random

I am also curious why to never use up and down in the same mix?

Can someone enlighten us?

-random

Luke Highwalker

i dont think i understand what you are asking....but i will try.

often i have plants in soil and hydro at the same time, so i will mix a batch of nutes. usually it self ph's to something suitable for hydro but low for soil.

i will take soda bottles or whatever, and fill them with the nute solution until i have enough for the hydro plants, then i take the rest and adjust the ph to suit my soil plants.

ph up and down are polar opposites. rumor has it if you mix them together in concentrated form that will outgas/explode. no idea if this is true...but lots of chemicals react violently with each other. esp ones that are total opposites...i never took chemistry so i apologize for my simple thinking.

ph up and down are pretty strong buffers...once added to a soution they wont want to let the ph swing in the opposite direction...so you might find a ph that normally takes 2 drops of up to correct, if there is a little down in the water it might take you 10 or 20 drops to correct the ph the same amount....

everytime i end up using alot of ph adjuster the plants come out looking like total shit. from my own experience i have learned that if i mess up a mix, its just better to dump out and start over...instead of feeding my plants some messed up god knows what mix just cause im cheap and lazy.

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YosemiteSam

I agree with Luke about not using both pH up and down just because you weren't careful enough and overshot with one or the other. What will happen if you go both ways is salts will precipitate out and those salts may contain something you really wanted. Take your time and sneak up on the proper pH...in the end your plants will thank you.

Try to use something with salts your plant can actually use KOH instead of NaOH or phosphoric acid instead of HCl. Probably won't be using enough to really matter, but why use stuff your plants aren't going to use period.

toshiba

I use the power of the microbes, along with lime to make sure PH is always what the plant wants

don't complicate things

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Quantrill

phos acid + potassium hydroxide = potassium phosphate and water
H3PO4 + 3KOH ---> K3PO4 + 3H20

sulphuric acid + potassium hydroxide= potassium sulphate(sulphate of potash) and water
H2SO4 +2KOH --> K2SO4 + 2H2O

the common pH down acids and the common pH up bases react to form fertilizer salts.
if the base used is a carbonate instead of a hydroxide then you get a fertilizer salt, water and carbon dioxide as the products of the reaction.



Always calculate the amount of nutrient salt your pH adjusters add to the solution.

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Winston Smith

You understand what I was asking perfectly well, great response. I figured as much, concerning the reactions of the two. Just wanted to hear a bit more, like the experience you have where the plants respond poorly to chasing the right pH. Useful bit. Creeping up is a much more sound approach, I had just been thinking mixing the two was a no no simply because like you mentioned they're created to do two different things. Sardonic Highwalker but rest assured your chemistry skills are in tact despite being deprived of that educational experience.

Luckily I haven't had to pleasure of having to mix pH up or down into a brew but unfortunately a friend of mine does do what you've explained not to do. Poor chap. I need now to find a way to explain to him what he's doing is wrong without him thinking I'm just trying to tell him how to grow his tomatoes.

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Diamond Dave

Battery Acid? Is that a good thing to use for something you plan to smoke later?

DD

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btk

Battery Acid is simply sulfuric acid... As far as I know it is not dangerous (other than skin contact in its concentrated form) to use as a pH adjuster in horticulture...

As Quantril pointed out, the byproduct of sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide is sulphate of potash... I believe this is frequently used compound in gardening from what I can gather with a google search???

Obviously you would not want to use used battery acid, as that would contain lead, but otherwise I believe it is safe.

Someone please correct me if I a wrong.

UpNorth

Shhh....

Don't tell my plants

No hydro stores within driving distance and I ran out of my GH ph down pretty fast and had some of this spa PH down in the house and have used it seemingly w/out issue.

I've heard this elsewhere, is there a reason for it?

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bloodysafety

when you use sulfur at all period it becomes sulfuric acid