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
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.
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.
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
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...
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
It's not. You can purchase a TDS tester that takes a bout a second to test your drinking water.
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://smile.amazon.com/dp/B073713G5F/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_7N6YMQEZW5SP9C2RTD5T
I had no problems with the HoneForest one off amazon. EC meters are super simple can you can go cheap. pH meters you have to spend a bit more though.
I asked the same question, and this is what someone suggested. Posting this for 2 reasons. 1, to share. 2, to see if someone else has a better suggestion.
Unlike pH meters, cheap ppm/EC meters can work pretty well. It's a lot easier to make electronic sensors measure electroconductivity than pH; many other sensors convert their measurements to electroconductivity, like a thermistor converting temperature to resistance.
I use this one. I can't compare it to any others, but it's worked for me for years.
That’s strange. I live in 95125 so our source can’t be that different. Do you mind sharing the company you were working with? I order this device from Amazon. I’m not sure how accurate it is but it gave me a reading of 307ppm.
You need to spend more for a decent pH meter but this cheap EC meter is fine. It's much simpler technology.
Unfortunately cheap pH testers are not accurate or reliable, but inexpensive EC meters are accurate bc the technology is more rudimentary.
This is the EC pen that I have been using for 2 years with no issues
As far as pH pen, I wouldn't go any cheaper than an Apera PH20. Other trusted brands are Bluelab and Hanna Instruments.
If you don't want to/can't drop 60+ dollars on a pH pen, the test kit with drops will work just fine as long as you aren't color blind.
Do you know what he's growing in? If he has access to a ppm meter, he should flush it and measure the ppm, and possibly the pH of the runoff before tossing it. If he doesn't own a ppm meter, have him grab one of these for the next attempt.
Get an EC meter, they're like $15. I have this one. Unlike cheap pH meters, you don't need to constantly recalibrate them, they just work, and they provide a lot of valuable information when growing in hydroponics or soilless media.
I didn't know that was a thing for Calatheas. I grow carnivorous plants and it's super important to avoid tap water that has a mineral count above 50 ppm (which is most tap in the US unfortunately). You can buy a TDS meter like this on Amazon for super cheap though and it'll tell you the mineral count in your water.
I was looking at these online EC Meter at Amazon
Will eventually get one but trying to limit the gear for the first couple of runs. With gardening I have been going slowly to spread out the joy of learning and experimentation !
They're really cheap. I use this one. It's $15. It doesn't even need recalibration like the cheap pH meters do. I'd suggest getting one.
You can also measure the runoff of your EC, because if it's not significantly higher than what you're putting in, you don't need to water to 30% runoff (wtf) all the time. I found I only needed to water to runoff about once a week, anything further was just a waste of time and nutrients.
In this case, the cheap one from Amazon is actually fine. the technology for measuring EC is super simple and you don't need a "good"one. This one is perfectly fine.
If you can't find a water report for your area, you can get a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter, also called an EC or PPM meter. (I have this one, cost about $15.) It'll tell you how hard your tap water is, and will also be useful for measuring nutrients if you ever do hydro or coco.
If you go the distilled/filtered water route, you can also save on it by trying part distilled, part tap -- diluting your tap water may help.
20ppm is pretty low... in the single digits of each flavor ion. I wouldn't worry about it.
I'd probably invest in a TDS meter though to see what the actual ppm is and verify that the RO system is properly maintained.
So, you can get a meter, confusingly called an EC, TDS, or ppm meter. I use this one; they're usually pretty cheap, they're commonly used to measure water quality. They measure the electro-conductivity (EC) of a solution, which also works to approximately measure the parts-per-million Total Dissolved Solids. (Note that the EC and ppm scales are different.) I keep track of everything in terms of EC, which is usually written like 1.0 s/cm or 1000 us/cm. RO (reverse osmosis filtered) water should have an EC very close to 0, my tap water is around 275 us/cm.
For hydroponics and soilless growing, measuring EC is effectively measuring the concentration of your nutrient mix. That's a lot more accurate than measuring half a teaspoon of this, a teaspoon of that. It's also good for measuring runoff -- if you're pouring in a mix with an EC of 1100 us/cm (water plus added nutrients), but the runoff comes out with an EC of 1800 us/cm, it means there's some salt buildup in the coco that just washed out. A little bit (+200-300ish) is normal, but if the runoff is coming out much higher than what you're putting in, the extra salts building up may be messing with the pH in the root zone.
The Coco for Cannabis school of thought is that you should ALWAYS water extra, to get a bunch of runoff, so it never has a chance to build up. It works, but I find dealing with all that runoff to be wasteful and a pain in the ass. (He tends to write as if his way is the only way that works. Take his advice with a grain of salt.) I found that if I feed a little lighter, the salts don't really build up that quickly, and I only needed to get runoff once a week or so to keep things in check. I'm recommending that you check your runoff EC and use that to inform your watering.
You definitely won't need runoff early in the grow, because there shouldn't be any salt buildup initially; seedlings only need a small amount of nutrients.
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.
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:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073713G5F?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share is the meter. I called and it's RO water I've been using.
