coco ph problem

thanks sam

I check the un-used coco with a soil tester, basically a probe you put in the dirt/medium. I put it in there and it read 6.8, no water involved.
However, I have been watering now with 5.4 ph water and it seems it has brought the ph level down some now we are looking at about6.5 down from 6.8, and my girls are looking a lot better but a little water logged as I have been over watering them think. I also upped the nutes level a touch as Im just following the recipe on the bottle until I can check the EC on my nutes. For now im just checking ph and dont want to over feed them.
Regarding the thread I spoke of previously the gentlemen reported it took him about two weeks to bring it down to 5.8, it would appear I am on track to hit that mark myself, time will tell. I will keep you all posted.
Im also giving serious thought to writing a product review about BIOBizz coco mix, I am beginning to suspect they are at fault.
Thanks again YosimiteSam for the angle on the alkalinity of the water, hadnt considered that, however I used a soil tester so none of my water was involved in getting this reading and the advertisement says it should read at between 6 and 5 ph and it was at 6.8.

Mine was showing 5.9 last night. So far I just used 5.4-5.6 pH for every watering after the initial 5.2 flush. Now everything looks good. The twisted leaves are almost 100% normal looking again. I'm going to feed at 5.8 here on out.

slowly but surely

Shes coming down and my girls are starting to green up,I just keep feeding them 5.4 and little by little I think this may be the answer.
thanks
-E

Yep, it just takes time. I hit 5.8 and am holding steady. Calibrate the pH meter often though. Every week or two. Mine went up .3 over two weeks. Mine is only a $25 Milwaukee pen though, so I got the 7.0 solution to keep it calibrated.

Hi, First of all the PH for soil should be around 7.0 (neutral) when flowering about 6.8 is optimal! As for HYDRO PH (Potential Hydrogen) should be in the range of 5.2 to 6.0...This is your dilemma! If you want to increase the PH add some form of lime... To make soils less acidic, the common practice is to apply a material that contains some form of lime. It can be Dolomite, crushed oyster shells, even hydrated lime will help. The finer the grind of the limestone the faster it will change the soil pH value. Hydrated lime should be used with caution since it has a greater ability to neutralize soil acidity than regular limestone.
Most liming materials are only slightly soluble in water, so incorporation in the soil is a must for lime reaction. Even when properly mixed with the soil, lime will have little effect on pH if the soil is dry. Moisture is essential for the lime-soil reaction to occur. Work the lime into the soil. and have some patience. I f needed to lower the PH in SOIL use a nute that is acidic, like bone meal or anything that is good for Camellias, or any other acid loving plant. Good luck and happy growing bra'

That is fine and all for soil, but this is a coco thread. Adding lime wouldn't do much in a soil-less medium. pH Down from the hydro store works better. I think the OP has a handle on his pH now though.

Bong Master is right, dont add any of those buffers to your coco.. That will hold your PH in the neutral range around 7.0 and then you will have some serious problems..

Slowly your PH will get down to the optimum range.. The pre flush seems very important to do before planting in it... For all of my future grows I will correct the coco ph before planting in it... 5.8 seems to be a good number...

Agreed, didtch the cheap probe tester. I have 3 different ones and they read almost the same ph no matter what I stick them in... lol

anyways, check out the section of this article Urban Garden Magazine | UG Focus – Coco Coir
that is labeled 1:1.5 extraction method. It gives a good description of the proper way to check the coco ph and ec. Your drops will work with it.

i use b'cuzz and really like it. the brick stuff is notorious for needing a good flush before use. when i used it, i kept flushing it till the water came out clear. unless your plants display some sort of issue, don't sweat the ph run-off. remember, the run-off is gonna contain the accumulated nutes in the medium. are you allowing for a good 15-20% run-off at "every" feed? this is extremely important. as long as you ph "everything" you put in/on the plants, ph should never be an issue. i mix a batch, ph it, and forget it. if you're not using coco specific nutes, give em a shot of epsom salts once a week. i used pure blend for a while like this, and they did great.

I have found the PH of runoff to be very important since that is the PH you desire for nutrient absorption. I use Botanicare bricks and they are flushed very well