Testing soil ph +rep help pls

[socom3riot]

I heard that you can test the water that drains from the bottom after watering your soil.

Well , Im using the ph tester kit with the drops.. anyways, after checking the soil water after watering my soil , it shows up as YELLOW , which is extremely low, 6.0 or lower. And I watered the soil with 7.4 PH water.

Is this accurate? does this mean my soil is crazy acidic? or do u think its just the drops reacting with something in the soil throwing off my reading?

my soil is my own mix, peatmoss/perlite/vermiculite.

 

[trichopath]

hi there,it can be hard to get a clear reading with the drops this way because of the colour of some nuts can make the runoff already coloured to some extent,you can get digi ph meters on ebay quite cheap,hope this helped a bit

 

[MuaySmoke]

I'm not a 100%, but I'm pretty sure that the soil soaks up some of the ph and the rest runs off.

 

[richjames]

I'm a bit confused on this as well, in that, from what I understand, u want the very first bits of water that come out to get the most accurite reading, but go figure, mine always 'runs off' kind of a dark yellow color, which really seems like it should really fuck with the readings from the drops since they go by color. Anyone test soil with the drops? Or do u got digi's?

 

[MuaySmoke]

I test my soil with a probe. Got it from Lowes for $6. Does light, moisture and ph. You have to buy a separate tester to check the run off.

 

[richjames]

I've tried one similair to what ur talkin about, come to think about it, i may have got it at lowes as well. Had two probes, took like one AA or AAA battery, turn it on, stick it in, and it says 7 everytime.

 

[MuaySmoke]

That would be it, but mine doesn't say 7 everytime.lol. It would if the soil was pre nuted.

You could also get some ph paper from the drug store to check the water run off.

 

[trichopath]

http://www.mminstruments.co.uk/shop/eco-ph-meter/prod_1.html this the lil contraption i use it seems to do the trick.

 

[richjames]

Really, from the drug store? Where they got em at? I mean there's not exactly a PH kit section in any of my stores.

 

[trichopath]

Welcome to MM Instruments
Our aim is to provide the modern day budding hobbyists and professionals with products that save you time and money whilst ensuring that you have complete confidence in your pH analysis. <H3 class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: auto 0cm; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center>Most analysis of fishkeeping tank and pond water and Hydroponics is carried out using small bottles of reagents, which produce small colour changes. Theresults are just a guide (at best )of the water quality. At MMinstruments.co.uk you will find pH Meters that are simple, cost effective and accurate. So why not take a browse at our digital fishkeepers equipment for water testing.

</H3>MMinstruments.co.uk, Specializing in pH testing, We can eliminate the need for you to have dropper bottles full of chemical reagents in your own home. In addition doing away with visual indicator tests will improve your water analysis, save you time and money as well as tidying up your shelves .taken from mm instruments home page.

 

[Picasso345]

I heard that you can test the water that drains from the bottom after watering your soil.

Well , Im using the ph tester kit with the drops.. anyways, after checking the soil water after watering my soil , it shows up as YELLOW , which is extremely low, 6.0 or lower. And I watered the soil with 7.4 PH water.

Is this accurate? does this mean my soil is crazy acidic? or do u think its just the drops reacting with something in the soil throwing off my reading?

my soil is my own mix, peatmoss/perlite/vermiculite.

A few things. Are you having any plant problems? If not I'd guess your readings are bad. Getting a good reading is tough with strips. Try it again and see what the reading is. And 6.0 isn't crazy low, it's low, but not insane. Buy some dolomite lime and mix it in with your next batch of soil - 1 tbs/Gallon that will fix you right up.

 

[socom3riot]

A few things. Are you having any plant problems? If not I'd guess your readings are bad. Getting a good reading is tough with strips. Try it again and see what the reading is. And 6.0 isn't crazy low, it's low, but not insane. Buy some dolomite lime and mix it in with your next batch of soil - 1 tbs/Gallon that will fix you right up.

its either 6.0 on the dot or lower, the drops I have dont read below 6.0.

I gotta buy myself a fkin ph tester, I wish there was stores with this kinda shit around here.

 

[Picasso345]

I have seen ppm meters at the local Walgreens. Do you have any type of aquarium store in the area? Worth a try for a ph meter.

 

[socom3riot]

I have seen ppm meters at the local Walgreens. Do you have any type of aquarium store in the area? Worth a try for a ph meter.

yea I checked a one, they didnt have anything like a ph pen , only the drops like I have..

there's a couple other ones tho , so i guess it would be worth a try, cuz these drops are basically useless.