dankylarry
Active Member
Is there any potential problem with using white vinegar & baking soda as ph up & down?
white vinegar & baking soda as ph up & ph down?
- Thread starter dankylarry
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Hydrotech364
Well-Known Member
The vinegar will work fine but you need to raise a seperate container of water to a high ph and use small amounts of this as ph down.Salt buildup can and will occur if you add the BS straight to the solution and ppm go through the roof.
bryan oconner
Well-Known Member
may i ask why do you want to use vinegar and baking soda ? cash that tight ?
ISK
Well-Known Member
I seldom need to pH down, so I'll use Apple Cider vinegar if I need to lower. (apparently apple cider is better than white vinegar, but not sure why that is).
As Hydrotech stated, mix the vinegar in a glass of water, then use that solution for better control.
I have been considering using baking soda as my pH+ and not because of the money but because it's rather toxic stuff, about as bad as battery acid if spilled on your clothes. I have heard comments that baking soda could have unfavorable results but not sure what the issues are...hopefully someone will provide feedback
Kingrow1
Well-Known Member
Assuming the lime dosent instantly react with it first. Ive never understood organic ph up and downs point with synthetic ferts or the need to adjust organic fertilizers ph...
Alexander Supertramp
Well-Known Member
If you are growing in a peat and/or coco based medium they are both poor choices. Even store bought pH up and down are poor choices for these mediums as the pH of the solution going in will not effect the mediums actual pH. I grow in a coco/perlite mix using tap water. I never worry about pH and my plants do just fine. IMO hydro aside pH is over rated and chasing it often causes more harm than good.
Roger A. Shrubber
Well-Known Member
if the conditions are right, vinegar will turn into a giant wad of slime. its called mother of vinegar, its like sour dough starter, its what they use to make more vinegar. its not something you want in your soil or your hydro res.
dankylarry
Active Member
Thank you mighty Oracle for the valuable info!
Yes I'm currently piss broke, somehow still learning to grow for personal & have been extremely lucky as a broke ass so far. I popped some bag seeds, made two grow boxes from scrap wood and Panda Film (one for veg & one for flower) . Started vegging under CFL. Went to the hydro store and was given free samples of nutes, then went to the thrift store and scored an HPS on the cheap.
Yes I'm currently piss broke, somehow still learning to grow for personal & have been extremely lucky as a broke ass so far. I popped some bag seeds, made two grow boxes from scrap wood and Panda Film (one for veg & one for flower) . Started vegging under CFL. Went to the hydro store and was given free samples of nutes, then went to the thrift store and scored an HPS on the cheap.
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Morriston55
Well-Known Member
2 bottles of ph up and down is like $6 shipped on amazon and more than enough for an entire grow cycle in a medium setup
I just bought a 2L bottle of DutchNutrient ph down ($15 local) which is a little more concentrated @ 85% but only takes a 1/4tsp to bring 10L of water from 7.5ph down to 6ph. This bottle will last years, its silly to even think about alternatives and there negative effects when its this cheap
PH is a vital key to a healthy grow, maximum growth and yields, the person who said it is over-rated above is crazy. I can properly ph my jug of water before feeding in less than 2 minutes, I actually add the ph down/nutes while the water is filling my bucket. The measurements are easy to repeat after youve done it a few times from whatever water source you always use.
I just bought a 2L bottle of DutchNutrient ph down ($15 local) which is a little more concentrated @ 85% but only takes a 1/4tsp to bring 10L of water from 7.5ph down to 6ph. This bottle will last years, its silly to even think about alternatives and there negative effects when its this cheap
PH is a vital key to a healthy grow, maximum growth and yields, the person who said it is over-rated above is crazy. I can properly ph my jug of water before feeding in less than 2 minutes, I actually add the ph down/nutes while the water is filling my bucket. The measurements are easy to repeat after youve done it a few times from whatever water source you always use.
A.K.A. Overgrowem
Well-Known Member
For what its worth. I use cider vin. twice, 24 hours apart, it holds ph level pretty good that way. Back in my early days I stumbled on to the fact that Orange juice holds ph pretty stable over a longer of time than other ph downs, I have tried, with a 1 dose app.
Kingrow1
Well-Known Member
Ph'ing soil and any organic matter isnt just overated its plain stupid, lime in soil will be all the ph you need and is more of a buffer than short term fix with ph up and down. Hydro has other considerations and if your throwing vinegar or baking powder into a res i feel like again its a stupid idea.
zem
Well-Known Member
who said that vinegar loses potency? on the contrary, its smell will reek and stay there day after day, as you add more and more and ph keeps drifting up and you keep adding more crap to your res, good luck using that approach in growing. I have heard of people use steel wool to supply Fe, with all the contaminants in that, no problem, it does the job...
ChevySwish
Well-Known Member
Idk if this is still active but I use (in emergency) a few drops of juice from a "Halo" or "Cutie" orange. idk how the orange juice acts in regards to the plant and natural fructose in the fruit but I use about 5 drops in 32 oz of 8.0 well water (i know ppm alert, i know lol) and it drops it down to about 6 or 6.5 (wide spectrum tester so im not exact) in my own handmade soil mix, runoff comes out 5.5.
truentgoon
Well-Known Member
I'm ordering potassium hydroxide to make my own ph up.
MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
Vinigar breaks right down and loses its acidity too quickly to be used as a buffer and like said above will turn into gook in a res.
Baking soda is salt based. Probably not a good idea to pour sodium bicarbonate into the roots.
And ph’ing water that is not high alkalinity is completely unnecessary and mostly a weed growing forum thing.
Professional farmers mix filtered water with hard tap water to dilute it down to a good buffering level. 150 ppm for our plant works well.
Baking soda is salt based. Probably not a good idea to pour sodium bicarbonate into the roots.
And ph’ing water that is not high alkalinity is completely unnecessary and mostly a weed growing forum thing.
Professional farmers mix filtered water with hard tap water to dilute it down to a good buffering level. 150 ppm for our plant works well.
ChevySwish
Well-Known Member
So just measure the ppm of filtered vs hard and mix accordingly to equate 150ppm? Before or after nutes?
MichiganMedGrower
Well-Known Member
Before. 150 ppm or .3 water is perfect for the mineral content as a buffer.
That info is found in Grow books and Greenhouse guides all over.
Look for alkalinity in water for gardening for better info. I have .2-.3 well water. I never PH any nutes for buffered potting soil. The calcium in the soil and water act as the buffer.