How to raise ph without ph up?

Measuring pH is important as plants rely on the correct pH to absorb nutrients to survive and thrive, making it an essential part of maintaining a healthy garden. Most plants require a pH level between 6.0 and 7.5, however, it is important to research the pH requirements for the particular plant you are growing.

To successfully grow plants, testing the soil will help you learn the current pH levels, and if you need to make any changes. If you need to increase or decrease the pH in the soil, there are many common compounds you can add to soil, and once the correct pH is met, you should have healthy and productive plants.

The pH value of soil is mostly affected by the parent materials when the soil is formed. Soils that are developed from basic/alkaline rocks usually have a higher pH value than soils formed from acidic rocks.

The pH of the soil is also influenced by rainfall when water passes through the soil layers, usually turning the soil more acidic due to acidic elements replacing leached alkaline nutrients like calcium and magnesium.

Ammonia or urea found in fertilizers and the decomposition of organic matter can also decrease the pH in the soil, thus making it more acidic.

Before you increase or decrease the pH in soil, there are a few factors you need to consider.

Firstly, it is important to identify what type of soil you have. For example, is it dry, loose, wet, clumpy, or more than one of those characteristics?

It is easier to change the pH of the soil if it is well-drained and loose, compared to compact soil that has a high clay content. Determining which soil type you have will help find the best way to alter the pH.

Next, would be to understand soil pH.

A soil’s pH tells you how acidic or alkaline it is, running on a scale from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral, >7 alkaline (or basic), and <7 acidic. As previously mentioned, most plants require a pH level between 6.0 and 7.5, this is also the best pH range for earthworms and microorganisms that benefit your plants.

After you know your soil type and what soil pH is, consider what type of plant you want to grow, as this will determine the pH range. For example:

If what you are growing is not listed above, research the recommended pH levels or speak to your local garden store.

Ok, so you have identified which soil type you have, what you are wanting to grow, and have a good idea of which soil pH is, finally, you should test the pH of the soil and your water supply.

To test the pH in the soil, you can buy a pH probe/sensor and test at home, but if you are not quite there yet, then you can send a sample to your nearest garden store. To test your water supply the same pH probe can be used.

The easiest and most efficient way to measure the pH of soil is with a pH probe or sensor. However, you can also use qualitative pH test strips, which will give you a general color-scale range.

Using an Atlas Scientific pH probe to measure the pH in the soil can be done in 4 easy steps:

The most common method to raise the pH in the soil is to apply a material that contains some form of lime. Lime/limestone is used because it contains calcium, magnesium, or both, which are both alkaline components.

Dolomite Lime: Dolomite limestone (calcium magnesium carbonate) is commonly used among organic and conventional farmers to increase the pH of soil, but it can also be used in your home too.

However, if your soil already has high magnesium content, this method should not be used as excess magnesium can stunt growth and in severe cases, you may experience crop loss. Therefore, before using dolomite lime, test the magnesium levels in the soil, and if your soil has a high magnesium level, use a different form of lime.

Oyster Shell Lime: Using finely ground oyster shell lime is entirely organic, it contains up to 39% calcium, and not only can it be used to raise the pH level in soils, but it also can be used to correct calcium deficiencies within the soil.

Agricultural Lime: Made from pulverized limestone/chalk, this method is commonly used. However, it is important to note that agricultural lime soil additives sometimes contain other chemicals such as calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, and magnesium carbonate.

Hydrated Limestone: Despite hydrated pulverized limestone being the fastest method to increase the pH in soil, it is not often used because it is very easy to overdose the soil. If you overdose the soil, you will burn your plant’s roots.

Note, that with all the above lime products, always check the manufacturer’s dosing instructions to avoid overdosing.

After using lime, baking soda is the best way to increase the pH in soil, plus it is one of the easiest, fastest, and most cost-effective methods. Baking soda is also a very gentle method, so you do not need to worry about harming your plants.

Dried and pulverized eggshells are also an excellent way to make your soil more alkaline because eggshells have a high calcium content.

Finally, wood ashes can be used because they contain a high amount of potassium and calcium. While using wood ashes is not as effective as limestone, with continuous use, wood ash can drastically increase the pH in soils. If you use this method, ensure that the wood ashes do not come into contact with germinating seedlings or plant roots, as they can become damaged.

Understanding how to decrease the pH in the soil is just as important as increasing the pH, in the event you have exceeded the soil’s pH level, or your plant requires acidic soil.

The two ways to decrease the pH in soil are with:

When aluminum sulfate dissolves into the soil, it rapidly decreases the pH. As sulfur forms sulfuric acid with the aid of soil bacteria, it takes some time for the soil to become acidic. Therefore, aluminum sulfate is the preferred option.

