PPM and PH meters. HELP

You don't need a PPM meter.

Didn't it come with directions?

PPM directly means parts per million. It just shows you the concentration of your feed mix. You can do without it usually without an issue. Just keep track of how much you add and don't exceed the manufacturers dose and you should be fine.

 

Yes you need to buy a calibration solution. Very inexpensive stuff.
I check all my feed solutions with a PPM meter just for peace of mind

 

I use a ph meter & an EC & PPM meter. EcoTestr2 & Blue Lab Truncheon respectively.
Makes it easier for me to dial my plants in. I'm in coco & use GH FloraNova Gro/Bloom & supplements.
Growing organically I've read you don't need the meters.
Make sure you follow instructions on how to store your meter. Storing it the wrong way might ruin it.
As for calibration, go to the Hanna website & under your model it should have directions.
Cheers

 

I'd get a pint or so of calibration solution as you can pour a little in your cap to store the probe. Should last a while, hanna is a good brand.

With organics, the plant maintains the proper ph and nutrient uptake in a microbiological sheath around it's roots called the rhizosphere, so ph meters aren't needed.

 

People and their ppm's...

Ppm is a conversion from the Electrical Conductivity. The EC is measured, then a ratio is applied to convert that to an estimate of the ppm. Since many growers use many different kinds of meters with different conversion ratios the ppm from one grow room is not the same ppm in another grow room despite both rooms having exactly the same EC measurement.

Thus, it is always wiser to speak about the EC of your solution when taking measurements or offering feed advice. Never the PPM.

In soil grows you should be using an organic solution. The way EC works is by running a current between two nodes in the solution. Free ions in the solution act like a "wire" between the nodes. The more ions in the water the better it will conduct electricity and the higher the EC will be. Organic nutrients have most of the ions locked up inside of non-conductive organic molecules (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen). For these elements to be made available to the plant microbes must break them down to free up the ions. So for anyone growing in soil and using the proper organic feeding solutions an EC meter, and even a pH meter, are totally unnecessary.

Hydroponics is a completely different story and that is when the meters really come into play. The EC of the solution is a crucial measurement when dialing in plants for their maximum potential. New growers who dump synthetic fertilizers into organic soil are caught between these two worlds and are usually very confused about why one person said pH was important to check. If a grower kills off the microbes in their soil with synthetics then this mass die off will trigger a drop in pH in the media and practically eliminate the soils ability to self-buffer to the right range. Inert soil plus hydroponic nutrients needs at least a pH meter to try and salvage the grow.

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

No, it's the total ppm. That's why people use r/o filters, because it reduces the ec to 0 or .1, leaving more room for whatever chemicals they add.

Take the above advice, ppms are useless. Different manufacturers use different formulas to read out ppms... ec, or electrical conductivity is a more universal measurement of the solids dissolved in your solution, and is the basis for most ppm measurements. Given the choice between a ppm meter and an ec meter, I'd take the ec. (a decent one like hanna can switch between ec and ppm, and allows you to change the ppm conversion ratio to your liking, lol)

Why that is, I don't know. I went organic and never looked back.

 

[quote name='"1badbruce"']I use a ph meter & an EC & PPM meter. EcoTestr2 & Blue Lab Truncheon respectively.
Makes it easier for me to dial my plants in. I'm in coco & use GH FloraNova Gro/Bloom & supplements.
Growing organically I've read you don't need the meters.
Make sure you follow instructions on how to store your meter. Storing it the wrong way might ruin it.
As for calibration, go to the Hanna website & under your model it should have directions.
Cheers[/quote]

Have any advice on the storing part? I just bought an ecotester tds meter, should I keep it submerged in tapwater?

 

i guess there might be some off name brand that requires you to

but most ppm/tds/ec meters are just two metal probes that send a small electric current through whatever water they are in

so no, you probably don't need to keep it submerged in tapwater like most ph meters

it should say in the ppm meter's booklet

 

just to make sure...you aren't saying synthetics will kill off bennies, right?

lots of hydro growers use synthetics and beneficial bacteria and microbes at the same time...

bennies are awesome because they keep root rot at bay

 

[quote name='"obsstar"']

just to make sure...you aren't saying synthetics will kill off bennies, right?

lots of hydro growers use synthetics and beneficial bacteria and microbes at the same time...

bennies are awesome because they keep root rot at bay[/quote]

And they have to continually supplement the beneficials as well. It all depends on the salinity but over time the Microbes will decline to the point of extinction.

Also, hygrozyme works well at the same thing using enzymes rather than microbes. The two systems can be blended but the grower needs to be aware of what they are doing and why they have to do it that way.

 

According to the manufactures directions on their website: Standard Reference Solution 4.01. It's the pink stuff. Half a cap full works well. When putting the cap back on a wet meter the solution usually dilutes over time so I use new solution every ten days to two weeks.
I'll use tap water only as a backup. The SRS 4.01 is cheap enough so there's no reason not to keep a supply on hand.
If you let the Ecotestr dry out your asking for trouble. Store it standing up. I stand mine up in a hard plastic glass using the clip to secure it to the side, lying down it will leak.
Cheers

 

Thanks for the info. I just got the meter so I don't have calibration fluids yet. So I literally want the probe wet at all times? Do I put water/4.1 in the cap then? Or it will hold the moisture? Thanks doods

 

before doing anything with your new PH meter read all the directions and go by what the manufacturer reccomends.

 

I don't have a new ph yet, ill probably buy hanna. I bought the ecotestr on Craigslist. Looks new but no instructions

 

Here you go dude
http://www.4oakton.com/SellSheets/35423-10.pdf

 

That little card inside the plastic package opens up with your instructions on the inside.
But save the website info.
Cheers

 

Thankyou doods