Regarding your current issue on pH. Why is it that vinegar will not work in the long term? I have water with a PH of 7.4 and everybody is using nitric acid to adjust PH. We have so far resisted using it think that it can not be good for the body. Can you advise me on this. I have been using vinegar, but the next day my PH is up again.
Hi Ray, Vinegar is not buffered (stabilized). Do yourself a favor and get an up-down kit. They are cheap, go a long way, and keep the ph pretty uniform. Here is a good test kit with up-down solutions: Nutrients.
Thanks for writing and hope this helps!
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What is in the up down kits though? My wife and I have always wondered... We eat only RAW FOOD, UNCOOKED OVER 105 F Degrees. We use a General Hydro pH up down kit and have for years. But does anyone know of what effects if any these (chemicals...?) have on the body?
Good luck to all and thanks in advance!
about ph chemicals by: borg
Keeping it simple: LOW Ph = too much -H ions HIGH Ph = too much -OH ions Pure Water H-OH = number of -H is equal to the number of -OH.
Now, when you Ph down with acid two things happen. -first: you add more -H -second: acid "reacts" with some ions in the solution, let's say for example -Ca ions, that means you get Ca(NO3)2 if you use nitric acid. So you'll have in the solution a form of fertilizer that provides both nitrogen and calcium and provides buffer - that means it "resists" to ph changes. Or if you use phosphoric acid, you'll get calcium phosphate, this one being the calcium source in milk and the matter of your teeth and bones.
On the other hand, if we suppose you put a large amount of acid in the nutrient solution, well, you will not be able to eat those chemicals just because your plants will be burned, roots first.
Of course, some chemicals are toxic but here comes the concentration you use. As in medication, one pill saves you, 100 pills kill you.
So, about vinegar, this is a solution of acetic acid. But concentrated acetic acid is toxic and corrosive, just like nitric or phosphoric acid.
A better buffer acid would be sodium citrate, we call it around here "lemon salt". This one forms a sort of chelates with calcium and magnesium which is better absorbed by plants. The down side is the sodium it puts in the solution.