Soils require a certain pH to successfully grow plants.

If you wish to adjust the pH in soil, start with measuring the current pH of the soil, then understand the target pH for your plants. The best way to increase the pH in soil is using a lime-based compound such as dolomite lime and agricultural lime. However, other methods such as using baking soda, crushed eggshells, or wood  ashes can also be used.

If you have any questions regarding the pH in soil, or are unsure which pH probe will best suit your needs, do not hesitate to contact our world-class team at Atlas Scientific.

While the pH of most swimming pools typically drifts upwards over time, if your pH level is too low for comfort, you’ll need to take some extra steps to speed up the process.

We’re going to how to boost your pH with little to no impact on alkalinity, what to do if you accidentally raise your pH too much, and how to keep your pH from dropping in the future.

You might be tempted to use one of the many “pH Up” or “pH Increaser” products you see in your local pool store.

What you probably don’t realize, however, is these are basically just common household products with fancy packaging. Specifically, they’ll either be repackaged baking soda, soda ash, or borax.

Here’s why that’s potentially a problem:

Since you’re NOT looking to raise total alkalinity, you don’t want to be adding any baking soda or soda ash to your pool.

Borax is a viable option if your alkalinity isn’t already on the high end, but it’s still cheaper to avoid borax-based pool products and just buy standard, off-the-shelf borax. It’s the same substance.

Note: Borax also adds borates to your water. While borates can provide some benefits to pool water, adding too much can be hazardous, especially if you have small pets that regularly drink from the pool.

Below are your two best options when it comes to raising pH with little to no impact on your alkalinity.

Aeration is the easiest, cheapest, and most natural way to lower pH without affecting your total alkalinity.

The process basically involves churning your water for a prolonged period of time and requires no chemicals.

Technical explanation: As you expose more of the water to air, it causes it to lose carbon dioxide at a faster rate (like leaving a soda bottle open). This raises the pH level of the water since dissolved carbon dioxide is acidic.

There are a few ways to aerate your water:

You can also to attach to your pool, though these are essentially just another type of water feature.

Finally, if you have a saltwater pool, your saltwater generator is another component that causes a lot of aeration, which is a big part of why saltwater pools tend to have higher pH levels.

This process can take anywhere from half a day to several days depending on your starting pH level, your total alkalinity, and how aggressively you aerate your water.

Borax has a pH level of 9.5, so adding it to your pool will raise your pH level faster than aeration alone, while minimally raising alkalinity.

It will add borates to your pool, however.

Most pool owners prefer to keep their borates reading below 50 parts per million (ppm) to be on the safe side, though some claim to have it as high as 100 ppm with no reported issues.

Either way, if you have some wiggle room for a small increase in alkalinity, and you’re comfortable increasing borates in your water, this will likely be the preferable method.

Of course, you can also combine water aeration and borax to speed up the process while minimizing the increase in alkalinity and borates being added to the water.

As for how much borax to add, this will depend on your starting pH level, your current total alkalinity, and how much borate is already in your water — so testing your water beforehand is necessary.

Yes, pH is influenced by total alkalinity.

In this case, since your total alkalinity is high compared to your pH level, the pH will eventually creep up by itself.

Technical explanation: Higher total alkalinity causes dissolved carbon dioxide to leave your water (off-gas) at a faster rate. Since carbon dioxide is acidic, removing more of it from your water drives up the pH.

But that doesn’t mean you should wait it out. Without help (such as using aeration or borax), this process can be extremely slow and leave your pool in a vulnerable state for far too long.

Not only can acidic water be damaging to your surfaces and equipment, but it also burns through chlorine faster, potentially leaving you unprotected against algae and other contaminants in your pool.

In short, the faster you can get your pH back in range (7.2 to 7.8) without compromising the rest of your water chemistry, the better.

If you overcorrect and raise your pH level too much (over 7.8), you will need to lower it back down.

The problem is, assuming your total alkalinity is still where it needs to be, you now need to lower the pH level without lowering total alkalinity — which is not realistically possible.

Instead, you’ll need to take a two-step approach:

We recommend using our chemistry calculator to get more exact measurements for adding muriatic acid and baking soda.

Pool water tends to drift upwards in pH level, so if you’re constantly battling against low pH, you have some investigating to do.

The good news is, you probably just have too much acidic substance in your water and there are only so many ways this can happen.

Here’s a checklist you can follow:

Mix baking soda into a serving of water to change the pH and alkalinity. Pour yourself 1 cup (240 ml) of water and pour in 1 tsp (4 g) of baking soda to raise the pH by 1.