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
After ~3 years of using my cheap EC meter, it started giving strange readings because the battery was just about dead. I replaced it, because the coin cell battery was glued to the circuit board (ugh), and my new EC meter consistently gives me readings that are ~20% higher -- I suspect it's better at compensating for the solution temperature.
If your meter is telling you your tap water is > 1800 (AKA 1.8) then it would probably be worth buying or making calibration solution, because that is insanely high. Either your meter is way off, or your water is so hard you should check if it's even safe to drink.
1800 us/cm EC is the same as 1.8 s/cm EC, it's just a 1000x or 1x scale, like meters or millimeters.
I use this one now, which I got from my local hydro shop for ~$30. Previously I had this very cheaply made one, which has a non-replaceable battery. My new meter does much better at accounting for the solution temperature in the measurement, the cheap one had consistently been giving me readings that were too low.
Ah okay. I purchased this, is that acceptable to measure it? Do you know what I should be looking for/if there are specific guides on what tomatoes need?
i had a similar problem and have been told that it is impossible to move one and not the other, and people's recommendations to do so failed. when did u do a water change last? your water is probably just tired and needs changing. u can also get a water tester that will show u how much solids are dissolved in your water, which is also a good indication to change your water, even though it can look clean. solids accumulate as you use your hot tub. https://smile.amazon.com/Accurate-HoneForest-Temperature-0-9990ppm-Aquariums/dp/B073713G5F/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=dissolved+solids+water+tester&qid=1641743572&sprefix=water+test%2Caps%2C65&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTksxNURVUjlMTU5DJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODMzMDk5MUNDTjdDU1QyUERVWSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjYyMjIzRlhZNFREWUJCQjhHJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
foaming is also a good indication that a water change is needed. what i found that seemed to cause the ph and ta to go in opposite directions, specifically for me, high ta and low ph, is the use of Trichlor choline tablets, instead of something like spa 56 (which isn't trichlor). the tablets are convenient, but i have moved away from Trichlor because of this problem, and have not had this problem again. do concentrate on ph being correct, but i would change the water soon. ph is logarithmic, so if it is a little out of the normal range, it is a big deal. ta is not logarithmic and is the absolute concentration of alkalinity (per volume). too high or two low can cause damage and expensive repairs to your tub, eating away the gaskets / seals, cause skin irritation, cause your water sanitation to not work properly or use up chemicals faster. also, use a ph balancer that helps lock ph and ta in. here is the recommended water care instructions for my tub, which has worked well for me: https://s3.amazonaws.com/wp-agilitysquared/nespas/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Elemental-Water-Care-Program_20200727-1.pdf?gclid=CjwKCAiArOqOBhBmEiwAsgeLmYf1GPHPESpbU88pvEKhjidFZjp0LEE_lOENpOF6fSYZpVvD3lhNPRoC4xMQAvD_BwE
good luck!
Keith
Here's the EC meter I use. Unlike cheap pH meters, which are terrible, cheap EC meters are fine -- it's much easier to measure the electroconductivity of a solution than its pH.
You don't need an expensice TDS meter for it to be reliable and accurate. This is not equally true with pH pens.
You’re fine!
Any PPM meter will work but here’s what I can recommend for you! It’s $15 so very affordable:
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_CQ5TKG8BBGTMGDHD1W1P
If you decide to upgrade you PH pen, this pen is on point and holds it own! Here’s what I recommend:
Apera Instruments AI209 Value Series PH20 Waterproof pH Tester Kit, ±0.1 pH Accuracy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ENFOHN8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_NCMN9R5T3TR5DHA4AW8Z?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Now shop around! That Apera pen, I bought mine from eBay for $25 shipped.
Always come back if you have questions!!!
I've been using this one for more than a year and a half with no issues.
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_CTSIFb7Z3BKXF
I use this one, there's nothing particularly special about it. It's cheap and it works.
I think my pen measures EC in microsiemens (μs/cm), and the value for that measurement is 440. This is the pen I got from Amazon, you can see the instructions in there.
It'd be amazing if you still think that my tap water is fine!
I have an OG Kush Auto from Nirvana, it sprouted a couple of days ago on a paper towel but hasn't done much more since then. I read that it's better to add the seed in the final pot to avoid stress.
I also read on Coco for Cannabis that it is a good practice to fertigate the medium after flushing it prior to adding plants.
Should I forget about what I read and not fertigate the coco before adding the plant?
Sorry, I am just confused because I read different things and I just want to do it right. Let me know what you think with the new information I provided. And thanks a lot!!
It'd probably be worth picking up an EC/ppm meter, they're cheap and shouldn't need periodic calibration. I have this $15 one. If nothing else, it'll help you check for salt buildup in runoff.
I do use a cheap TDS/EC meter, but it doesn't ever need calibration. It just works.
I just use this super cheap one. Unlike a pH meter, it doesn't need to be calibrated periodically! (I just use pH drops, it seems like less hassle, but I don't think that'd work as well for DWC.)
Probably chlorine, you can also get one of these to check for ppm Water Quality Tester, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073713G5F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_5P4xCbVFMJWFQ
I'm using one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073713G5F/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It is cheaply made, but the EC value it gives matched the lab work I had one on my tap water within a few percent.
How do you like that Apera meter?
Over night a kit from Amazon? It isn't hard to get an accurate test kit.