Is this true?

[Callawave]

Found this and wondered what growers here think?
Reduce Your Concentration
Hydroponic growers adjust the pH of their nutrient solution to around 5.8 to 6.2 – this provides the best accessibility to the widest range of nutritional elements.
pH adjuster products are sold in grow shops in concentrated liquid (sometimes powder) form. However, some growers get lazy and add this stuff neat (undiluted) to their nutrient solution. This causes nutritional elements to precipitate out of the solution and therefore become unavailable to your plants. To avoid this, make up a dilute solution of your pH adjusters – 1 part pH adjuster to 100 parts water – and use this instead.
The weakened concentration of your pH up or down will enable you to safely adjust the pH of your nutrient solution without damaging your nutrients.

 

[Budders Keeper]

I'll buy it. I knew there musty have been some reason I never add ph up/down directly to nuted water.

 

[Marihuanaträumt]

Dang, always learning something new. I love this site!!!

 

[Callawave]

I have an 1800 liter per hour continuous pump standing at a 45% angle in the corner of my 70 liter sump. I measure the pH after a feed, and if it's high I add one neat drop of pH down per point directly to the sump right behind the pump. It then gets nearly six hours to mix before the next feed. But if they're saying that screws with the nutes composition, then I'll dilute it first. But you know what it's like. You can't believe everything you read. :ignore:

 

[cmd420]

Seemed like a no-brainer the second I read it...good info!

 

[DonJones]

I have ALWAYS believed that any thing that is added to a critical solution, that they should be diluted so that an error in measurement would not be nearly as critical. Not only that if you pre-dilute the PH down before putting it into the tank, there is much less chance of the PH down reacting with the nute. IF you aren't sure, dilute it, let that mixture sit, and then add it to the rez.

Then as soon as you can, contact the nute manufacturer and ask them how they recommend you handle it, including asking them for recommendations on what PH down to use.

I personally buy NEW battery fill solution, which is already diluted from concentrated battery acid, the dilute it 1 part acid to 4 parts water which makes it much less dangerous to handle and my tap water is always 7.0 and 1.3ml of the PH doen brings it right to 6.0. No if I miss measure and put 1.4 ml of the solution in I'm not going to over shoot my target nearly as much as if I used it straight out of the box and miss measure by 0.1ml of acid.

I use FHD nutes and they recommend PHing the water and then adding the nutes, which works excellent in soil but I'm going to have to ask about how to handle the rez issue before I switch over.

Good smoking.

 

[Callawave]

I have ALWAYS believed that any thing that is added to a critical solution, that they should be diluted so that an error in measurement would not be nearly as critical. Not only that if you pre-dilute the PH down before putting it into the tank, there is much less chance of the PH down reacting with the nute. IF you aren't sure, dilute it, let that mixture sit, and then add it to the rez.

Then as soon as you can, contact the nute manufacturer and ask them how they recommend you handle it, including asking them for recommendations on what PH down to use.

I personally buy NEW battery fill solution, which is already diluted from concentrated battery acid, the dilute it 1 part acid to 4 parts water which makes it much less dangerous to handle and my tap water is always 7.0 and 1.3ml of the PH doen brings it right to 6.0. No if I miss measure and put 1.4 ml of the solution in I'm not going to over shoot my target nearly as much as if I used it straight out of the box and miss measure by 0.1ml of acid.

I use FHD nutes and they recommend PHing the water and then adding the nutes, which works excellent in soil but I'm going to have to ask about how to handle the rez issue before I switch over.

Good smoking.

Thanks Don. A voice of reason.

 

[Callawave]

Seemed like a no-brainer the second I read it...good info!

Specifically: "This causes nutritional elements to precipitate out of the solution and therefore become unavailable to your plants"
Where do these ‘elements’ precipitate to? Not the bottom of my sump while I’m churning it round at 1800 litres per hour. If that’s what they mean by ‘precipitation’.

 

[Growdude]

I dont see how adding a few drops of PH adjust to my separate rez can cause a problem.

A couple drops is pretty diluted as soon as it hits the water.

Its never caused me a problem.

 

[zem]

I personally buy NEW battery fill solution

this is dangerous stuff i once spilled a bit on my stairs they ate through the stone it's stained and rough surface where theyr spilled. what kind of acid is battery acid made from? i use concentrated phosphoric acid.
i have a question about this, so if i wana dilute it in a new contairer does phosphoric acid settle down on the bottom of my new diluted solution like a mixture or will it become a complete solution like say water and sugar? i wana know if i'll have to shake the mixture before adding, can i add a little res with a hose in which i can dilute my ph down and fill from it?

 

[LEFTHAND]

I dont see how adding a few drops of PH adjust to my separate rez can cause a problem.

A couple drops is pretty diluted as soon as it hits the water.

Its never caused me a problem.

totally agree...
1 drop to 5ml into my 108L res is pretty diluted...
LH

 

[4u2sm0ke]

:ciao: I grow in soil