Ph Question

[pipefitterman]

New ebb and flow system ph'd to 5.5 add nutes and re-adjust ph to 5.5, 24 hrs later the ph is 6.9, i re-adjust to 5.5 and the next day it's 6.9 again, it's been doing this all week in the ebb and flow. could it be the airstones, rockwoll or my medium? i soaked my medium in distilled h2o ph'd to 5.5 for a couple of days prior to setting up, i dont get it. any insight would be appreciated.

[wolfgama]

New ebb and flow system ph'd to 5.5 add nutes and re-adjust ph to 5.5, 24 hrs later the ph is 6.9, i re-adjust to 5.5 and the next day it's 6.9 again, it's been doing this all week in the ebb and flow. could it be the airstones, rockwoll or my medium? i soaked my medium in distilled h2o ph'd to 5.5 for a couple of days prior to setting up, i dont get it. any insight would be appreciated.

pH will change with temperature. Also try changing to Advanced Nutrients, you don't have to adjust ph, its balances itself and you can stop worrying. Make sure your water ph is at least between 4.5 - 8.5. Anything above or below that is not garranteed. I swear I have never seen such wonderful results with Advanced Nutrients. I do the Bubbleponics. I was so awestruck with how easy it all works without the pH issue in my brain!~ Find a hydro store with it or order it on line! Peace and Love and Just Imagine!

[pipefitterman]

pH will change with temperature. Also try changing to Advanced Nutrients, you don't have to adjust ph, its balances itself and you can stop worrying. Make sure your water ph is at least between 4.5 - 8.5. Anything above or below that is not garranteed. I swear I have never seen such wonderful results with Advanced Nutrients. I do the Bubbleponics. I was so awestruck with how easy it all works without the pH issue in my brain!~ Find a hydro store with it or order it on line! Peace and Love and Just Imagine!

 

thnx WG for your reply, well after a lot of surfing and actual book reading i discovered that airstones contribute to ph rise by bubbling the natural acids from the water. the explanations were a lot more in depth then mine but that is the but of it. so i ph'd two 5 gal buckets of water to 5.5 and put a recirculating pump in one (without a airstone), and one with just a airstone in it. I checked the ph in 2 hours and the one with the recirculating pump was 5.7 and the one with the airstone (i turned off the airstone during ph test) was 6.9 so i waited another 2 hours (total of 4 hrs) and the one recirculating was still 5.7 and the airstone was 7.5. i was amazed so i let it go overnight checked it in the am (12 hrs total) and the one recirculating was 5.6 and the airstone was 7.7. i am convinced from this test, next water change i will be replacing the airstones in my res with a recirculating pump and making a run of it, i will be watching closely.

[ToadInCan]

thnx WG for your reply, well after a lot of surfing and actual book reading i discovered that airstones contribute to ph rise by bubbling the natural acids from the water. the explanations were a lot more in depth then mine but that is the but of it. so i ph'd two 5 gal buckets of water to 5.5 and put a recirculating pump in one (without a airstone), and one with just a airstone in it. I checked the ph in 2 hours and the one with the recirculating pump was 5.7 and the one with the airstone (i turned off the airstone during ph test) was 6.9 so i waited another 2 hours (total of 4 hrs) and the one recirculating was still 5.7 and the airstone was 7.5. i was amazed so i let it go overnight checked it in the am (12 hrs total) and the one recirculating was 5.6 and the airstone was 7.7. i am convinced from this test, next water change i will be replacing the airstones in my res with a recirculating pump and making a run of it, i will be watching closely.

 

 

This was interesting. Maybe you should install a CO detector.

 

pH of natural waters

 

Pure water exposed to air has an acidic pH of about 5.6 because carbon dioxide hydrates in water to form carbonic acid, which dissociates to hydrogen ion and bicarbonate (HCO3-):

 

CO2 + H2O ⇌ H2CO3 ⇌ H+ + HCO3-

Natural waters are never pure, though, because water is a powerful solvent. Water dissolves some of every gas or solid it contacts, and some of these dissolved substances affect the water’s pH. Bicarbonate and carbonate (CO32-) are negatively charged ions (anions) common in most waters. These basic anions are derived from the dissolution of limestone and they increase the pH of water. Bicarbonate and carbonate are also the anions primarily responsible for the property of water called “alkalinity,” which is the capacity of water to neutralize acid.

 

Chemical interactions among carbon dioxide, hydrogen ions, and the anions that produce alkalinity buffer the pH of most natural waters in a range of about 6 to 8.5. In the absence of processes that add or remove carbon dioxide, the initial pH of water in contact with air depends on its alkalinity. Waters with low alkalinities have an initial pH at the low end of that range, while waters of higher alkalinities have higher pH.

 

Although alkalinity establishes the initial pH of water, adding or removing carbon dioxide causes pH to rise or fall from that initial value. Adding carbon dioxide “pushes” the previously defined chemical reaction toward the right-hand side, forming carbonic acid and hydrogen ions and causing pH to decrease. Removing carbon dioxide “pulls” the reaction to the left, thereby removing hydrogen ions and causing pH to increase. The magnitude of variation from the initial pH depends on 1) the amount of carbon dioxide added or removed and 2) alkalinity, which tends to buffer, or reduce, the effect of changes in carbon dioxide concentrations.

 

[uhphrayed]

it usually has to do with what water and nutrients your using, pH will fluctuate on a daily basis no matter what - but if it's going from 5.5 to 6.9 in 24 hours you should look @ your water and nutes. if using RO try using tap, if using a lot of additives try using less