pH Meter or Strips?

[TheGreenReaper]

There has been a discussion in another thread about the benefits and downfalls of each. In my opinion pH meter is extremely important, and I will use a digital meter only.

So lets get it going:


My take is this, as I explained in another thread, I just cut and pasted into this thread to continue:

Not to discredit those that have been successful without one...but buy a pH meter. Maybe I am not as good of a grower as these folks that "never" use one, but I would rate my pH pen as one of my top 3 most important items in the garden - like as important as lights...as in without it the grow doesnt happen. We all have bullshit stuff in our garden we dont need. However, the pH meter is essential in my garden. There are always those with small differences that go without pH and cant figure out why it is so important to other people...sweet water, good buffered soil, lots of humates, whatever..but I think for 49 out of 50 people, the pH meter should be on their belt like a ring of keys on a school custodian.

Paper strips dont work...pH is logarithmic...if you miss the color spectrum by just .2, as in it is 6.0 but you think it is 5.8...you didnt realize the orange color is actually "burnt sienna" instead of "orange marmalade" or whatever, lol...you are now 20x higher than you think. For every ten basis points (.10) in pH, you go up 10x. SO the difference between 6.0 and 7.0 is 100x, and 5.0 to 7.0 is 1000x. The pH at the soil level is immensely important as it dictates the amount of carbon atoms in the soils and the corresponding ability of the plants to assimilate nutrients from the soil web in the CEC process with the 17 required nutrients/elements the cannabis plant needs.

What have others found to be their results?

If someone knows how to make this thing a "poll" thread, please instruct, or just do, maybe I dont have enough posts yet...

Onward and I look forward to the discussion.

 

[funkervogt]

Not to discredit those that have been successful without one...but buy a pH meter. Maybe I am not as good of a grower as these folks that "never" use one, but I would rate my pH pen as one of my top 3 most important items in the garden - like as important as lights...as in without it the grow doesnt happen. We all have bullshit stuff in our garden we dont need. However, the pH meter is essential in my garden. There are always those with small differences that go without pH and cant figure out why it is so important to other people...sweet water, good buffered soil, lots of humates, whatever..but I think for 49 out of 50 people, the pH meter should be on their belt like a ring of keys on a school custodian.

Paper strips dont work...pH is logarithmic...if you miss the color spectrum by just .2, as in it is 6.0 but you think it is 5.8...you didnt realize the orange color is actually "burnt sienna" instead of "orange marmalade" or whatever, lol...you are now 20x higher than you think. For every ten basis points (.10) in pH, you go up 10x. SO the difference between 6.0 and 7.0 is 100x, and 5.0 to 7.0 is 1000x. The pH at the soil level is immensely important as it dictates the amount of carbon atoms in the soils and the corresponding ability of the plants to assimilate nutrients from the soil web in the CEC process with the 17 required nutrients/elements the cannabis plant needs.

So I'm jumping over from the other thread. My girlfriend is a biologist and works in a lab. She uses both the strips/liquid and the digital Ph (which is very, very expensive she says). Here's her take:

- It's much better to use the strips because they are much cheaper and you don't have to calibrate them. Once you see the range of colors you will become familiar enough to be able to tell the difference down to the .1 level

- Really accurate Ph meters are expensive, and need to be calibrated before each use. She said she would never use a cheap meter because they are inaccurate (her words).

EDIT: She said she only uses the strips and never the liquid. This is because the strips are more accurate because they have a side-by-side color guide.

 

[TheGreenReaper]

Awesome, this is the kinda stuff I am looking for. Actual reasons for the determination of usage. I have found digi's to be great, and I calibrate around once a month. Even then it is never more than .10 off. I used the strips for about a year, years ago, and I agree that you can "get used" to the coloring (I still think it isnt exact), but I also found the: "get a sample, put in the drops, shake, match color, add pH adjuster, mix, wait, get a sample, add drops, shake, match color, add pH adjuster"..etc is a pain in the ass compared to clipping my pen in the side of the res and using the agitation pump to mix the pH adjuster as I slowly add it to the rez. Maybe that is it...it is a preference of convenience over accuracy since it appears from the experts we may only be talking +/- 20 basis points anyway. I personally think that flux makes a difference, but I am a 5.8 from start to finish guy, no flux as some people do so successfully. I find the flux adds plant stress in my setups.

