I've tried searching on the site here, with not much luck. I realize you get what you pay for, so I'm willing to drop some cash on a good model. I plan on having a total of 12 plants (3 flowering, 3 vegging, 3 clones, and 3 mothers) Soil grown. There's a possibility I may become a caregiver for up to 4 other patients. If I did this I'd be dealing with a hydro system for up to 60 plants. I want a PH tester that'll work well for either scenario. Thanks for any suggestions folks!
I just got my first pH tester (digital) a few days ago. I started out by using the strips, which are really hard to read and aren't precise because they don't give you an exact reading. I grow hydro, and found out how important it is to keep your pH at the correct levels. My plants were sitting in water with too high of a pH and it locked out all the nutes. They got a deficiency and started yellowing and spotting. Since I got the meter they are doing much better. I am now keeping them at 5.8. The one I use now I picked up at my local hydro shop, but the brand is Hanna Instruments. It works pretty well for me and is super easy to use. It was about a hundred bucks, but worth it after seeing what happens when the pH is way off. I'm not sure about other brands, but I like this one. Just don't get the strips... they suck.
Here is the one I personally use. I bought an el cheapo and i found out why it was so cheap first time it got wet it died! Go waterproof bro! youll thank yourself
I'd check with your local exotic fish or fish store, see what they have to say about whats on there shelf and ask what they use in the store, I like to be able to walk in and get what I need when I need it vs. ordering over the net, especially if it goes bad real fast, also most I've used use watch type batteries, get some extras and keep them in a drawer, I hate have a tester with hard to find dead battery's, especially when stores are closed. Most growers with perp. grows will go through a tester every year or at least the replaceable probe which seem to cost 75% of a new complete ph tester, I've got an Oaktron 1-month old tester with a broken probe in a drawer. I like this one because it runs on a plug in power supply GroChek pH Meter or this similar one which uses AA batery's and estimates use time on one set of AA's, I've used at least 2-3 sets of watch batterys in the year or so I've had my oaktron, I've learned to turn it off fast instead of letting it auto-off. GroChek pH Stick Meter Hope this helps you out, S.S.
Thanks guys, I've checked out all your links and will also consider trying to find a local shop. Should I also look into getting an EC meter, and TDS meter? I've noticed some are combo's. Would you rather have 3 separate instruments, or a 3 in 1 combo like the Milwaukee listed above, or the Hanna combo meter (PH/EC/TDS)? I would prefer a meter that uses an plug in powersource rather than battery, but if a battery operated model performs better I'll go with that.
I'm not a big fan of combo's, if a combo stops working you have nothing Vs. if one meter breaks you can get by with one of the others if you have the experience under your belt. For example, if your PH meter stops working you could get by with one of the others if you had to, from what I understand you could ball park your PH with an EC reading in Hydro, I'm not a hydro-guy so I may stand corrected on that, but thats my interpretation of it. Later Tator, S.S.
Walmart sells freshwater aquarium test drops for $5. They work fine for testing ferts and soil runoff. Once you get your system dialed in you will rarely need to test PH. Pics
Is this a good meter? Milwaukee PH600 Digital pH Meter/Tester/Pocket/Pen/600 - eBay (item 270485335396 end time Jun-12-10 20:15:52 PDT)