Question.. when your water has a ppm of 150 do you add nutes after zeroing that 150 out? Or do you add to that number? Thanks Sent from my SM-G973W using Grasscity Forum mobile app
There is no good answer, but the best answer is to probably assume 1/2 of the tap water ppms are nutrients for the plant.
Do not add it....this yr marks 40 yrs of hydro growing for me....here is my rule of thumb...If your tap water is running 200ppm, give or take a little, dont worry about it....Most of the time, it in large part calcium...It will also have Chloramine and some sodium but not enuf to cause and problems...I say Chloramime, NOT CHLORINE, cause many municipalities have switched over it....Its an ammonia/chlorine compound that works better and lasts longer... It sounds ugly but the levels wont hurt your plants...You may have well water...Those #'s in well water are even better...nice ground minerals....So, if you need to feed at 600ppms and your starting tap is 150ppm, your net should be 750ppm...This assures your plants are getting that Balanced mix of salts that a quality nutrient provides.....If you INCLUDED your tap water numbers, that 150ppm might be something the plants only need in super low doses...Your girls could see some deficiencies then....In many cases (such as mine), half my waters ppms are calcium and thats a wonderful thing.....They are now finding how much more critical calcium is in growing cannabis..You dont want to be feeding your quality nute (that needed 600ppms in this example) at 450ppms and adding your waters 150ppms that would total 600ppms...NOT GOOD.....Any water getting significantly over 200 ppms, needs filtering.....Ok, thats my theory and its ALWAYS WORKED just fine.....YT
Tried many, and it seems the more I pay, the worse they are..It such simple pc of equipment and technology, I spend about $15 bucks a pc....I will get 1.5-2 yrs out of them before the bulb cracks or the batteries die or just isnt working correct....At that price, they are VERY sacrificial...Now, I just replace them once a yr....For what they do for you (actually what they do for your garden), IT WELL WORTH $15 bucks a yr for one....YOU WILL get that out of ANY of the YELLOW pens....Thats what I call them...There are a few brands of those yellow pens, all priced the same, and are sourced from the same manufacturer with the distributors logo on them....Apera makes the next pretty decent MID RANGE ones for about $45, BUT, the guts are the same, so they REALLY dont last any longer....ALL are plenty accurate too....SIMPLE technology....+/- .01....Thats WAY good enuf....Just Google it or go into amazon and you will see a FEW yellow pens, with different names but, THEY ARE all basically the same.....At that price, I keep a new backup, just in case....I dont use TDS pens...Have not in decades....Feed by how my plants look....Used the same quality nute too for yrs....and know it well, AS SHOULD every learn...Each mfg'er has TDS pens too, but always a different color...Same price.... Buy the cheapo ones and replace once a yr....they will serve you well...YT
A pet peeve of mine is pH meters that read to the nearest 0.01 for home use. That 0.01 digit isn't significant, and just makes the meter harder to read. pH to the nearest 0.1 is accurate enough.
I agree, at thats exactly why $15 pens are just fine to use...Simple technology, all have the same basic parts and electronics....The accuracy is PLENTY for growing....And disposable at that price every yr.... It is HARDER to find manual calibration ones though....I prefer those...I had a qt. bottle of 7.0 buffer solution....Just pour a little into a clean cup, and adjust the readout with the little screwdriver.....Now, most are automatic (painomatic) calibration. have to mix their buffers with distilled water and set them like that...Two different buffers have to be used to do it correcrly....THEN you are out of calibration pouches (comes with one of each)....SO MUCH easier to just dip it into a known solution, and turn the screw to adjust it......That ANOTHER reason I just replace mine every yr....I will calibrate it at 5-6 months old, then toss it out after a yr?.....I'm not that cheap, where I CAN'T bust out $15/yr to keep my pH correct......CRITICAL PARAMETER....Shit, THERE IS 100 TIMES that amt of $$ stuck to my trimming sissors throughout the yr....If your paying attention too, and your meter starts acting weird, YOUR GONNA NOTICE IT.....After a while, you know how much pH upper/downer to add to your watering bucket/tote, to be in the ballpark, before checking the numbers....All of a sudden, if that number ISN'T in the ballpark, IT HAS GOT ISSUES...recalibrate or replace it...YT
Yankee.......hydroponic growing guru.....I am also in California....we get water from the Hetch Hetchy.........What brand and type of pen do I buy exactly?
I got a blue lab combo meter. The ph probe is fragile and it’s expensive but it’s reliable. Just have a cheap one as a back up if the probe breaks. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Vivosun is very common and runs anywhere from $12-$18 depending where you buy from.....I dont change batteries when they run out...I get about a yr and a half of good use then get a new one...I water every 2-3 days in general so that gives you an idea how much use mine gets....someone running a larger set up or tests more than is really needed, would deplete their batteries faster.....if you run out the batts in under a yr, change them...If you get a yr or more, just buy a new one...Been my experience that after 1.5yrs, the bulbs start breaking and its seen its better days....With how critical pH testing is to your plants health, DON'T wait it your getting odd readings or or fading readouts....AT THAT PRICE, keep one thats new enuf to serve you well...Once mine gets over 6 months old, I make sure to get crazy and break out another $15 and have a brand new one ready to use....Soons as mine gets a faded readout, or does anything that out of the ordinary, I toss it in the trash...YT
I have a RDWC from PH hydroponics. The 3 bucket gal version (2 grow buckets and the reservoir) When making adjustments to the ppm and ph how do I do that since that is all done in the reservoir which only holds about 1/4 of the water in the system. Seems like I’d turn off the waterfall pump and mix the nutrients and ph but whatever is in that reservoir ppm and ph will be different within an hour of me turning the waterfall back on because it would all be diluted. My guesstimate is 4-5gal of water in the reservoir and 7 gal in each bucket so 14gal in the rest of the system. Am I over complicating this and it’s just a daily minor adjustment until you hit equilibrium?
Ok, that’s a smart way agreed. How do you determine if you do drain to waste? Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
That's a question I had too. I know this tread is old but if anyone is watching and has any info, I think it would be greatly appreciated.