ok Gc ive just recently got myself a hm digital meter set with the ph meter and the EC, TDS meter. i grow in soil and have done for many years without any problems but i thought that all this rave about ec was worth a look! so i spent the last few days looking for any info on growing in soil about the EC, TDS, but the problem is, its all too deep! and mostly dedicated to hydro..... so my ?s are... 1. Whats a good ppm to feed the plants on the days when im not using nutes? (i use the full range of Advanced Nutrients. all ph perfect) 2. Im looking into buying a RO unit but until then im stuck between tap or bottled water the tap water i let sit for 24 hrs and has ph at 9.5, and i think the ppm is 820, theres another one which says NaCi at 593, and another what says KCI at 115????? sooo confusing! which of these details are important? and please dont say all i just wanted to make sure i wasnt overfeeding my plants and the water didnt have any nastyness in it!
If your water is coming out at 820 there is most definitely some funk nasty in that water. Your tester might not be reading it right. TDs is ppm. You need to check your meter manufacturer and see what the conversion is .5 or . 72. USA 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 500 ppm European 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 640 ppm Australian 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 700 ppm Hanna, Milwaukee 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 500 ppm Eutech 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 640 ppm Truncheon 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 700 ppm Hope that helps. As for your solution for soil, can't help you. I'm a hydro man! :-D
yeah we dont tend to drink the tap water here! but then again im pretty sure im using the meter wrong it may be the 115 reading... i really should just look at the instruction manual but its so confusing, so did you start in soil or did you just go straight hardcore with the hydro, im temted but it looks complicated and ive been getting kick ass results using soil for years! thanks for the help!
I believe its the 115 reading. If the the water was 820 coming out of your tap you it would look more like sludge. I worked with soil first. Tell you the truth I grew for about a year in soil. i kept checking out these guys with hydro grows and was amazed at the results. So when I moved to Europe I didn't have a job, friends and nothing to do. So I signed up to the city and learned the ways of hydro. Hydro is not really that hard. You have to stay on top of the system , learn what additives work best in which ratios. Same thing with soil. Learn to use your meter and keep good records so you can go back if you are stumped about a certain problem. I leave my system alone for 3-4 days sometimes. I walk in plop the meter in the water, looks good. OK let's play some PlayStation.