Best Ph for coco

Capt. C

Saltwater Cowboy
Staff member
Moderator
I would love to here some thoughts on the proper ph range for coco. Some say it is hydro and some say it is soil. I say it is neither and falls about in the middle of the two. I have been running mine between 6.0-6.3 seems to work good in that range but i am kinda guessing. Thoughts?
 

Capt. C

Saltwater Cowboy
Staff member
Moderator
I have one other ph question that has always baffled me. I use my filtered tap water in the garden ( 95ppm/6.7ph before adjustment) . When i set up a resirvoir last round the rising ph really caught me off guard. I usually grow drain to waste and using the same tap water i never saw any ph rise after mixing in one gallon containers and caping. The same tap water put in the resirvoir will start rising like crazy and i would have to adjust it every couple of days. I keep a small circulating pump in the resirvoir but no air stone. Any Thoughts?
 

macsnax

Pollen Slinger
I would love to here some thoughts on the proper ph range for coco. Some say it is hydro and some say it is soil. I say it is neither and falls about in the middle of the two. I have been running mine between 6.0-6.3 seems to work good in that range but i am kinda guessing. Thoughts?
I run 6.3 for the most part. Usually when I reset a res every 7-10 days, I pH to 6 and it drifts up to 6.3 and stays. I kinda like that drift so I know I'm not missing elements. But no, ime I don't think coco needs a super low pH. I think my plants looked happier after I quit running at 5.8.
 
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macsnax

Pollen Slinger
I have one other ph question that has always baffled me. I use my filtered tap water in the garden ( 95ppm/6.7ph before adjustment) . When i set up a resirvoir last round the rising ph really caught me off guard. I usually grow drain to waste and using the same tap water i never saw any ph rise after mixing in one gallon containers and caping. The same tap water put in the resirvoir will start rising like crazy and i would have to adjust it every couple of days. I keep a small circulating pump in the resirvoir but no air stone. Any Thoughts?
Hellifiknow, probably related to a combination of things related to your setup. I read an article recently about r/o not being as pH stable as water with some kind of ec. Your's is filtered so that could come into play to an extent..... The same water in a jug with a lid and rising pH ?
 

spyralout

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Administrator
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I have one other ph question that has always baffled me. I use my filtered tap water in the garden ( 95ppm/6.7ph before adjustment) . When i set up a resirvoir last round the rising ph really caught me off guard. I usually grow drain to waste and using the same tap water i never saw any ph rise after mixing in one gallon containers and caping. The same tap water put in the resirvoir will start rising like crazy and i would have to adjust it every couple of days. I keep a small circulating pump in the resirvoir but no air stone. Any Thoughts?
Capt could it possibly be the larger size vessel, along with co2 and water temp fluctuations? You say you run a pump in the res but nothing in the 1 gal jugs.

I read this here and it makes sense:

Rising pH in the Reservoir

<Snippet>

CO2 dissolves in tap water, in often copious amounts, due to bubbling and frothing in the plumbing. It comes out quite cold, usually at around 50°F. As it slowly warms, carbonic acid turns into carbon dioxide which evaporates along with other gases.

<End Snippet>


From what I'm gathering, your tap water is a certain temp, and it stays relatively constant in the jug. Your larger reservoir along with the pump warming the water causes carbonic acid to turn in to carbon dioxide, evaporating off, essentially decreasing the amount of acid in the water causing pH to rise. The water pump running keeps this cycle going.

Experiment. Pull the water pump and put in some fresh water. Let it sit for an hour or so, then test pH. Repeat at your typical frequencies. See if the pH rises at the same rate.

FWIW, my 250 PPM tap starts in the low 7s then breaks 8s steadily over the course of a week. It's warm in my grow area so the heat contributes to this reaction.
 

ricky_simples

In Bloom
What kind of coco you guys using? That’s my next venture, coco and perlite drain to waste. Thanks in advance?

I'm so biased when it comes to coco. The two brands I've had only success with are Canna Coco and Tupur from Royal Gold. My local hydroponics shop stocks both, but also stocks Botanicare. I gave the Botanicare a try last year and was very turned off by it. It seemed like no matter what I did, the plants just didn't agree with it. Went back to Canna coco afterwards and it has been business as usual in the trailer park.
 

Capt. C

Saltwater Cowboy
Staff member
Moderator
I'm so biased when it comes to coco. The two brands I've had only success with are Canna Coco and Tupur from Royal Gold. My local hydroponics shop stocks both, but also stocks Botanicare. I gave the Botanicare a try last year and was very turned off by it. It seemed like no matter what I did, the plants just didn't agree with it. Went back to Canna coco afterwards and it has been business as usual in the trailer park.
@ricky_simples can you give me a example of the issues you had with Botanicare coco ( bag or brick)? I have been using it for better than 6-7 yrs. Every now and then when i first plant i would have some slight issues like a calcium or magnesium deficiencies. They seem to grow out of it fairly quickly.
 

