hydro help please, growing advice needed,

kpw555

kpw555

Well-Known Member
Very good explanation of lockout Roseman. I have a question however about phing the water before it hits the tank.

My nutes (GH) do a pretty good job of adjusting the ph all by themselves. If I adjust the water first then won't my ph be all jacked?

Dragonfly? You :sleep:?
 
Roseman

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
kpw555 said:
Very good explanation of lockout Roseman. I have a question however about phing the water before it hits the tank.

My nutes (GH) do a pretty good job of adjusting the ph all by themselves. If I adjust the water first then won't my ph be all jacked?

Dragonfly? You :sleep:?
Click to expand...
NO, it'll be stablized and stay the same longer.
 
Roseman

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
DragonFly,
I just want to share a thought and wise you grow brothers up to a fact. I am not pointing a finger at anyone, but I've seen some confusing advise given to you. I signed up here in 2005, left and came back in 2007. I've seen 100's of members, 100s of posters, that post info here and they have never grown a plant and they give confusing, inaccurate advise. Be careful who you listen to, and weigh the advise given. I've seen a lot of SOIL Growers try to give advise to HYDRO growers and visa versa. I've seen young kids give advise here and they've nerver seen a plant grow. There are a dozen books at amazon.com on growing and there are a dozen other grow sites, although this one is the largest and has the most to read and study. The best advise anyone can give you is read and study and get some on hands experience, some trial and error experience and see what works best for you. People argue CFL vs HID lights, Soil Vs Hydro, High Temps, Low Temps, High Humidity, Low Humidity, Trim, do not trim, PH at 5.8 and ph at 6.5.
Find out what works best for you and take advise from those with experience and pics and journals and grows. There are two guys here, at rollitup, Gr33nthumb and LongHorn Fan, that are really great growers willing to share on hands experience. They have several great threads on Hydro and bubbleponics. They have pics, journals, and great advise and great ideas. I admire and respect them both too.
 
MrHowardMarks

MrHowardMarks

Well-Known Member
Great plug for bubbleponics :rolleyes:

J/k.

I'm actually running 5 gal bubble buckets :mrgreen: but only 9 of them, the other 45 plants are 5gal soil...Eventually :rolleyes:
 
E

E S

New Member
Oh no!.... my pics disappeared! :lol: Back by popular demand..... ME! Check the link in my sig to view muh lady..... then eat your heart out. :mrgreen:
 
gigabyteC2D

gigabyteC2D

Active Member
E S said:
pH meters have an accuracy of +/- x%. pH meters have to be recalibrated, probes have to be maintained and replaced, and it all costs a lot more than drops/strips. drops/strips don't have to be recalibrated. They are, therefore, more precise. This is all in that article I linked to... Maximum Yield.... ever heard of it? :lol:

There are no indicator drops or strips for electrical conductivity. That's why you need an EC/TDS meter more than a pH meter. Don't get me wrong... pH meters are convenient, no doubt about it. I haven't used my pH meter in a year. I use my EC meter all the time.
Click to expand...
I know that this probably has already been resolved and the topic is not the same, though I was just reading through this thread and I could not help but say something.

I have used the stupid drops/strips for A WEEK. I didn't have the cash on me, but they are totally INACCURATE enough to use in a hydro setup. Ask Al B. , EC and will tell you the same. The pH for most hydro systems should be at 5.8, +/- .1 pH. Those stupid drop tests(at least the one I had) only gave pH in increments of .2 pH. How the heck is that accurate? and then, it is only GUESSING what color you THINK it is closest to:wall:.

I agree with you in that a EC reading is also important, though without the proper pH, your plants are phucked. What exactly does the specific EC tell you anyway? Here is the definition for EC: "Electrical Conductivity (EC) is expressed in siemens per centimeter (s/cm) or milliseimens per centimeter(ms/cm). It can be determined with an inexpensive hand held meter. Nutrient ions have an electrical charge, a whole number, usually a positive or negative 1, 2, or 3. EC is a measurement of all those charges in the solution that conduct electricity. The greater the quantity of nutrient ions in a solution, the more electricity that will be conducted by that solution. A material has a conductance of one siemens if one ampere of electric current can pass through it per volt of electric potential. It is the reciprocal of the ohm, the standard unit of electrical resistance. A siemens is also called a mho (ohm backwards). " SO....basically the EC will tell you the amount of IONS in a solution, not the specific pH, which is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. Just because you do not have to do any maitenece on a test kit by all means does it NOT mean it is more accurate. Read up some more.

