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Is there any "Heads Up" for me before I drill the IBC Tote bottoms and put my 1" standpipes thru uniseals ?

I have my 1-3/4" holesaw, and I realize I have to drill a clean (not sloppy hole).  Anything other hidden secrets?    :-)

Bradly

 

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Just a word on distilled water and pH...contrary to popular belief the pH of distilled water is NOT 7. You'll go totally f-ing batty trying to get a good/true pH reading of distilled water...because it's pH is not neutral, but "indeterminable". Open up the bottle and take a reading straight out of the bottle and you'll get one reading, a couple of seconds later (as it reacts with the carbon dioxide in the air), you'll get another (acidic), pour it in a glass (that has a little bit of lime scale-water spots from the tap water/dishwasher) you'll get yet another (alkaline). By definition distilled water has "no-pH", it will 'pick up' the pH of whatever it comes into contact with...air (acidic)...water spots on a glass or bowl (alkaline)...

A bunch of years back (before the internet), this drove me crazy for about 3 days until I figured it out (and asked a chem prof)...So if you do what TC says with distilled water sitting out in a CLEAN glass bowl...the next day (hell, in the next few minutes) expect to get a low/acidic reading because it will basically do the opposite of what water out of the tap does...which is (tap water) off-gas the carbon dioxide and give you a higher (and more realistic) pH reading the next day...the pH of distilled water will start from indeterminate and go down as it is exposed to air...

You really won't get anything out of letting it sit out over night.

I wouldn't rinse those rocks with hose water...rinse them with distilled if you want a truer reading...because again, the distilled water will 'pick-up' the pH of whatever it comes into contact with no matter how strong or weak an acid or base (in this case your hose water...and of coarse the rocks if they are limestone or contain carbonates). Again by definition, and by what pH is and how it 'works' (and how it's measured), the pH of distilled water is "indeterminable"...

TC and Vlad

I see what you mean on this...maybe the correct approach is to set up my sample bowls, then use PH-up and PH-down to balance the water in all samples. THEN, take a check on the bowls of rocks over the next week or so AFTER I've established a base point PH in each.

Thanks for the tips...I'll see how this goes.

Bradly

Keep in mind that it can take a period of time for pH to settle after making adjustments with pH up or down.

I would suggest perhaps using a bucket and stabilizing some water at some pH that you can measure easily and bubble it overnight to make sure it's well mixed and hopefully won't go changing again after it settles.

Use the distilled water to rinse all the rocks so you are not introducing the pH of the tap water into the test.

But then again I think this may be an extreme on the testing and I doubt the rising pH of the initial test after the fizz test probably misled you.

Thanks for advice from you and Vlad. I'll do that, and I'll redo fizz test on the new rocks as well and weigh the outcomes altogether.
Got the totes all cut,cleaned and outsides of the growbeds painted up,and plumbing parts all gathered up and laid out in garage, so hopefully will have plumbing all done by the 4th,worse case the 8th. We'll see !

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