How to lower water pH...cost effectively?

[Poink88]

My tap water is very hard/basic and have a pH of 9.

I cannot have rainwater collector and we do not have much rain here anyway.

Currently I am using vinegar on my hand spray for the acid loving plants (azalea, pine, holly) but I plan on adding diluted acid via a siphon to my watering hose/wand for all my plants once in a while to lower the pH.

I am wondering if there is a cheaper (but safe) way to do this other than using vinegar.

Any input is much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[GrimLore]

Where is your water coming from? Street or Well? And I thought a high value meant it is soft not acid...

 

[davetree]

Chemical fertilizer is acidic, so is humic acid. If that won't bring it down there are hydroponic products called pH Up and pH Down that will do the trick. Inexpensive and easily available at hydro stores, and they will ship if you are too far away.

 

[davetree]

pH of 9 is way too high, it should be between 5 and 7 for most plants. 7 is neutral, below is acidic, above is basic.

 

[GrimLore]

Still to me a ph of 9 tells me the water is soft not acidic. I am pretty certain 7 or under is acidic. At 9 I would be guessing he has a water softener installed. I worked around that by only running the hot water though the softener. If any of that holds true he could test the ph "before" the softener and perhaps split it as I did. Or leave it and make acidic water as needed.

 

[Poink88]

Where is your water coming from? Street or Well? And I thought a high value meant it is soft not acid...

Street...it is both hard and high pH since our City water plants use lime in the water filtration process.

 

[Poink88]

Still to me a ph of 9 tells me the water is soft not acidic. I am pretty certain 7 or under is acidic. At 9 I would be guessing he has a water softener installed. I worked around that by only running the hot water though the softener. If any of that holds true he could test the ph "before" the softener and perhaps split it as I did. Or leave it and make acidic water as needed.

It is not acidic (very basic actually) that is why I want to add acid to neutralize it.

I do not have water softener.

 

[GrimLore]

How does it stay so soft? Honest our hot water is at a little over 9(soft) because of the water softener. The cold side of the syster stays aroud 5-6(hard/acidic) depending on the water table.

If the Lime is doing it this article might help you along the right path http://www.ehow.com/how_4523401_remove-lime-from-water.html

 

[Poink88]

How does it stay so soft? Honest our hot water is at a little over 9(soft) because of the water softener. The cold side of the syster stays aroud 5-6(hard/acidic) depending on the water table.

Water hardness/softness is different from being basic/acidic. Hardness/softness relates to mineral content. Ours is hard (high mineral content) and basic (pH 9).

 

[GrimLore]

I think filtration is the route honest but let me ask the Eviornmental Engineer when she gets home tonight. Hate to suggest ION Exchange...

 

[davetree]

Why go to all that work when there are inexpensive products made to do this ? They are also sold at pet stores for aquariums.

 

[GrimLore]

Honest if a canister filter or two works it would probably be a lot less expensive to maintain so I would think it is at least worth exploring.

 

[davetree]

Less expensive than a $10 product designed to lower the pH ? An RO filter would do it, but you will waste water and the water bill goes up. Regular water filters like Brita aren't worth the money you pay for them. Unless he wants to acidify all of his water that he uses, I don't understand.

 

[rockm]

The stuff I used to use with tropical fish is less than $5

http://www.amazon.com/API-Down-Aquarium-Adjuster-1-25-Ounce/dp/B00026Z3ZE

Get three or four bottles, experiment to see how much it takes per watering.

 

[GrimLore]

Less expensive than a $10 product designed to lower the pH ? An RO filter would do it, but you will waste water and the water bill goes up. Regular water filters like Brita aren't worth the money you pay for them. Unless he wants to acidify all of his water that he uses, I don't understand.

I did not mean a brita type filter - I was suggesting that perhaps an In-Line canister system "might" be the answer. I use them and the media costs me about 20 dollars a year. The advantage I feel is that I just change a filter every 4-6 months and the entire water system benefits many ways. We only use the softener system on the hot water side so I have the benefit of cold water being where it should be if the rain does not keep up with my watering needs. The soft side greatly reduces the amount of a lot of items such as dish and laundry soap.

 

[johng]

Hey Grim... I think maybe you are confusing your terms. PH and hardness are different but related.. Typically water with a ph above 7 (basic or alkaline) will be hard...more dissolved minerals, primarily calcium, ph below 7 (acidic) is typically soft...fewer dissolved minerals. Of course these are just generalities...

Dario...sounds like you have the hardest water to easily correct...high ph and very hard...because of the dissolved calcium it becomes more difficult to adjust and maintain that adjustment...much easier to raise the ph of soft water than it is to lower the ph of hard water. I am afraid I don't have any good solutions unless you want to do as I have done and build a Koi pond and water from that (I use a sump pump connected to a garden hose...it works great and all my plants really seem to love it)...an established pond will tend to lower the ph of the water and contain nitrates that your plants can use as fertilizer...which is my primary reason for using my pond for water...my well water is very close to a neutral ph

John

 

[dick benbow]

I have 3 decdes of water knowledge. As "the koi coach", I've run across water at both ends of the spectrum. If i wanted to adjust my PH the cheapest way I could for plants, I would fill a 55 gallon barrel full of my tap water and begin filling it with peat moss. After everything had settled
organically I'd test the ph to see where I was and what more was needed. next time you need to refill the barrel, you'd know exactly how much peat to throw in and how long to let it settle before use. expect the color of the water to be a brownish cast.

With my koi, I use RO but it's very costly and wasteful. A PH of 7,2 is aspired to.

Just in case, someone here reads this now or later and has the opposite problem, needing to rise the PH abit, and keeping toward in expensive options, you can use baking soda, or try using oyster shell often sold at farm stores for chicken or turkey grit.

 

[Poink88]

John, I cannot have a pond...very small lot (hardly any space for the trees as it is ) and my HOA won't allow it. Thanks for the idea though.

Rockm, I will look into that.

 

[lordy]

I use chemicals for my pool such as Ph+ and Ph-. These are fairly cheap at pool & spa supply stores. They would go a long way to keeping you in good supply for reducing your Ph. Hardness is a different animal. Reducing hardness seems to come down to replacing large volumes of pool water, so if that is a problem for you, some sort of softener (salts??) may be in order.

 

[rockm]

"If i wanted to adjust my PH the cheapest way I could for plants, I would fill a 55 gallon barrel full of my tap water and begin filling it with peat moss. After everything had settled
organically I'd test the ph to see where I was and what more was needed. next time you need to refill the barrel, you'd know exactly how much peat to throw in and how long to let it settle before use. expect the color of the water to be a brownish cast."

This is perhaps the most sensible, cost-effective way to do it, I'd think.
However, storing enough water and waiting for it to acidify (which wouldn't take all that long) can present storage problems in a small space--not to mention the issue with mosquitos (which can be solved) and the HOA...

I guess your solution may depend on the volume of water you're using every day...