Thanks for jumping over funkervogt and adding some value!

 

[BigTop]

TGR~ saw your response in the other thread. Ditto on funkervogt's biologist... same thing posted on the other thread.

I've bought & went through practically every brand of the disposable/cheapo's... anything we see in a hydro store (period). Spent in excess of a G... and after years of screwing around with them (always using drops as means to test to the tester... even after calibrating), the drops work "better".

When I say better, I mean always reliable. BTW, it isn't logarithmic with the drops exactly... yes the pH scale is, but the drops work by chemical reaction based on actual pH values of the measured solution.

Again, if you play w the color scales... and play w the solutions so you can see the ranges... it is very accurate... not just me, my friend.

Do a search, read up on it... I listed most of the things that can go wrong the meters & effect their values. Not just my opinion.

BTW, you can get a nice one... professional, lab grade, highly accurate & reliable... the one I was looking at cost $1800. Peace out.

 

[one Q]

http://www.fresh-network.com/acatalog/ph-test-stix.html

These work just fine. there's a good point system on here. Too lazy to find a US site tho.

 

[Bud Bug]

Problem with PH pens is that most growers are lazy and refuse to take care of them. For hobby gardening needs they need to be cleaned/calibrated every couple of weeks and need to be stored in storage solution. I've seen too many people over the years refuse to spend $30 per crop for cal/store/clean solutions to properly maintain their probes/meters.

 

[RetroGrow]

I use both.
Pens are convenient and easy.
Strips are be a good back up in case pen craps out or is out of calibration.

 

[B. Friendly]

pens are great when calibrated. never used strips, there like so 80's man.
I remember reading last month that strips are not to accurate. Also the article said that is where the 6.2ph myth came from. Meaning that they consistantly read 6.2 even for lower ph. 6.2 is not ideal technically 5.5-5.8 is better. But since these strips are constantly reading 6.2 the ideal ph myth was born

 

[somebody041]

pens are great when calibrated. never used strips, there like so 80's man.
I remember reading last month that strips are not to accurate. Also the article said that is where the 6.2ph myth came from. Meaning that they consistantly read 6.2 even for lower ph. 6.2 is not ideal technically 5.5-5.8 is better. But since these strips are constantly reading 6.2 the ideal ph myth was born

i bought some high accuracy ph strips to test my ph. the alwas said my ph was around 5.75-6.25. then i bought a liquid dropper test kit. it said my ph was 8.5+! not sure why the strips always said my ph was within a small range when they are suppose to be really accurate... but i don't trust the strips anymore

 

[Scrogerman]

PH Pen, Cal Solution & a Full Spectrum Liquid PH test kit to make sure the Pen is working properly, is all you ever need. I see buddies of mine forking out for new probes every 9 moons or so, around £55 a throw too, fuck them, i'll stick with the £35-£40 PH pens, they are so reliable if properly looked after and calibrated once a week to fortnight. They Last for 2 grows without problems, £40- 'You cant go wrong'! Only Downside imo is the fuckin batteries need replacing every 3 weeks, but they are only 50p each(takes 4)! "Fk the Strips"- Totally unreliable!
Good Luck all!
Peace................Scroger!

 

[Admiral Canna]

You do get what you pay for in the meter world.

I have owned a few different types.....a better one each time.

Hanna Checker....$30USD.....good for about 6 months at best LOL. Junk overall.

Oakton pH2.....$90.....great meter for the buck! But no replaceable probe.

