how do you balance the ph level of water?
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It has to be above 100 PPMs before you can get an accurate reading.
Below 100 ppm it will self adjust to whatever the soil is. I never worry about adjusting my Reverse Osmosis water. Once I start adding food then I adjust it.
Then use pH up/down to adjust it to where you need.
5.8 for hydro or Coco Coir
6.5 to 6.8 for soils.
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and 
@Fieldofdreams is correct. And those are also plant food so they dont just adjust the pH.
Baking soda is a good ph up. 1/2 tsp will raise 5 gallons of RO water above 7. It’s very water soluble. It is strong ph up so go easy. Think coke lines instead of scoops. Or salting the individual bowl of soup.
Day old coffee, fruit juice, vinegar, and coke a cola are all good ph downs. Coke is literally phosphoric acid with some sugar and caramel color. Drip coffee has a ph of 4.8-5.5 depending on the beans. Apple juice has a ph of (if you have an apple tree ferment the fallen ones after you squish them) 3.5-4 depending on the apple. Orange juice has a ph of 3.9 and if you have a citrus tree you can mash and ferment those too. Red Bull has a ph of 3.3 out of the can plus it has all the B vitamins. Anyone ever buy superthrive back in the day, it’s b vitamins.
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I use baking soda for up and lemon juice for down. Been working fine for me. Get a good pen!
Thanks. This is my first time growing a hybrid strain. Do Si Dos. I grew some weed back in 1984. Needless to say things have changed drastically. Didn’t have to purchase seeds back then. All you had to do was chuck them in the soil and let mother handle the rest. LOL
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Modern seeds seem a little harder to get started and through the first two weeks. After that they are pretty hearty. Trade off for high THC producers I guess.
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I’ve used citric acid for years to lower ph. It takes very little, and you can get it at the grocery store in the canning section. A little bottle lasts forever. I use an eighth tsp per gallon.
I’m familiar with ph up and ph down, but what is a ph pen?
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We use a ph pen to test our lid going in and out of the plant to know we’re hitting the correct target ph for the medium of choice. Soil 6.5, hydro I thinks 5.8, coco is ??? Your ph is crucial for avoiding ‘lock outs’ when feeding.
@Fieldofdreams. Will a ph pen work for testing soil or should I use the ph strips?
I use the pen to test my water and feed solutions prior to application and to get a soil ph reading collect the runoff from the container and test it. I don’t do slurry tests or use strips.
Agree with @Fieldofdreams @Spiney_norman
Also one thing to remember is to rinse the pen in clean water before each use and watch for any build up that may accumulate on the probes.
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Oh boy I may have blew it. Had a soil test done and it showed 5.3 ph. Read where the baking soda will up it. Recommended 1 tbls to a gallon water. So I mixed it that strength and put a gal on each plant. That was yesterday. Sure hope I don’t fry the darlings.
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