The ONLY week I used one of those test kits, I found that it was nearly impossible to tell what the exact pH was, and my plants hated me for that:oops:. They started to yellow and shit, so I stopped being cheap and bought a meter.

Anyway, sorry about the interruption....
 
E

E S

New Member
All measurements are subjective. As far as accuracy goes... I made a gross generalization across all brands. Obviously there are drops/strips that are not cut out for the job... same with meters. Top of the line meters will never be as accurate as top of the line drops/strips. Drops/strips are way the fuck more precise than a meter could ever be and much less expensive to own and operate. If you actually think you're getting +/- .01% accuracy.... think again.
 
MrHowardMarks

MrHowardMarks

Well-Known Member
ES, you idiot, that link doesn't work, it takes me to my albums, and everyone to their own albums.

Why don't you shut up and read some information, instead of trying to argue a point that everyone here can disagree with. Go ahead ask Al. B if test strips are better than a ph meter.
 
dragonfly2dreams

dragonfly2dreams

Active Member
Roseman said:
DragonFly,
I just want to share a thought and wise you grow brothers up to a fact. I am not pointing a finger at anyone, but I've seen some confusing advise given to you. I signed up here in 2005, left and came back in 2007. I've seen 100's of members, 100s of posters, that post info here and they have never grown a plant and they give confusing, inaccurate advise. Be careful who you listen to, and weigh the advise given. I've seen a lot of SOIL Growers try to give advise to HYDRO growers and visa versa. I've seen young kids give advise here and they've nerver seen a plant grow. There are a dozen books at amazon.com on growing and there are a dozen other grow sites, although this one is the largest and has the most to read and study. The best advise anyone can give you is read and study and get some on hands experience, some trial and error experience and see what works best for you. People argue CFL vs HID lights, Soil Vs Hydro, High Temps, Low Temps, High Humidity, Low Humidity, Trim, do not trim, PH at 5.8 and ph at 6.5.
Find out what works best for you and take advise from those with experience and pics and journals and grows. There are two guys here, at rollitup, Gr33nthumb and LongHorn Fan, that are really great growers willing to share on hands experience. They have several great threads on Hydro and bubbleponics. They have pics, journals, and great advise and great ideas. I admire and respect them both too.
Click to expand...
THANK YOU ,taking the time to share a thought with a complete newbie to this site, i appreciate your help, and i will go forward and post my pics as they grow, and i will hope for the best, growing by hydro , is something i have always wanted to do,
i will post how it progresses every few days, and hope for proper advise on what the experts think out there
the first two weeks so far seem ok to me,
NOW comes the next part, changing the water, and wondering if 20-20-20 is ok for next two weeks or should i change formula,
my water ph was 5.8 and almost turned yellow, so thanks to proper advise the ph balance is 6.6 right now, that seemed to improve my plants a little bit, i have new picks of plant
so thanks for everything and looking foward to hearing again soon from you
dragonfly2dreams
 
E

E S

New Member
I don't understand why clicking a link to my photo album would take y'all to your own... it's just one folder deeper than HM's link... I only got the one album so....... :lol: And when I go through my profile it's just a blank white screen.... I blame vBulletin.

MrHM to the rescue! Thanks my fiend. I'm using your link now so everything seems to be in order. I wouldn't even have to do it like that if my pics would have stayed up. I can't even edit that post to see if the BBcode is still active. :lol:

Thang yah!
 
gigabyteC2D

gigabyteC2D

Active Member
E S said:
All measurements are subjective. As far as accuracy goes... I made a gross generalization across all brands. Obviously there are drops/strips that are not cut out for the job... same with meters. Top of the line meters will never be as accurate as top of the line drops/strips. Drops/strips are way the fuck more precise than a meter could ever be and much less expensive to own and operate. If you actually think you're getting +/- .01% accuracy.... think again.
Click to expand...
Could you show me a link where I could see these drops/strips? My pH meter goes down to a reading of .01 and an accuracy of .005, calibrates the pH reading to water temps, and also shows EC and TDS, though if there is a more accurate way to get these readings I would like to see it. You are a portion right ES, a meter like mine does have to have the pH electrode replaced, but usually it only happens about once every 6 MONTHS minimum (I rinse it with distilled water after every use).
 
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