Automatic pH control for cannabis

09Torus Hydro Perfect pH

As lovers of hydroponic cannabis know, pH control is vital to achieving good results when using mineral fertilizers, and it’s as significant as the supervision of other environmental factors such as temperature and ventilation.

This is because, in order to absorb the maximum number of nutrients in the right amounts, cannabis plants need a pH value between 5.5 and 6.5, something that naturally occurs when growing in soil with organic fertilizers thanks to the ingenuity of Mother Nature.

When using mineral nutrients and soilless growing systems, this task tends to fall on the growers, who until now have relied on chemical products to increase or reduce the nutrient solution acidity (the classic pH Down and pH Up). In addition to occasional or continuous use of a pH meter to check the variations in pH levels in order to know when they need to adjust it again adding more liquid.

This method is as effective as rudimentary, since it works well but requires the grower to always keep an eye on the mix of water + nutrients and check the pH values several times a day. The grower also needs to bear in mind that pH levels tend to fluctuate more during the first few hours after the mix preparation and up till it stabilizes itself.

Torus Hydro, cutting-edge science at the service of your hydroponic system

Aware of all this, Californian company Torus Hydro used its cultivation knowledge to make growers’ life easier by creating the revolutionary Perfect pH system, which manages to keep a stable pH (5.5-6.5) without the need of liquids or chemical correctors in the nutrient solution tank.

This company was founded in 2017 to find efficient and sustainable solutions for lovers of hydroponic and aeroponic systems looking to combine innovation and science with performance and usability, paving the way for both professional and home growers.

Perfect pH stabilizers work by building and balancing the relationship between the roots and the water, and mediating in the ion exchange between the two to produce a buffer effect in a natural, constant, effective, and respectful way.

In other words, to be able to use it you’ll need plants with long roots, which deliver H+/OH- ions into the water deposit as a result of photosynthesis and solid nutrition and development. Perfect pH’s mission consists of capturing those ions and preventing them from influencing the acidity of the nutrient solution, favoring proper nutrient uptake in a natural way; as it would in an organic grow in soil.

Perfect pH automatically balances the pH of your grow

This way, the plants’ nutrition cycle is never hindered or slowed, which guarantees a faster, more efficient and deficiency-free balanced development, which leads to healthier and bushier plants with less of an effort. This ensures better health during the flowering period, which translates into bigger yields.

To sum it up, Perfect pH’s technology makes your life easier by saving you the need to measure the pH every day and ensuring it fluctuates between 5.7 and 6.5, which means your plants are absorbing the whole nutrient spectrum. It also guarantees no deficiencies that could weaken the plants immune system, and ends the need to use chemical buffers, preventing you from having to change the water in the tank quite as often. This reduces the irrigation and fertilizing needs as well as the development of diseases, maximizing the final yields in a simple and efficient way.

Perfect pH is a cylindrical filter designed to be placed inside the water reservoir and operated by water circulation. The evolution of this tool is even more interesting: Perfect pH Inline Edition, designed for all types of hydroponic systems, uses the forced water circulation internally, which boosts the results.

This design makes it even more versatile, as it allows you to install it both inside and outside the reservoir, making it compatible with all hydroponic and aeroponic systems in the market, whether they are recirculation setups, drip irrigation systems, or automatic irrigation with pre-treatment tanks.

Perfect pH Inline Edition: compatible with all hydroponic techniques

The installation is very simple thanks to its plug & play standard design and the included accessories, which allow you to easily connect it to the pump’s outlet connector and attach the automatic irrigation pipe to the other end; or just leave it open inside the tank, as needed.

If, for example, you are using it in a hydroponic setup such as Deep Water Culture, where the roots are inside the nutrient solution, leaving the outlet end open will be enough; on the other hand, if you use an ebb and flow system, NFT or aeroponic setup, you’ll have to connect the outlet to the irrigation tubes that water the pots or gutters, so the water can rise again once treated.

There are different models available for adapting the filtering capacity to the size of the tank, but you should be aware that regardless of the one you choose, the pH will always be balanced the same way, and the working time of Perfect pH Inline is what varies.

Using a model with the same capacity as your tank ensures a 2-3 months shelf life of continuous use. After this period, you need to recharge it in order to continue using it for another 2-3 months with Perfect pH Recharge Solution.

If you choose to install a filter with a higher capacity than your tank, this will last much longer before you need to recharge it with the solution, saving you labour and time, although it’s completely optional.

Extend the lifespan of your Perfect pH Inline Edition with the Recharge Solution

The recharging process is very simple: remove Perfect pH Inline from your system and, using the included caps, cover one end. Fill the device with the recharge solution, cover the other end with the other cap, and let it rest during 2 hours. Once that time is up, empty it and rinse it with water, so you can use it again.

In the case of the original Perfect pH, the process is the same, except from placing the cylinder inside its case and filling said case with the liquid.

The manufacturer recommends calibrating the Perfect pH Inline before its first use, leaving it connected to the water pump inside the water tank for 24-48h in order to get stabilized. If you don't do this and instead place it directly in the tank, you’ll see the pH dropping a lot during the first two days, but you can always compensate this with a pH Up product.

Also, to extend its lifespan, you should stabilize the nutrient solution’s pH with pH Down and then place the filter. This will avoid the wear and tear that entails this first strong acidity regulation. If you don’t want to do this, you can place the filter directly into the tank, and it will manage on its own without any problems.

Happy growing!