pH tester review..

[lakew00d]

Im not sure if this is the right place to post this but oh well

I found this pH tester for a rather good price on Amazon.
I just wanna know if anyone has used it or heard anything on it?

Thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Meter-Tester-Hydroponic-Aquarium/dp/B004IYDEES/ref=pd_cp_e_3

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-pH-Meter-Tester-0-14-Po-cket-Pen-Aquarium-New-/370459001475?_trksid=p4340.m1374&_trkparms=algo=PI.WATCH&its=C%2BS&itu=UCC&otn=15&ps=63&clkid=2481658646013707950

 

[TheDarkDefender]

I've heard a few bad things about those cheap ones from china...but never used any. I just ordered this one: http://www.eseasongear.com/ph600.html. Double the price but i've heard alot of good things about it. I was in the same boat, looking for the cheapest one I could find. After searching alot of reviews I settled on that one. You could probably find it for a little cheaper on the bay, but shipping was a little longer.

 

[lakew00d]

there is the same model you posed for I think 20 something on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/PH-TESTER-600-AQ/dp/B000O3B52U/ref=pd_cp_e_1

yea thats it!

edit: the site you gave is cheaper
How do you like yours?

 

[TheDarkDefender]

Actually haven't even got it yet, but most of what i've heard is that it works well and some even said they've had it for years without it needing calibration. Not to mention its Milwaukee brand, one of the (if not the) best brand for ph/tds/etc. meters.

 

[lakew00d]

Actually haven't even got it yet, but most of what i've heard is that it works well and some even said they've had it for years without it needing calibration. Not to mention its Milwaukee brand, one of the (if not the) best brand for ph/tds/etc. meters.

thanks man. Im reading reviews on it right now.

 

[Jack Harer]

That was the first pen I ever had. Bought it at an aquarium shop. I never had a bit of problems with it, but since it was a Cheap Chinese POS, I bought a Hanna. It always read the same as the Hanna within a tenth of a point or 2.
The display was kinda small & hard to read, and calibration was a pain, but it seemed to work well.

 

[lakew00d]

That was the first pen I ever had. Bought it at an aquarium shop. I never had a bit of problems with it, but since it was a Cheap Chinese POS, I bought a Hanna. It always read the same as the Hanna within a tenth of a point or 2.
The display was kinda small & hard to read, and calibration was a pain, but it seemed to work well.

I think Im guuna buy the PH600 and the HM ppm Meter, TDS-EZ

only 40 for both, I think thats a pretty good price

 

[TheDarkDefender]

Sounds good to me. I got a HM TDS meter as well, works good so far (only had it about a week).

 

[lakew00d]

Sweet! im curious on PPM though...

say I have distilled water and i used a TDS meter will it read 0? or what?
and when I add the nutes will the PPM read say 400? or whatever

 

[TheDarkDefender]

I can't remember exactly..but i'm pretty sure distilled is 0ppm yes. As you add nutes it will raise, yes. 400 will probably be too stong at first though.

 

[lakew00d]

Haha Well it was just an example. I just wanted to make sure thats how it worked. I have a grow now, 2 of them are about a 12 inches.
so what would you recommend my ppm be at? they are in FFOF at about 51 days old.

 

[Jack Harer]

I paid $40 for the one you got!!! BTW, you in soil or hydro? If you're in soil, a TDS and PPM meter will be useless to you.

 

[lakew00d]

I paid $40 for the one you got!!! BTW, you in soil or hydro? If you're in soil, a TDS and PPM meter will be useless to you.

Im in soil, So tds is useless to me then? wouldn't it be good to test the water before i feed? or no? lol

 

[Jack Harer]

You can for purely academic reasons, but in practice it won't tell you much of any use. If you use chemical nutes, just mix them properly. A 5-4-4 at half strength will be a 2.5-2-2 at half strength, and so forth. Also, since you're in soil, I'll throw in this as well. Forget the whole using distilled water or RO water. Just use dechlorinated tap water. You want the mineral content of the tap water. The balance of things will not be thrown out of whack by the additional mineral content, and you'll be less likely to have a Cal/Mag issue. There IS a balance of nutes, but in soil, if you ain't burning them, it's all good. Even pH isn't THAT crucial, due to the way the plants take up nutrients in soil, and the whole mycorrhizal/beneficial bacteria thing.

 

[lakew00d]

You can for purely academic reasons, but in practice it won't tell you much of any use. If you use chemical nutes, just mix them properly. A 5-4-4 at half strength will be a 2.5-2-2 at half strength, and so forth. Also, since you're in soil, I'll throw in this as well. Forget the whole using distilled water or RO water. Just use dechlorinated tap water. You want the mineral content of the tap water. The balance of things will not be thrown out of whack by the additional mineral content, and you'll be less likely to have a Cal/Mag issue. There IS a balance of nutes, but in soil, if you ain't burning them, it's all good. Even pH isn't THAT crucial, due to the way the plants take up nutrients in soil, and the whole mycorrhizal/beneficial bacteria thing.

Well Ive been suing distilled water because it was too hard to pH balance my tap with stupid drops. and distilled i only need to add one drop of pH up.

so when I get my pH tester itll be easier

 

[poorjunkie]

u gotta go with HM Digital testing meters for sure, they are priced fairly and excellent testing instruments, i have been using these meters for about 2 years and it hasnt done me wrong.

 

[Jack Harer]

The pH of the water is gonna change as soon as you water the soil. Don't obsess about the pH going in. Always check the run off water. That will tell you whats going on inside the rootball.

 

[lakew00d]

The pH of the water is gonna change as soon as you water the soil. Don't obsess about the pH going in. Always check the run off water. That will tell you whats going on inside the rootball.

but if the soil going in is bad. then the soil coming out will be bad. right?

 

[Jack Harer]

Thats true, and you'll know it at that point. But soil just doesn't "go bad" by itself. You gotta help it by adding a lot of different stuff In soil, the pH just doesn't drift like it does in hydro. You really gotta be over feeding, or trying different shit to screw up the pH. Once you're on a good feeding regimen, stick to that. At first, you might have a deficiency here and there, but it's easily corrected without adding too much. Don't just try everything people tell you to add to your soil.
Thats why I love organics, and highly recommend organics to the beginner. There are a lot of pre packaged organic nutrients out there that you mix into the soil at the start. From then on, you just water. You can add extra N, P or K by using "teas", and teas are so gentle they wont do much to affect the soil. Once you establish the grow, pH will not drift with organics. There is a whole science behind the whys and wherefores of the way plants take up nutes in organics. You feed the micro-herd (mycorrhizals and beneficial bacteria at the root/soil interface) Thats the fun of organics. Learning the science of the biology of soil. Beleive me, it's WAAAY more forgiving of error.

 

[lakew00d]

Well I am using FFOF that says its 7.0 pH ive been pH balacing my water to 6.5ish. stupid color card.
and ive been using foxfarm Grow big for the nutes