PPM and pH rising

Yeah, but I washed it

Rinsed it with strong-current water for a while..
My PPM pretty much sucks - it's about 370 with no nutes. That's something I can't do much about, for the moment. The country I live in has shitty water, and I'm using MINERAL WATER, for fuck's sake.. Ridiculous.
And for the moment, I'm not willing to invest anymore money on RO systems or filters. That shit is expensive here, and I've already spent quite a bit. If I spend money again - it'll be on LED's (90W UFO) probably. But not yet. I want to see how this grow goes, and if it'll be enough for me, there's no need to get greedy.
Anyways, maybe I will ask around in the nursery, but for now - gotta go.

Thanks everyone

Hey bro here are the pictures as promised. Also so you know what I mean, i took the pictire at the end of the light cycle. This way you know what I am talking about. then before it comes on again just fill it back up to the line with water. it should help your ppm leve., Just some advice for ya.

oh everyone else feel free to comment on this. I take no offense. Im just trying to be the best so I am always up for some good advice!!!

PPM problem solved, pH - not yet

I figured out what's causing my daily PPM rise, I'll explain, just in case this is happening to any of you other guys. I had my timer set to feed 15 minutes every hour (I listened to the guy in the shop, for some dumb reason), which means water is going through the hydroton, and back to the water every hour. Now, I assumed most of the PPM rise is coming from the hydroton itself (even though it's been washed). So I set my timer to feed every 4 hours (six 15 minute feeds a day, spread evenly), which is probably more than enough (if I'm wrong here, please someone tell me), if not too much. Waited another 24 hours, and checked the PPM again.
The previous 24-hour PPM rise was 100, and this time it was only around 10. Which means my assumption was probably correct. But the pH rose by about .8-1 in the past 24 hours, so I added some pH lowering shit again. Everything seems to be fine, if I add this shit every day, but something does seem off to me. Why would 3.5 gallons of pretty O.K water, bubbling with oxygen, have a pH rise of that much in 24 hours? Could this be the bubbling? Or is this normal? If so, please tell me. If not - what can be the cause, and what can be done about it?

Thanks dudes

If your temp is above 26C or 80F it will cause the ph to rise. As from my experience you sound like me when I started. I did the same thing with the watering. Are your plants drooping? I go every 4 hours now. sounds like your learning. School of the Streets & Hard Knocks is always the best!

Well, yeah

The temp is around 81-82 constantly, because of the 24h veg. So if that's the reason, there's not much I can do about it, except maybe a cool-tube with my HPS, but that's another story, the cabinet's too small, probably. Nearing the flowering period I'll see what I can do with that HPS, maybe remove the reflector and buy cool-tube. If not - CFL's will work, but I'll have to limit the lights, due to the temp.
But no - the plant is not drooping. I'll be going away for 3 days, I hope everything will be O.K here while I'm gone. The plant should manage, even if pH goes up from 6.2. I'll just fix it when I get back.

Thanks, dude

an hps is always better than a CFL. but at 82, i wouldnt be too concerned with it. an HPS will still add more heat in my opinion. whatever floats your boat. I just wouldnt want the temp any higher than 82 as they say it stops growing above that.
cheers

your ppm goes up because your plant is drinking more than it is eating. this makes the nutrient solution stronger because there is less water in the res. this willmake your ph go up too. try lowering the temp a bit. a ph swing is normal. set it at 5.8 and let it go up to 6.2 then adjust it back down to 5.8. it should stabilize a bit after a few days. thanks for sharing and happy growing