sup guys. How do you guys think about 9 dollar PPM meter. its on the ebay. Also is EC meter important as well? And what would you guys prefer more Auto fast bud2 or sensi star in an aerogarden. Have to grow it very stealthy nd bud that has less odor. Thanks.
Hey Weedss, Usually EC meters (electical conductivity) meters read ppm in solutions. As far as the 9 dollar one on ebay, I guess you get what you pay for. Most of the ones that I have seen are closer to 100 dollars.
thanks for the input. However, i really have low budget to start out. This is going to be my start time growing nd i wanna make it perfect as possibal. I guess i have save up some extra $ . RIght now i have Ph down, ph meter, aerogarden, one 100w cfl light, air stone/pump/tube, small fan. ANd i am only planning to grow 1 plant. Tell me what you think, thanks
Since you are saving money right now, instead of buying an EC meter I recommend just making sure that when you mix your nutrients, make them a little weaker than the recipe calls for by diluting with PH correct water. I agree that a PH meter is super important, and you can use baking soda for PH up and vinager for PH down so if you keep your nutes on the weaker rather than stronger side, you should be able to grow just fine without an EC meter. If you are using tap water out of the house supply, let it sit in an open container for 24-48 hours. This will let the chlorine gas evaporate out before you use it on your grow. Also, whenever you are growing hydro, remember that water evaporates which will increase the strength of your nute mix so add water to the reservior on a fairly regular basis. I wish you luck on your grow! Post some pics when you get it up and running!
Get an EZ TDS meter from Amazon for like $20. Also get some calibration solution too and calibrate once a week Thats the same meter I use with no issues. You can grow without it but it's better to have one On your CFL is it 100 actual watts or 100 watt equivilent? You want a minumun of 100 actual watts. Also what temp is your light? 2700k, 6500k? You want the 6000-6500 for veg and 2700 for veg.
The light says 6000k on it, daylight color. Aerogarden light are shitty, they comes with 2 grow light wich is 2x26w i believe, nd i have one 75w so it make about 140 50?. I am going to grow a auto fast bud2 which will take 9 week till harvest. SO, my first 2 week, i am going with 140 cfl light. what u think am i right?
I've found that ppm meters are really not needed in most situations... id much rather have a good ph reader system then a crappy ph reader and a crappy ppm.
Id agree here ph is king. However on a budget there are some quality ppm and ph meters ppl recomend just be sure to research so u don't buy junk.
Now i feel insecure about my ph meter Lol. Its 11 dollar one Lol. Should i get a better one? the one that i have is this. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320745026703&ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:US:1123
I'd recommend the BlueLab line of ph/ec/tds meters..they carry the longest warranty (2-5 years !!!! depending on model). and as for your plant choice i think youll be much happier with the sensi star than the auto strain.. Good Luck
Blue Lab are wayy too expensive for me right now. PPM meter is for checking nutes burn right? LIke IF ppm goes up means too much nutes, goes down means need to put some are nutes. Speaking of which, If i have stable Ph meter, i wouldn't going to need PPM meter. Still need some more adive till start growing. Anyway thanks a lot guys.
Ok guys. I have onther qustion about light system. Auto strain should get 20/4 light as far as i know. What if i go by 18/6 light cycle for entire time, plnat would be much smeller right?. This is my first grow nd want to make a small yield. Tell me what you guys think
yeah EC meter is not needed unless you are making your own mix of nutrients. If you are simply following any kind of feed chart then your ppm values would be fine.
thanks for the input fedda. looks like i have solved all my qustion's haha. just waiting for Aerogarden to come, should be here in 2~3days. Its going to be my first time growing.I am going with auto strain as my first time nd wanna see how much single plant can smell during the flowering time nd stuff. I am living with my both parents in an small place. I am planning to do it in my room which is an open space. Hope the plant doesn't have strong odor kk. If you have expericen with AG or hydro, please feel free to give me a adive. Enjoy your .
Not necesarrily, if I used the feeding charts my plants would be dead and I'd be going through a ton of nutes. If ppm's go up and water is down your soup is to strong. Opposite then the ppm's are two low...not something you can really guess-timate in my opinion. Besides, for $20 i'd rather know whats going on in my soup.
yea. I was thinking of that, 20 bucks ppm meter. I though its good to use since i am totally new at this. Looks like you been checking my thread since i started? thanks a lot mann. Keep me some more info Edit- i was thinking to buy shitty ppm meter laster 2 week , coz i didnt even start nd i am not going to put any nutes fot the first 2 week so..
everywhere (i guess, at least on those i got) on nutes it says maximum "XX"ml/"x"L it does not mean this is a recommended dosage, so I would assume an adequate person puts slightly less. Some producers even give you approximate figures of your ppm @ max dilution rate. I've got a ppm meter and until I started mixing different brands of nutrients i really did not need it. While I was following the feed chart I've tested the solution several times and it was always within allowed limits. it is obvious you have to top with plain Ph balanced water every day to compensate for the evaporation. P.S talking about recirculating hydroponics here, haven't grown in soil it might be different.