A "how-to" guide on acidification

[Steve Johnson]

Thank you Steve! Very informative article, I learned a lot.

You're welcome!

[AirWreck]

I am so astounded at how much things have changed in 20 years. 20 years ago I studied up on growing cacti. Now I'm revisiting the information and finding that everything I was told back then was wrong. I'm a bit sad and dispirited. But that's the way science goes: as new data comes along understandings and practices change. Lay people get upset about "the scientists and experts" constantly changing their minds- but that's how science works.

I used to try to use a pH meter but could never get it to work- readings were all over the place buffer fluids or not, and that's when the battery worked. I had just as much problems with having a working battery as I did with wild readings. Then there's the times the battery leaked and completely ruining the meter, forcing me to have to buy a new one. I'm going to go with a pH strips and I've been meaning to for sometime; I just keep forgetting to buy some. yeah sure, I may not be able to measure tenths of a pH but so much less instability with strips.

[Steve Johnson]

I used to try to use a pH meter but could never get it to work- readings were all over the place buffer fluids or not, and that's when the battery worked. I had just as much problems with having a working battery as I did with wild readings. Then there's the times the battery leaked and completely ruining the meter, forcing me to have to buy a new one. I'm going to go with a pH strips and I've been meaning to for sometime; I just keep forgetting to buy some. yeah sure, I may not be able to measure tenths of a pH but so much less instability with strips.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with your pH meter. My bad experience involved a Milwaukee Instruments pH 600, but user error on my part -- nothing wrong with the meter itself. When the last one crapped out on me, here's the meter I've been using for a year:

https://www.amazon.com/Poniie-PH2022Plu ... 776&sr=8-1

2-point calibration vs. the pH 600's 1-point calibration -- much better, and I get more accurate results with the Poniie PH2022 Plus. However, the calibration procedure is a bit labor-intensive since the meter has to be recalibrated unless it's used all the time (I use mine only 2-3 times a year). However, there's nothing wrong with test strips as long as they're giving you reliable results. After comparing results among a number of products, the best I've found are the 17 in 1 Pool and Drinking Water Test Strips made by MedLab Diagnostics. You can buy them on Amazon.

[AirWreck]

I still have pouches of unopened buffer fluids. I suppose I could test the test strips on the buffer fluids.
I'll have to find another source for buying test strips as I don't buy on Amazon.

This thread was interesting reading. I had long assumed that my tap water would be acidic because the local freshwater in the area tends to be acidic. Some of the creeks in the mountains here are so acidic now from acid rain that the native trout are having a hard time; the water was acidic to begin with because of the local geology. We don't have limestone here. The acid rain can push the creeks' pH down to around 3. However, I wasn't aware that municipalities will add ingredients to the water the tap water to make it alkaline. So, testing is truly in order.

Speaking of acid rain. If you're collecting rain water to use for your plants, its worth testing it. Acid rain isn't in the news anymore but it hasn't gone away.

[jerrytheplater]

I still have pouches of unopened buffer fluids. I suppose I could test the test strips on the buffer fluids.
I'll have to find another source for buying test strips as I don't buy on Amazon.

This thread was interesting reading. I had long assumed that my tap water would be acidic because the local freshwater in the area tends to be acidic. Some of the creeks in the mountains here are so acidic now from acid rain that the native trout are having a hard time; the water was acidic to begin with because of the local geology. We don't have limestone here. The acid rain can push the creeks' pH down to around 3. However, I wasn't aware that municipalities will add ingredients to the water the tap water to make it alkaline. So, testing is truly in order.

Speaking of acid rain. If you're collecting rain water to use for your plants, its worth testing it. Acid rain isn't in the news anymore but it hasn't gone away.

I use rain water all the time, a lot of it for my carnivorous plants which need very low pH, low mineral water. But, I also use it to mix up fertilizer solutions. There the concentration of the CO2 in the rain water is the major cause of a low pH. SO2, if there, will cause low pH too. But, the effect of the fertilizer concentration will overwhelm the effect of the low pH rain water.

Earlier you had asked about a water test for your water. If you are using a public water supply company for your water, you can ask them for a water test report. It won't test for all of the compounds used in fertilizers, but it will tell you some good information. If you have a well, then you need to get your water tested at a lab for a couple of hundred bucks. But then you can get exactly what you want. Just know that water can change over the seasons, especially if from surface water. By me, the use of road salt in winter has added a lot (35-50 ppm) of sodium and chloride in our reservoirs, which we drink.

Acid water in pipelines will dissolve old solder and add lead into your water. It will also corrode the pipes themselves. Some brass has lead added to it to make it easier to machine. That lead can dissolve. That is why pH is adjusted by water supply companies. And even some private homeowners will adjust their well water-not all. Water varies depending on where you live.