I do not want to do anything wrong. I do have a lot of questions and maybe some answers. Do I put each question in a separate area?
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Ask them all now
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Welcome to the community. Feel free to ask what you need to know. There are many great growers here that want to help all those growing. happy growing 
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Post your questions here in this thread by replying to it. Welcome to the forum. The people here are good growers and many are eager to help people with their questions.
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Baking soda makes the ph go up, does using it raise sodium level too high?
I read that baking soda raises the ph 1.0/ tsp in 1 gal.
my ph now runs around 4.5, so I added 1tsp/ gal and had a reading of 7.0. The run off now checks 5.0 or a little more. The plants look great now.
Many of us use a product called pH Up. pH Up uses potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate instead of sodium products. I use it and have never had any salt buildup problems (other than that caused by fertilizers.)
I hope someone can come along and advise you better on baking soda. I don’t know much about it.
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What soil are you in and how old is the plant? There are other options for adjusting pH, but it depends on your environment.
If in a Fox Farm soil a flush will correct pH to ~6.5, but it also runs down nute levels (PPM.)
A pH that low leads me to believe that you may have salt buildup (from fertilizers) problems. We all struggle with that issue.
In case you need more information, there are great growing guides on this site.
Clik on guides at top of page. Information is very helpful
Btw, feel free to ask any questions … we like to help newbies
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Eventually causes issues in soil and leaves: better to use the correct product. PH down can be done with vinegar or citric acid or lemon/citrus juice. But the commercial product is a micro-nutrient as well (phophoric acid).
And yes; if you can avoid opening multiple threads that would be good. It clogs the feed with one person’s questions so much more polite to maintain a particular thread.
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Get the right stuff to accomplish your goals…
Sub-par , is sub-par…
Find your niche and dig in… 
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I agree that your best bet would ve to just grab a bottle of ph up and down. And a digital tester if you don’t already have one. I think they are about $11 a quart at hydro shop. In most cases a few drops per gallon will do.
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I agree that using the products designed for ph adjustment are preferred I’m sure they have it all dialed in pretty sure their chemists have surpassed my high school chemistry education. That being said we have found that vinegar works in A pinch for ph down and I found hydrated lime in the garden section at my local hardware store works great for ph up and is loaded with calcium and magnesium. I’ve used the lime several times with no bad effects. I do mix with ro water then strain thru coffee filter so the grains don’t find their way to my pump.