Safe pH reducers?

I use vinager to reduce the pH of my flasking media with no harm to the little plants. I would assume it would work for water.

Kyle

 

Chris, what makes the pH so bad? Drinking water should not have a pH that high. Back in Tampa you got your drinking water from a limestone aquifer (basic to neutral) that most likely ran a pH of 7.5. The surficial aquifer here (the one above the limestone one) runs a pH like rain water, around 4.5 to 6. Does your drinking water come from an aquifer were the utility has to treat it to make it soft? Is you pH meter calibrated?

 

Chris, the secondary drinking water standard in Florida is a pH of between 6.5 to 8.5. You need to complain about the water quality. Oh, wait you're in Bush country, there are no standards.

 

I have been using Oxalic Acid to soften the tap water and lower its PH value as well. The processed water in that way has been used on my orchids for 4 years, and no harmful effects have been observed. I got Oxalic Acid (a.k.a "ethanedioic acid") from my neighborhood grocery. It is sold (US$ 2 per 500 grams) for cleaning ceramic tiles. You can also get it from Ebay. The processing steps are given below.

Step 1: add 0.5 - 1 gram of Oxalic Acid to 10 liters of tap water (Ph 7 - 9.5);

Step 2: Stir the water to make the Oxalic Acid melt evenly in the water; 10 minutes later, the water will look cloudy, because the Oxalic Acid, when lowering the PH value, will seperate and deposit the calcium and magnesium in the tap water.

Step 3: Waite until the water becomes clear: the depositing process usually lasts for 2 - 3 days.

Step 4: Draw the clear water into another utensil for use. The clear water is almost RO water with PH 5. A little more Oxalic Acid will make it PH 4 - 4.5. A little less Oxalic Acid will make it PH 6 - 6.5. Don't extract the white residue on the bottom.

Note: For the first few times, you may confirm the PH value of the processed water via test paper. If the PH value is too low (let's say, below PH 4), exposing the water to sunshine for 2 days will raise its PH value to 5 - 6.

 

Any acid will work, so you ought to be thinking of safety and cost. I have sold a lot of the pH Up and Down products, and they are designed for horticulture, after all.

 

Lots of good advice. If you can't find pH Down, try pHlo. I find it at my local ag supply warehouse.

 

I had good success with phosphoric acid, General. It's relatively inexpensive and a little goes a long way. You probably wouldn't need more than 2 or 3 drops per gal.
Most chemical suppliers have it on hand and you being a Mad Scientist should have easy access to it