The best
Lab Turbidity Meters:
Reddit reviews
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The best of Lab Turbidity Meters by number of unique Reddit comments:
Top Reddit reviews mentioning Lab Turbidity Meters:
I use this EC meter. Unlike pH meters, the cheap ones are probably generally fine, because the electroconductivity of a solution is much easier to measure with electronics than pH.
I use bottled water and now i started adding some minerals back.
You should get a water TDS meter, i use this one:
TDS Meter Digital Water Tester, DUMSAMKER Professional 3-in-1 TDS, Temperature and EC Meter with Carrying Case, 0-9999ppm, Ideal ppm Meter for Drinking Water, Aquariums and More https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H578WWT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1H0YPC2JWYF7ZR3SBN7V
My bottled water have 7ppm which i think is too soft, it may not cause scale but it is supposed to cause corrosion.
Water Quality Tester, Accurate and Reliable, HoneForest TDS Meter, EC Meter & Temperature Meter 3 in 1, 0-9990ppm, Ideal Water Test Meter for Drinking Water, Aquariums, etc. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073713G5F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_PRQ4QDXY0ZVKP6QF3CJ8 Save yourself a headache and get this. It will make you a much better grower. You will be able to feed the plant correctly and be able to adjust as needed
The pH of your water can be important for some plants as is the temperature. I imagine you know where to find a thermometer but you can get a cheapo tds meter on amazon for like 15 bucks. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073713G5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CWDVJY9/
Buy something like this and only replace it when you need to instead of relying on a timer that almost certainly is designed for you to buy more filters than you need.
Strange, your numbers look fine. 1400 ppm run off is a tad high, but shouldn't cause burning... however burnt tips + dark green leaves almost always means you need to back off on the food. EC meters are cheap. I'd order another in case yours is reading low. I've been happy with this one.
Looks like burn. You need to get one of
These for EC
And one of
These For PH
11 times out of 10 the solution recommendation on the bottles is twice (if not more) what you should actually be running. So use the EC meter to get your solution to around 500-600PPM (1000-1200EC on the 500 scale). And use the PH test kit to get it down to "yellowish with a tinge of orange, not green" -- this is about 5.8 PH, the sweet spot.
Once you get that dialed in we can worry about things like better lights and nutrients etc.
Good luck.
I use a water test meter, and I aim for ~175 PPM. I start with distilled water, so I can be sure that the PPM is all from Maxsea and nothing else. I tend to make a small batch and just use the water tester until I get to the desired PPM.
I got this one off amazon. Haven't really done extensive calibrating but it reads low in spring water and high in my tank water so...it seems good enough to give a ballpark reading.
At this stage, they don't need much in the way of nutes, so the soil is likely too hot. Measure the EC/ppm of the run off. Anything above 500 ppm is too much.
12" for the lights should be fine; they don't need much light when they are vegging. I doubt you are over doing it with 32 W.
If these are not autos, then the ones that are flowering will need to re-veg. This could take a few weeks under 18/6. If you have more seeds, it might be quicker to replant.
Generally it’s 1-3 teaspoons a week per gallon of water but it depends on plant uptake if it’s a recirculating system. To you have an EC monitor? Here is a cheap one I’ve used before Water Quality Tester, Accurate and Reliable, HoneForest TDS Meter, EC Meter & Temperature Meter 3 in 1, 0-9990ppm, Ideal Water Test Meter for Drinking Water, Aquariums, etc. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073713G5F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fab_wFDGFb8QPR1P4
You could monitor the actual reading fluctuations and change your variables based on that over visual of the plant.
In general with a smaller tank you may need to flush the nutrient tank once every 2 weeks or month and start with fresh water and nutrients.
The EC reading will tell you the total conductivity of the salts in the water but it won’t tell you what nutrients are there. For instance the plant could be eating mostly nitrogen but leaving some of the micro nutrients. Your ec reading looks fine but if you did the extra step of getting a nutrient analysis test done you’d find that the water has a good ec level but is jam packed with sulfur.
They are reusable, I had one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Accurate-HoneForest-Temperature-0-9990ppm-Aquariums/dp/B073713G5F/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=water%2Bmineral%2Btester&qid=1600387116&sprefix=water%2Bminer&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1
You can also get a kit like this which is handy:
Use time foil or tape even cardboard around the stems. You can plant whenever if you monitor nutrients in water. Get a tds meter keep around 600 or so and plants will thrive.
Here is a cheap one that works well for me. You can plant as many plants as you want as long as they have nuts to eat
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073713G5F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VJkjFb3EE291V
EC, TDS, and ppm meters are different names for the same thing.
I previously used this one, and replaced it with this one when the battery glued onto the cheap one's circuit board died. Those two meters disagree, the new one seems to be much better at taking the temperature of the solution measured into account, and in general it seems much better made. I picked that one because it was what my local hydro store had, but I've been much happier with it, and I can actually replace the batteries when they run out.