Now I have a Hanna pH meter....cant remember what its called but the model # HI98127. Cost me $115 and it seems to be very accurate. But with more accurate comes more maintenance. LOL.

I do calibrate it about every other time I use it....in 7.0 AND 4.0 solution. As they recommend for higher accuracy.

Changing the batteries in em is the other thing I think alot of people neglect to do. I change mine about every 4-6 weeks. It gets a bit of use and the lower yer batteries get, the less accurate yer meter becomes.

Keeping the tip of the meter submerged in either 7.0 Calibration solution, Storage solution or de-ionized water IS IMPERATIVE! If the glass ball (probe) dries out, the meter can be rendered useless.

OK, LOL, rant over. LOL.

Bottom lines......

IMO, buy a digital meter....and spend some money on it! You def get what ya pay for, we all know it.

And keep up on the maintenance! Keep extra batteries on hand and buy yer cal solutions and suck in quarts or gallons if you can....saves you money.

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Admiral Canna - Did you calibrate your two cheaper meters? You mention calibrating the expensive one but no word on the other two.

I choose meters, I've owned a few different ones and never had any issues. I've followed the instructions and stored them properly.

I don't trust my eyes reading some color and matching it up.

 

[Scrogerman]

Digi Aqua-Pal PH Pen + Cal Solution 7, The Pens cost £35-£40 & only 1 bottle of Cal 7 solution is required & they only need cal'ing Once a fortnight-ish. They are very accurate, last for about 9 months too. Compared to buying the 2 bottles of cal solution(4+7) &/or buying new probe heads, they are the best buys in the UK imo! Just make sure you use a beaker or glass & dont hold over your Res to test, drop them in and your F'xxxx'ed, as they aint waterproof! Purposely made this way imo, the waterproof kind aint as good either! I do like the Bluelab Digi PH combo meter's from NZ hydro', But they require new probes every year or more & again the 4+7 cal solutions & at £55 ish a pop, i think i'll stick with the PH pens from Aqua-Pal, they are very reliable & less messing! Each to their own! G'luck1

 

[obscuredbycloud]

My ph meter rocks. I go a year or so before I need to calibrate it, tho I do test it before every grow. I use it a few times a day and it stays calibrated.

 

[Scrogerman]

what is it & how much does it cost in total dude! ?? & how you know that it stays cal'd if you never test it? The Aqua-Pals may lose .1 in 2 weeks-sometimes!

 

[obscuredbycloud]

I test it. Just not often. I used to check it all the time, but after a few months go by, and you don't need to adjust it, you wait before you test it, unless all of a sudden something jumps.

Eutech Instruments / Oakton pH Testr.

I mean yeah it will go off by .1 every few months and that is not worth messing with.

 

[Scrogerman]

How much buddy! & what are maintainence costs, batts etc? where can i see specs & buy etc too!

 

[obscuredbycloud]

lol...I don't remember how much, didn't break the bank. The batteries are just basically watch batters at Radio Shack.

http://www.instrumart.com/ProductLi...05&Landing=1&gclid=CJ6pmZ7R-J8CFSgtawod2zgGWA

 

[Admiral Canna]

GrnMtnGwr- My bad. Yes I did calibrate all three meters.

The Hanna Checker is one that has two screws at teh top. You stick the pen in the cal solution and turn the appropriate screw til the screen reads the correct reading.

The Oakton, not a "cheap" meter persay, just not as good as others....but still a great bang for the buck. But yes, I cal'd that one as well....had a button and it did auto cal.

The new Hanna is a bit more finicky than the Oakton. It says in teh instructions that they recommend "frequent calibration for best results". So to an anal person like myself....that means "before you use it and want the right reading" LMAO




Furthermore, I would also like to know what kind of meter doesn't need to be calibrated for a year and still reads correctly? Sign me up! LOL

 

[obscuredbycloud]

Now my ppm meter on the other hand needs to be calibrated every few uses.