PH down

[RiskyPack]

I've been searching around for a long time to find a cheap way to lower the PH in the water. Then finally I found out that phosphoric acid is the thing they use in most product sold by fertilizer manufactures. But of course this does not come cheap at your local grow shop. But here is a great tip for you.. I found that the products sold for cleaning the lime stains in your bathroom consists of: Water, phosphoric acid ( 5-15 %), citric acid (The same acid as lemons contains) and a small amount of silicones. I figure that the level of silicones will be so small that it will not harm the plants in any way. Well I hope not because I will try it out when I get my PH test kit, and I'll let you know how it goes down. The price is about 4 euro for 1 liter. While it is about 20 euro per liter in the growth shop.

 

[UKgirl420]

why not just buy the phdown from the hydro shops ,,its not expensive around 5euros and you know it wont harm your plants

 

[RiskyPack]

Well actually I was referring to hydroshops, and while it might be that cheap in the UK, it is certainly not here in my country. But further research has shown that it should not be harmful to living organisms, and it is even used in cosmetics. So I'll still give it a try.

 

[RiskyPack]

Have anyone tried to use carbonated water? Could this be a solution?

 

[Growdude]

Have anyone tried to use carbonated water? Could this be a solution?

Dont see why it would.

Somewhere there is a battery acid thread to make your own PH down.

 

[greenthumberish]

I reckon in yer case it may be easier to just order online

 

[RiskyPack]

News again... I just found a solution in another store for 1,5 euro which only consists of: Water, phosphoric acid, and citric acid. There should be absolutely no problem in using this, if I can only get the PH balance right. So lets face it. The PH down from the hydroponics shops is vastly overpriced. It might be a little more pure, but the abilities should be all the same. I'll let you know the results when I get my PH test kit.

 

[pcduck]

What is the name of this solution?:confused2:

 

[RiskyPack]

It is called "Limestone remover" is I translate it directly. But it was the cheapest brand in the supermarket, used to clean your coffee machine.

 

[greenthumberish]

bro, i suggest you don't use that stuff if it's like CLR (calcium lime, rust remover) it's just going to annihilate your plants. Spend the few extra euros and buy yourself the right stuff, trust me - it'll pay for itself in the long run

 

[bluealein56]

Uhhhhhhh No. That would be a bad dea to use a cleanng agent with ur plants. Spend the ten bucks like I did, it's worth it, trust us

 

[purplephazes]

It is called "Limestone remover" is I translate it directly. But it was the cheapest brand in the supermarket, used to clean your coffee machine.

Dude this a marijauna forum not a coffee machine cleaning forum ! Peace and all the best ! OOhh and i think bleach would kill your plant almost as fast as that stuff !

 

[smokingjoe]

Look around for an industrial supplier of pure phosphoric acid gel, you can buy it in 20ltr drums, or if you are lucky can find someone who will be prepared to split up the drum for you or supply it by the litre, although 500mls is probably more than sufficient for your entire crop. (depending on the size)

The Gel is normally 95+% pure phosphoric acid. (it is still quite liquid, a little thinner than honey)

Then you simply cut it with water at a ratio of 2 parts Acid 3 parts water.

Very Very Important; beware; caution; NEVER ADD WATER TO ACID.

ALWAYS ADD ACID TO WATER.

Once the mixture is made up a chemical reaction will occur that will generate a reasonable amount of heat. This is normal.

The cost of this mixture would be +/-5 euros per litre, and it doesn't get any purer. Shop around on the acid price and you might get it much cheaper again.

Edit: use only 1 or 2 mls at a time than retest. Better to bring it down slowly than risk overshooting and making the whole nute solution pure acid.

Edit: Tip: Always look for the industrial/commercial use; it is a much cheaper alternative to the retail/end consumer alternative, and normally better quality.

A perfect example of this is Qubelok. You will buy it from a local hardware store at $10 euro's for a 3 metre length; however from a commerical supplier you will get 12 metres cut up into your appropriate lengths for less than that.

 

[RiskyPack]

Well... Turns out this thread is not dead yet. I send an email to the company that manufactures the last solution that I bought, and I got an email back from one of the chemical engineers. The product I have contains only water and 2 different accids. He said that there would be nothing inside that would kill the plants. He even gave me some advice on the proportions of accid inside, and fertilizing values. So it turns out that you can actually buy PH down for much less.

 

[RiskyPack]

Works like a charm... It took some measurements, but I found that 5 ml to 1.25 liters of water will give me a PH between 6 and 6.5. Now I'll see if my plants will die from it ;-)

 

[RiskyPack]

Actually this Limestone remover should be drinkable in the quantities my plants will get it. There is phosphoric acid in Cola, and citric acid in lemons. The chemical engineer explained me that it made no sense to add other things to the product, since it is only meant to remove limestone by help of acid. This has not been near any car battery or other kind of nasty things. The ingredients are exactly the same as PH down from the hydro shop it is just 5-10 times cheaper.

 

[mrkingford]

Am i understanding this correctly?
You can't find PH up or down in your country?
Does your country have fish? and fish supply stores?
Pools? Pool supply stores?
Any fish or pool supply store will have ph up and down !

Sorry if i'm misunderstanding......................

 

[RiskyPack]

You can buy it for aquariums, but that doesn't make any sense since it is the same price as in the hydro shop. My point is only that the thing I have bough is just as good for one tenth the price. I have tried it on my plants, and they seem to be just fine. I would rather use this solution than the thing you put into a pool. The pool thing could contain chlorine

 

[RiskyPack]

Also since you use this in your coffee machine it cannot be poisonous

 

[mrkingford]

Also since you use this in your coffee machine it cannot be poisonous

Riskypack;
Here's some free adice that will pay for itself.

When your told something here in regards to MJ growing, take the advice!
PH up or down for a pool, fish or anything is still the same and if your looking to save money perhaps you should buy your weed til you can afford to grow right.
MJ is NOT like other plants, in case your not aware yet.
If spending an extra 5-10$ is suggested, than do it.
You get what you pay for.

Good luck....................