General hydroponics ph test pics

Hiddengardener

Hiddengardener

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Used metler toledo orion a111 ph meter to test and photo the color of commonly used ph ranges. General hydroponics ph test. Hope this helps some new people to hydroponics
 

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I used the drops for about 2 yrs and then all of a sudden, i guess my test solution "spoiled" or something, i checked my drops against an Apera meter and was almost 2 full pH off!!! And i was always very good about not refilling the dropper til empty, not leaving the refill open or sticking anything into it. I dunno.
 
PopAndSonGrows said:
I used the drops for about 2 yrs and then all of a sudden, i guess my test solution "spoiled" or something, i checked my drops against an Apera meter and was almost 2 full pH off!!! And i was always very good about not refilling the dropper til empty, not leaving the refill open or sticking anything into it. I dunno.
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That's weird

I've used GH drops for a few decades and they've never failed me (unlike a few cheap pH meters)

I've had a nice pH meter for a while, but still use the drops more often than not

You quickly get a knack for the color of your target pH.

Yellow with hint of red is right at 5.8 like clockwork
 
Treesomewanted77 said:
The first pics. I can’t tell any difference between them since I have trouble with shades of colors I have to use a good ph pen or I would be screwed lol.
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Great point. "Dark" colored nutrients can be hard to test with drops. Like FOOP, forget about it, your water turns out black, lol!
 
I stopped ph my water in hydro. Nutes drop it down to under 6.5 in r/o water at 1ec. At .8 ec is was 6.5 or so.

Imo if you use r/o do not ph your stuff. Only leads to problems...again this is my opinion.

If the nutez get you close enough just leave it be. Ph down is a nutrient and can mess up the ratios. Plus if you end up chasing it down then up...even more yikes.

Tap water...is a different story...
 
Jeremy @ BuildASoil drops nuggets of knowledge on his YouTube channel, and one great takeaway I got recently:

R/O is a great "clean slate" for things like DWC. For a huge majority of other medium styles, tap water is okay UNLESS it tests otherwise, which itself is uncommon in most of the developed world.
 
Billy the Mountain said:
Actually even dark nutes are fine with pH drops.
Floranova looks like dark coffee in a bucket, barely perceptible in a test tube, same color after drops as any other nute
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Good to know since I’m using flora nova bloom from start to Finish. If my ph pen breaks I will have the wife test with drops. Sucks to be slight colored blind but my wife and kids sure get a kick out of it so I don’t mind as long as they get a laugh at my expense
 
Hiddengardener said:
Used metler toledo orion a111 ph meter to test and photo the color of commonly used ph ranges. General hydroponics ph test. Hope this helps some new people to hydroponics
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man the one to the right looks so familar. i stay on 5.5 24/7 that's what im used to seeing.
 
I used to grow multiple variaties of cannabis ( indica, sativa and everything in between) on a flood and drain table all at once. So i liked my ph around 6 to 6.5
Substrate was hydroton and nute where g.h.
Luck would have it that my tap water and nutes almost always ph'd out there anyway after mixing and letting salts settle out.. this was seasonal though. My tap water is 7ish in the summer and high 7's to low 8's in the winter..
 
Treesomewanted77 said:
Good to know since I’m using flora nova bloom from start to Finish. If my ph pen breaks I will have the wife test with drops. Sucks to be slight colored blind but my wife and kids sure get a kick out of it so I don’t mind as long as they get a laugh at my expense
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My brother is colorblind and ever since we found out, we love to give him copious amount of shit over it. My favorite is the time I bought him a short that had a colorblind test on the front. Instead of a number, it said "colorblind people are stupid" I was completely blown away that he had absolutely zero idea what the shirt said.
 
TCH said:
My brother is colorblind and ever since we found out, we love to give him copious amount of shit over it. My favorite is the time I bought him a short that had a colorblind test on the front. Instead of a number, it said "colorblind people are stupid" I was completely blown away that he had absolutely zero idea what the shirt said.
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yeah my family and friends are always busting my balls about it. I’m in a career field that requires non colored blind folks but I’ve been able to work around it for 20+ years so far but sometimes have to send my wife a pic and ask what color the wire is.I was told early on that I had no business being in this career so made me feel dam good when I not only continued in this career but excelled in it. 24 pair wiring color code isn’t that hard with a little common sense.
 
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PopAndSonGrows said:
I used the drops for about 2 yrs and then all of a sudden, i guess my test solution "spoiled" or something, i checked my drops against an Apera meter and was almost 2 full pH off!!! And i was always very good about not refilling the dropper til empty, not leaving the refill open or sticking anything into it. I dunno.
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I dont think your test solution is bad. I found out that every time you take a PH test whether it be the small little tubes or a larger container that if you dont take paper towels and dry it out completely every time you will get false results.
 
ryn5669 said:
I dont think your test solution is bad. I found out that every time you take a PH test whether it be the small little tubes or a larger container that if you dont take paper towels and dry it out completely every time you will get false results.
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Makes sense, i was very adamant about doing that at first but admittedly over time, not so much. Only when the beaker was visibly dirty.
 
PopAndSonGrows said:
Makes sense, i was very adamant about doing that at first but admittedly over time, not so much. Only when the beaker was visibly dirty.
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Get 3 or 4 small test tubes, you'll always have a dry one to use. That's what I do. I don't really use paper towel unless they get dirty. I think you'll find consistency if you use dry/clean tube that will match up with your ph meter readings.
 
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