High PH
 

I was recently inspired to try a hydroponic setup for tomatoes (Dutch buckets). I am currently having issues with PH. I used PH down to get the PH just below 6.0, but the next day it is back up to 8.0. I have tried with a new nutrient solution, but with same results. Any idea of what may be causing the rise in PH? Noticed a little green algae on the perlite, so added covers to the buckets. Also, noticed upward cupping on the leaves of the tomatoes.

What type of growing media are you using? And what are you using as your water supply?

Using perlite as growing media. Well water as water source with PH around 7.1

Try switching your water supply to a good filtered water or bottled water and see what happens. There may be minerals/chemicals in the ground water that is reacting when you add the nutrients. As another test try placing some perlite in a container (submerged) with some water and check the pH every few hours to see if it changes. Also what type of nutrients are you using?

Using Master Blend, calcium nitrate, and magnesium sulfate. Will try submerging perlite and testing PH with well water and with municipal water supply to see if there's a difference. Will also trying filtering well water and adding nutrients, test after a day. Will let you know the results! Do you thinks this May be causing leaf curl?

Don't just try and filter the well water. If you don't have a good filtration system like a RO system for city water, go down to the store and get enough bottled water. Or find a friend who has a RO system and ask them for enough water. If you don't you won't know if the water supply is an issue. You will only know if you eliminate it as a possibility. If you try and doctor up your well water, you won't know if you doctored it up enough, or if that was even an issue, or can even be done effectively to begin with. You need to eliminate it as a possibility.

If that does work, then you can try and work on doctoring up what you have. But unless you have a lab test your water supply you have no way of telling what is in it, thus you have no way to know if a filter will take out the problem, and/or what kind you need, or even how effective it might be. If you start with RO or bottled water you know the filtration system to filter it took out anything that could be a problem. Thus eliminating anything that might be in your water supply as a possible problem. And make sure to flush the growing media and water in the dutch buckets out with good water first too.

Plants can only uptake nutrients within a pH range, if that pH is out of range it will affect the nutrient uptake of the plant. If the plants are not getting the right nutrients, it can cause all kinds of disorders. So yes the pH issue can be causing leaf curling among many other things.

P.S. Do you have a link to the nutrients you are using?? As well as a mixing chart for them??

Looking into purchasing Hydro-logic stealth 200 ro system. An other units you may suggest?

The mix being used is 20-18-38 blend proposed by mhpgardner on youtube

Link to nutrient video

Hydroponic Fertilizer : What I Use & How to Mix It - YouTube