove ions that might normally interact with the pH up. I use a 3 part like Jacks321 and have to do them in order

Hoverjet said:

Do you add the nutrients individually and mix thoroughly before adding the rest? The residue might be gypsum and, while neutral in pH, it would remove ions that might normally interact with the pH up. I use a 3 part like Jacks321 and have to do them in order

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I do. I add the liquid calmag then shake it up, then I add the maxibloom and shake it up. I have started letting it sit over night before adding the ph up to make sure that all the maxibloom dissolves completely.

what brands of cal/mg and ph down and up? i'm a big fan of maxibloom

rkymtnman said:

what brands of cal/mg and ph down and up? i'm a big fan of maxibloom

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The calmag is botanicare and the ph up is GH I believe. Leftover from several years ago.

TCH said:

The calmag is botanicare and the ph up is GH I believe. Leftover from several years ago.

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isnt the botanicare part organics?

rkymtnman said:

isnt the botanicare part organics?

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Pure Blend Pro is, but not their CalMag.

TCH said:

1 gallon RO water
2 mL CalMag
4.25 g MaxiBloom
2.25 mL pH up

1.4EC
5.9-6.0 pH

This is how I mix my nutes. 1 gallon at a time in jugs. I then keep them in a room with no real sunlight that stays 68-70°F. I pour 3 gallons at a time into my reservoir for the blumats. It is a 4 gallon bucket that I cover up with a box to block out light and that room stays 70-73°F.

The food in the jugs may drift .1pH over a few days, but its not bad. The solution in the reservoir however, will drift up to 6.5pH after 3 or 4 days. I checked it today and it looks considerably darker than normal and there are what look like cobwebs in the solution. No spiders around and no cobwebs anywhere else in the room or house for that matter. What the hell is going on?

View attachment 5272295

The plants all look healthy and like it is having zero effect on them so I'm not terribly worried about it yet, but I have a feeling when I flip them and they start flowering that there will be more issues.

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Looks like you have some sort of pathogen festering in there. Are you using any sort of sterilization product?

PJ Diaz said:

Looks like you have some sort of pathogen festering in there. Are you using any sort of sterilization product?

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I am not.

You could try tribus. It's good for reservoirs.

i run peroxide 15 to 30ml per gallon. it keeps algae at bay. i think its the algae that makes the ph move...up in my case. i would see like 6.6 coming out after putting in 5.7. i haven't had the issue in ages since starting the peroxide...also keep any odd root rot from creeping up.

when I PH the water close first I get better mixing and less chance of seperation/particulates.
each of the nutes has a ph range it bests "dissolves" in.
if the water ph is too high or low could cause issues when nutes are added.