I use this cheap 15$ TDS meter. Here’s an Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Accurate-HoneForest-Temperature-0-9990ppm-Aquariums/dp/B073713G5F/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3OL0NCUTVLY0I&keywords=tds+meter&qid=1665317274&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjcxIiwicXNhIjoiNC4xMCIsInFzcCI6IjMuOTEifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=td...
Get one of these water quality testing PPM meters: https://www.amazon.com/Accurate-HoneForest-Temperature-0-9990ppm-Aquariums/dp/B073713G5F/
According to the EPA secondary drinking water regulations, 500 ppm is the recommended maximum amount of TDS for your drinking water. Any measurement higher than 1000 ppm is an unsafe level of TDS. If the level exceeds 2000 ppm, then a filtration system may be unable to properly filter TDS
Here's the one I was looking at when considering building a similar system. https://www.amazon.com/CQRobot-Ocean-Compatible-Scientific-Laboratory/dp/B08KXRHK7H/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=pH+Sensor+Arduino&qid=1663691865&sr=8-8
Thanks man!
I completely gave up on soil. The weeds and pests in my area are too insane.
I guess I'll splurge the $15 and get one of these
however in the meantime. I guess its fine to just leave things as they are. Honestly this is me at the moment
Just remember that TDS encompasses a lot of different things, it is Total Dissolved Solids, so not only: Fluoride, Chloride, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Aluminum, Iron, Copper, Zinc, Sulfates, Nitrates, Bicarbonates but tannins and algae spores will increase TDS. So it can be used as a quick reference, I use it when re-mineralizing to get close and then test GH, (for me when TDS hits about 185 I know I'm getting close to a GH of 6), it is also helpful to make sure that fish and shrimp aren't suffocating because there is so much in the water that they can't pass it through gills. So as long as you keep in mind it doesn't tell you any one thing other than TDS. It is a handy tool. I have am Amazon cheapo that works great:
I have a basic, cheap water quality testing kit and it does a pretty good job at gauging the potability of water. If you want something that can go deeper, there are more elaborate versions. Purifying dirtier water isn't something I have personal experience with, but there should be lots of other people who can give you expert knowledge on it.
ok I poked around a bit and just pulled the trigger on this one. Always something new to learn with this hobby!
Ok, so here’s a stupid question. I have a HoneForest TDS, EC & Temp meter. This is the one
When I measure the EC it says 3500! Since tomatoes should have an EC reading of 2-5, I’m assuming there’s an implied decimal point in that 3500 number? Is it really 3.5?
EC meter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073713G5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
PH meter: https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Accuracy-Suitable-Testing-Replaceable/dp/B01ESYG6B0
Not sure what you mean by waterproof. You can place them in water to get a reading, but I don't think that you can leave them permanently submerged.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073713G5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used this device. I actually thought ppm was like a general unit for particles in general in water lol. But yeah I'm not so sure this device specifies what it is exactly
If you’re questioning it, you should test it yourself. Water Quality Tester, Accurate and Reliable, HoneForest TDS Meter, EC Meter & Temperature Meter 3 in 1, 0-9990ppm, Ideal Water Test Meter for Drinking Water, Aquariums, etc. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073713G5F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_BX53MBYCAFJ814V749ZG
No problem! Get yourself a TDS tester, and measure the runoff when you water. I usually start checking the runoff PPM around week 4 with FFOF and week 2 with FFHF. You might see high readings initially, but once it drops below 1000 PPM is when you should start checking after every watering.
Use a TDS reader like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QLZ6DT5/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_dl_FYKPK7BZKBX23C9Y307Y
I highly recommend this book by Mr. Grow It, "7 Steps to Growing Cannabis". It has really good tables on what your PPM should be for each stage of your girls. Based on the runoff you get after a watering you'll be able to know how much nutrients to feed. For example, if your runoff is 500 PPM, and your target PPM for that stage is 1000, a feeding with approx. 500-600 PPM would be perfect. Measuring PPM and pH every time you water and feed will give you explosive results. I have had some insane yields just by keeping these two dialed (even without LST or super cropping).
Which TDS meter do you have? I have this random one from Amazon that consistently gives me <50ppm, for WFM + crystal geyser spring water which concerns me https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073713G5F
I've used a really cheap EC/ppm/TDS meter for a couple years (this one), but recently replaced it because the battery was getting low, and also glued to the board (👎). My new meter consistently reads about 20% higher, where an EC of ~1300 us/cm on the old meter would be around 1600 on my new meter. I haven't checked it with calibration solution yet, but it seems like the newer one might be better at compensating for the solution temperature. It still wasn't very expensive ($30ish vs. $15ish), and it seems much better made.
RO water can be re-mineralized using GH+ sand, these can be easily purchased. Also you can buy a cheap TDS meter like this one
I normally remineralized my RO water to a TDS of 130-150, it's soft water at this TDS since I grow alot of shrimp in my aquarium.