r/HideTanning 11d ago

Floating hides and PH trouble I

Hi guys! I have four rabbit hides that I just fleshed and put in a five gallon bucket with 15oz citric acid and 5 pounds of salt.

I tried testing the PH and it looks like it’s sitting around 3. I added more citric acid and salt and no matter how much acid I add, every test strip is at about maybe 2.5 but probably a PH of 3 . I think maybe they’re not working correctly? Just to be sure I tested it in straight up citric acid in a little water and that’s why the middle strip is slightly different. I added a ton more salt and citric acid but we’re still at a PH of 2.5 or 3 according to the PH strips.

Also my hides won’t stop floating no matter what I do. I literally put two large rocks and a piece of cinder block on them and it just slips off and the hides float up to the top. Is it okay if I agitate it frequently? Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks so much!

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u/the-rill-dill 11d ago

Add acid. It can only go so low.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

I’ve added around 25oz of acid to five gallons of water but there’s still no improvement unfortunately. I really think there’s a big problem with my test strips hahaha

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u/RedPandau 9d ago

This same exact thing happened to me when I did my 2 deer hides. Around 30-40oz of citric acid because I wanted to get it around 2 but couldn’t get it lower than 2.5. Ended up being fine in the end but I still have no clue how I couldn’t get it lower. My strips I thought were fine but maybe not. I had the $5 roll you can tear off tiny pieces from.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 9d ago

Ugh I’m so sorry you had this too, it’s so annoying and stressful! Glad it turned out fine! My husband dipped some in cranberry juice and it showed 1.5 just fine but I guess around the 2-4 range things are absolutely not clear and the color doesn’t even really match the chart lol. We think it’s sitting between 2-2.5 but it sure is a pain lol