Okay, so I have a few grows under my belt and i have kept things pretty simple. I use bubble buckets and i have been using mixing nutrient doses based on what the label tells me to do. I have just been using a liquid ph indicator. (which gets hard to read around the later cycles when nutrients make my solution a little dark, not to mention that when i don't get it right the first few times it gets tedious to keep cleaning the little container and test AGAIN and AGAIN) My results have not been bad at all but i am ready to start fine tuning and really get the most out of my plants. My question pertains to testing equipment. I want a tester that is going to give me EC and Ph reads or a ph and ppm reading. Or maybe i will have to get a meter for each. What is the main difference between the cheap testers and the $150-$400 testers out there? I don't have a lot of money to spend, but at the same time i dont want to go cheap when i should have just sucked it up and gone for something professional(and expensive). A secondary question, what meters or testers do you guys use that you would reccomend? More importantly which ones would you steer me AWAY from?
Pick up a $170 model Hannah. Any pro grower will give you the nod on it. It is great. Just picked up a new one today.
I do not have personal experience but have been putting a lot of research into the same topic. From what I have read here and advice from the local grow shop, the control wizard 24/7 seems to be perfect for your needs. Searching around on the internet there are a few shops that sell this for about $125. It only needs calibration once a month or so and permanently installs in your reservoir. If anyone has any personal experience with this device I would love to hear it... Hope this helps http://www.cwpmeters.com/proddetail.php?prod=CW511 -Tap
Thanks for the helps guys, the Control wizard actually looks like a great deal, but i will have multiple buckets that i will be needing to test seperately, i only like to grow a couple plants in a bubbler at a time. With dwc if you have root problems it can spread to the rest pretty easily. I think the hanna meter will work perfect since i will be testing multiple buckets. Thanks again
Hey Southrn, here's what I did bro...worked solid. Picked up the Hanna EC/TDS/pH Combo pen. Cheap on ebay, awesome durability. Anyway, I tied fishing line across the top of each DWC bucket (prior to switching to recirc DWC I was using silo'd 5gal buckets). Just wrap the line around the bucket and over the top.... then, just slide the lid over and hook the pen on to it. I made sure obviously that each line had enough slack in it to keep the pen at the desired height. This way, could set it in there, turn it on and take care of other shit while it 'leveled' off. 3mins later come back and bingo - perfect reading of EC/pH and Temp. Recommendations: Get the 7.01 and 4.01 calibration solutions as well as the 1413uS one. I calibrate every 30 days when using daily. Use 4.01 solution for keeping the probe wet (little sponge in the cap, couple drops of 4.01 in there and good to go).
Thanks for the tip! that will help alot this time around. Recirculating dwc? im going to have to look that up, im assuming its a dwc with a Res. and a water pump? That sound like it would help avoid the problem all together, as i could test the Res. instead of all the remote buckets.
Bingo! You also can add a water chiller into the mix and keep them all cool... Just put valves on each drain line so if a plant starts to freak/disease/etc you can just remove her from the grow and turn off her bucket...piece of cake!
You know i never even considered that, and at one point a fellow grower explained it to me and i kind of blew it off because i was was confused(stoned) and just figured he was talking about a recirculating drip system. It even keeps you from having to add water so often and when you do its to the res. not the buckets. How do you calculate how much water you would need to move to keep the buckets at a certain level? Or do you just trial and error it?
I use a RDWC system with a control bucket to keep levels stable, and it really makes life easy. I've plumbed it so it has drip stakes in the net pots, which circulate 3 times a day for an hour. This way I can just test the control bucket, and add appropriate solution as needed. I use the Hanna 9130 combo meter (GROCHEK), it's a little different than a pen, but works good for me. Thanks for the tip on keeping the probe new and protected Klutter
If you are going to go with a electronic meter there are a few things you should get. Storage Solution PH Probe Cleaning Solution Calibration Solutions (Depends on Manufacturer) Good ph readers Hanna Combo (Black in color) Oakton PH and TDS pens. These are cheap and way better then the cheap Hanna/Milwaukee Milwaukee Combo Meter 801/801 Also Mag Drives will mess up your meters reading if its running while you are checking the water. Usually the TDS/EC reading.