Well after looking over ph DOWN additives i noticed that many use readily available citric acid. From what i can tell it appears that 1/8 tsp will lower ph by roughly a full point or slightly more for 3.5-4 liters of water?
This seems very like a huge amount for such a small amount of citric acid. I wonder if his testing is accurate. https://mattgadient.com/2015/12/21/my-attempts-at-adjusting-ph-for-plants-with-vinegar-and-citric-acid/
3.5 – 4L of Tap Water (7.5 – 7.7 pH) with Citric Acid added:
3.5 – 4L of Tap Water (7.5 – 7.7 pH) with Vinegar (5% acetic acid) added:
Just tossing some ideas around since my tap water is around 8.4 and my rain barrel is not hooked up yet. Citric acid is relativity cheap compared to premade DOWN additives. Its not hard to find for under $5/lb. Beats the hell out of $12/lb from the hydro vendors.
This seems very like a huge amount for such a small amount of citric acid. I wonder if his testing is accurate. https://mattgadient.com/2015/12/21/my-attempts-at-adjusting-ph-for-plants-with-vinegar-and-citric-acid/
3.5 – 4L of Tap Water (7.5 – 7.7 pH) with Citric Acid added:
- 1/8 tsp citric acid: 6.1 – 6.3 pH
- 1/4 tsp citric acid: 5.3 – 5.5 pH
- 1/2 tsp citric acid: 4.4 – 4.6 pH
- 1 tsp citric acid: ~3.5 pH
- 1 tbsp citric acid: ~2.5 pH
3.5 – 4L of Tap Water (7.5 – 7.7 pH) with Vinegar (5% acetic acid) added:
- 1 tbsp vinegar: 5.8 – 6.0 pH
- 2 tbsp vinegar: 5.4 – 5.6 pH
- 3 tbsp vinegar: 5.0 – 5.2 pH
- 4 tbsp vinegar: 4.5 – 4.7 pH
- 5 tbsp vinegar: 4.4 – 4.6 pH
- 6 tbsp vinegar: 4.2 – 4.4 pH
- 7 tbsp vinegar: 4.1 – 4.3 pH
- 8 tbsp vinegar: 4.0 – 4.2 pH
- 9 tbsp vinegar: 4.0 – 4.2 pH (actually 0.07 less)
Just tossing some ideas around since my tap water is around 8.4 and my rain barrel is not hooked up yet. Citric acid is relativity cheap compared to premade DOWN additives. Its not hard to find for under $5/lb. Beats the hell out of $12/lb from the hydro vendors.