Capt. C

Saltwater Cowboy
Staff member
Moderator
Capt could it possibly be the larger size vessel, along with co2 and water temp fluctuations? You say you run a pump in the res but nothing in the 1 gal jugs.

I read this here and it makes sense:

Rising pH in the Reservoir

<Snippet>

CO2 dissolves in tap water, in often copious amounts, due to bubbling and frothing in the plumbing. It comes out quite cold, usually at around 50°F. As it slowly warms, carbonic acid turns into carbon dioxide which evaporates along with other gases.

<End Snippet>


From what I'm gathering, your tap water is a certain temp, and it stays relatively constant in the jug. Your larger reservoir along with the pump warming the water causes carbonic acid to turn in to carbon dioxide, evaporating off, essentially decreasing the amount of acid in the water causing pH to rise. The water pump running keeps this cycle going.

Experiment. Pull the water pump and put in some fresh water. Let it sit for an hour or so, then test pH. Repeat at your typical frequencies. See if the pH rises at the same rate.

FWIW, my 250 PPM tap starts in the low 7s then breaks 8s steadily over the course of a week. It's warm in my grow area so the heat contributes to this reaction.
Makes a lot of sense when you explain it like that @spyralout . I am not currently using a reservoir to experiment with. Maybe i will leave a gallon un caped to see if will rise. Sounds like some complicated things going on in the tank to make it rise like that.
 

Capt. C

Saltwater Cowboy
Staff member
Moderator
I run 6.3 for the most part. Usually when I reset a res every 7-10 days, I pH to 6 and it drifts up to 6.3 and stays. I kinda like that drift so I know I'm not missing elements. But no, ime I don't think coco needs a super low pH. I think my plants looked happier after I quit running at 5.8.
Seems like i am one point below you 90% of the time at 6.2. You are not the first i have heard the 6.3 being ideal.
 

Capt. C

Saltwater Cowboy
Staff member
Moderator
I bought a brick of cocotek brick. This is my first time using coco coir. Found this video.

For what it is worth @Cfeezzie i have not rinsed the coco for years now. Not to say you shouldn't but it is a pain in the ass doing that. I just buffer it to expand and add ROUGHLY 50% perlite plant and go! I have had some signs in the past cal-mag issues when i first plant but have not really seen that anytime recently. I just got a big brick from Flora flex that i am going to try. I like those big bricks you can make a whole big tote at one time.
 

ricky_simples

In Bloom
@Texagonian botanicare bricks for me. I am getting ready to ask @ricky_simples what kind of issues he has had. I know Mac is pretty particular on the brand he uses as well but not sure which one.

I was using their white bag of loose coco. For whatever reason my plants were getting nutritional lockout. I ended up going through two bags before switching it back out. The first bag I had issues with I chalked up as "on me", for not rinsing it. The second bag I thoroughly rinsed and still had the same issues. I went back to Canna coco (which I never rinse) and it was back to business as usual.

It could've been a bad batch, it could be me, who knows, but Botanicare coco and I just don't get along. Love lots of their other products, but the coco is a nono (at least for me).
 
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macsnax

Pollen Slinger
@Texagonian botanicare bricks for me. I am getting ready to ask @ricky_simples what kind of issues he has had. I know Mac is pretty particular on the brand he uses as well but not sure which one.
I use mother earth coco mix. I'm not into messing with the bricks anymore. It's a really good mix imo. And btw those floraflex quick fill bags were crap man. Terrible quality coco and they came with gnats. Supposedly floraflex is addressing the issues and switching to a new supplier, but I would beware until I heard some good reports.
 

macsnax

Pollen Slinger
For what it is worth @Cfeezzie i have not rinsed the coco for years now. Not to say you shouldn't but it is a pain in the ass doing that. I just buffer it to expand and add ROUGHLY 50% perlite plant and go! I have had some signs in the past cal-mag issues when i first plant but have not really seen that anytime recently. I just got a big brick from Flora flex that i am going to try. I like those big bricks you can make a whole big tote at one time.
Yikes see my last post...
 

Capt. C

Saltwater Cowboy
Staff member
Moderator
I was using their white bag of loose coco. For whatever reason my plants we're getting nutritional lockout. I ended up going through two bags before switching it back out. The first bag I had issues with I chalked up as "on me", for not rinsing it. The second bag I thoroughly rinsed and still had the same issues. I went back to Canna coco (which I never rinse) and it was back to business as usual.

It could've been a bad batch, it could be me, who knows, but Botanicare coco and I just don't get along. Love lots of their other products, but the coco is a nono (at least for me).
I have never used the bags so maybe that is the issue.
I use mother earth coco mix. I'm not into messing with the bricks anymore. It's a really good mix imo. And btw those floraflex quick fill bags were crap man. Terrible quality coco and they came with gnats. Supposedly floraflex is addressing the issues and switching to a new supplier, but I would beware until I heard some good reports.
Holy crap i have a whole tote i was getting ready to use ( that big brick they sent). I wonder how in the heck any fungus gnats could survive in the dry bricks. I am not taking any chances with the fungus gnats. I am finally free of them at this point.
 
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