-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
My Phion strips read 0.5 higher than my aquarium drops. Handy for sub 6.0 readings once you subtract the 0.5 but, I trust the drops above all.
Flying High
Member
I have a Hanna 98129 and it has functioned flawlessly. I have used it every day for well over a year, with the original electrode still calibrating without problem to this day.
With that said I am looking to buy the meter I linked to below(or comparable). I cannot stand trying to hold the meter in the solution and read it at the same time; even with the hold button, it's a pain in my extremely broken back. I could handle it when I had one reservoir, but with several to do a day, all the bending down underneath a flood table leaves me feeling shitty afterwards. Since this meter seems to be less than fifty dollars more, with more functionality, I forsee myself buying one in the near future...
Does anyone have experience with this meter?
thanks
H
http://www.hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=033003&ProdCode=HI 9813-6
With that said I am looking to buy the meter I linked to below(or comparable). I cannot stand trying to hold the meter in the solution and read it at the same time; even with the hold button, it's a pain in my extremely broken back. I could handle it when I had one reservoir, but with several to do a day, all the bending down underneath a flood table leaves me feeling shitty afterwards. Since this meter seems to be less than fifty dollars more, with more functionality, I forsee myself buying one in the near future...
Does anyone have experience with this meter?
thanks
H
http://www.hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=033003&ProdCode=HI 9813-6
P
painroad
Ended up getting this one, though that hanna meter looks dope. I had the old hanna that shows ppm and ph and sits in the rez.
http://www.hydroponics.net/i/131983
http://www.hydroponics.net/i/131983
HydroManiac
Active member
yes they do I just got one and I couldn't be happier with it it gives a very fast reading has a big display can take wear and tear unlike the cheaper 70.00 models which or really fragile. I am really happy that I finally picked out a ph pen that I am not sorry I purchased
This is part of the reason that I use strips instead of drops. But I have used drops (still have them actually) and you only use maybe a tablespoon of water. With GH nutes, your water color should only be the faintest pink. If it's dark enough to adversely effect the reading, you've got too many nutes in there.
The other reason I prefer strips is that it's easier to compare the color on the test strip to the color on the chart. The trick is getting the right strips. I use two different kinds (simultaneously) to get accurate readings. Don't get the wide range 1-14 strips. Those suck. Also avoid the litmus strips, because the difference between 5 and 6 is hard to tell. You want 3-6 and 4-7 strips. Using one of each of those, you should be able to tell your ph accurately enough to stay on the low side of 6.0.
The thing is, they never give you an inaccurate result. You may read them wrong, but they will always turn the same color in the presence of the same pH. For now I've been using them as a backup to my meter, and all it's accomplished has been to highlight how much my meter's calibration drifts. Yeah, the meter is great for getting a reading that is "accurate" down to 0.1 pH... but that's only right after it's been calibrated. If I know that my tap water comes out at 7.2, buffers down to 6.5 after adding nutes, and will drop to 5.8 if I add 1/4tsp per gallon of pH down every single time I mix it, why am I spending the extra time to calibrate my meter every time I mix when the strips tell me that I'm still getting the same results in a fraction of the time?
anyway, I got my meter recalibrated, but I'm not really relying on it for every day reading any more.
stink.whistler
Member
I'm not sure how often you are mixing up a new batch of nutes, but if you are having to recalibrate more than every two weeks then you may not be storing your probe properly, or there might be a problem with your meter.
They're not accurate enough for nailing pH down to 0.1 increments... but in my experience, even with a .01 meter, the best results I could hope for with my pH was to get it close to my target of 5.8. If it was between 5.7 and 6.1, I was happy to just leave it. And the plants, as far as I can tell, can't tell the difference between 5.7 and 6.1 anyway.
The meter was helpful when I was trying to establish a regimen for mixing nutes, so that I could get repeatable results. But when I check pH, or mix new nutes, I just use the strips. Nothing worse than an off-calibrated meter telling you that you need to raise the pH in your reservoir NOW, and not realizing your mistake until after you've ruined all that water.
dubbers123
Member
Do you guys just test the water that you use for your plants? Or do you actully test the PH of the soil? I'm a little confused as to how to regulate PH. I use dolo lime in my soil mixture, but I'd really like to make sure its perfect.
Z
ZenArcade
My vote goes for the Oakton 35. I've had two (only replaced the first one because i dropped it on the concrete floor). Always buy a replacement probe just incase.
I found myself needing to calibrate it once a week, at least. I mix nutes at about that same frequency. I store it in a KCl based storage solution. What happens is I have a routine I go through when I mix. I know, from experience, exactly how much ph down I need to add to get the desired pH. So when the meter gives me a different result, the first thing I do is check it in some 4.01 and 7.01 solution. Invariably, it's off by a few tenths.
It's possible that the membrane tip is plugged, but if that's the case it's been that way since I bought it. It's not the best meter out there... but I'm reluctant to get a better one, because I still see people regularly complaining about the more expensive ones too.
El Toker
Member
I've been using digital meters since I started hydro, and I can confirm that they've been a pain in the arse for all the reasons listed above. They are expensive, difficult to keep calibrated, and always pack in at the most inconvenient times. After reading this thread I'm kicking myself that I never thought of using the strips before. I'm going to get some this week.
LOL LOL that is exactly what I was going to say this is really all you need .. peace out Headband707
stink.whistler
Member
It sounds like a bum meter or probe - weekly is pretty bad, but sounds like you have a system that is working for you so it might not be worth the cash to buy a new one.
I'd venture to say a fairly high percentage of the people w/ problems never calibrate, store their probes dry, or store their probes in distilled or DI water. You sound pretty conscientious, I bet you would have good luck w/ a better meter.
El Toker
Member
You're in the hydro forum that's why it's probably not making any sense.
stink.whistler
Member
The colorimetric tests work fine (especially if you aren't needing to do a high number of consecutive tests), but make sure you aren't colorblind first, and if you have never been tested for it you won't know whether you are or not. Color blindness usually doesn't mean you can only see in black and white, but it very well might make the strips or drops impossible for you to use.
That's pretty much the conclusion I came to. If I change things up with a new system or technique, or my water starts coming out with higher ppms and pH, I would look at a different meter. But getting one now would be spending money I don't need to spend to keep proving to myself that I'm already doing things the right way. I'm just thankful that my municipality's water supply is so clean and consistent. *knocks on wood*
I use both drops & Milwaukee meter. The drops can be off if solution is not stored properly. Meter can also come out of calabration if not stored properly. Between the two is good for me. It seems once you get the water & fert. routine down you can kinda tell what it's gonna be. Happy PHing dude.
