Bought a Ppm meter today

[1Islandguy]

Bought a ppm meter but not sure on how to use it to my advantage i calibrated it and tested my tap water 41 ppm then i tested my nute water that i been using it was 340 but the tester didnt explain what numbers i should look for

 

[LexLuthor]

You use to it measure the amount of nutrients in the solution. You can increase or decrease the ppm during different phases of growth.

Also allows you to keep records of what you are giving the plants so you will know for future grows what works with a particular strain and/or stages of growth.

 

[Pushrod Monkey]

It’s more accurate using EC. All meters measure only EC. Then convert it to PPM. Get an EC chart on your phone and use it.

 

[LexLuthor]

It’s more accurate using EC. All meters measure only EC. Then convert it to PPM. Get an EC chart on your phone and use it.

EC is not more accurate, EC is converted into ppm using a scale.

It is good to know both because people use both. So knowing what the conversion is will help people understand when someone else uses either measurement.

If anything I would say ppm is more accurate because it uses a smaller unit of measurement, so you have a more precise number when using ppm. You just have to know what scale you are using whether it is .5 or .7.

For example, on the .5 scale, 0.1 EC is 50 ppm. So increments of 0.1 EC is equal to 50 increments of ppm, so since ppm uses a smaller unit of measurement it is technically more accurate.

 

[Pushrod Monkey]

EC is not more accurate, EC is converted into ppm using a scale.

It is good to know both because people use both. So knowing what the conversion is will help people understand when someone else uses either measurement.

If anything I would say ppm is more accurate because it uses a smaller unit of measurement, so you have a more precise number when using ppm. You just have to know what scale you are using whether it is .5 or .7.

For example, on the .5 scale, 0.1 EC is 50 ppm. So increments of 0.1 EC is equal to 50 increments of ppm, so since ppm uses a smaller unit of measurement it is technically more accurate.

I’ll disagree again and so does this source.

https://www.trees.com/gardening-and-landscaping/tds-ec-ppm

 

[Pushrod Monkey]

And we are basically going hydro unless you’re in loam. Regardless EC is what is referenced by professionals.

 

[Aqua Man]

So with these meters EC and TDS ARE the same. Ec is measured and then converted to an ESTIMATED ppm (not actual ppm).

The only way to accurately calculate TDS is to evaporate the water and measure the solids.

This is why I say EC and ppm is not an accurate reflection of nutrients with organics. But can still be used for some rough information.

EC is a better term to use because ppm is calculated on different scales and can get confusing to ppl not because one is more accurate. EC is always the same no matter the meter. The estimated ppm its converted to is on a scale so you may get the same EC but different ppm value for different meters.

Most meters are 500 scale. But I have seen plenty of ppl using 700 scale meters.

 

[LexLuthor]

I understand EC is giving the electrical conductivity and ppm is an estimation of total dissolved solids. But the ppm measurement uses smaller units of measurement.

For example, if I convert 1 mile into yards or inches, the smaller unit of measurement, inches, will be more accurate. A yard which is a larger unit of measurement will be less accurate because you have to round up or down to the nearest yard.

That is what I meant when I said ppm is more accurate in terms of units of measurements, and I know overall, EC will give a better measurement of actual electrical conductivity. It's just when you convert EC into ppm, it doesn't change what the EC is, it just allows smaller increments to get a more exact number of what the actual EC really is.

500 ppm is 1 EC, so 513 ppm is just slightly more than 1 EC, but if you go strictly by EC, it will say 1 for both measurements. That is what I meant by more accurate, if you know how to convert ppm back into EC, it gives you a more accurate reading of what the EC actually is.

The best thing to do is know how to convert all of it because it's not really that difficult. So when someone mentions ppm .5, .7 or EC, you will know exactly what they are talking about.

To say only use one, and not know how to convert EC to ppm because EC is more accurate, I think is bad advice. Better advice would be to learn what EC AND ppm is so you have no problem converting either one in your head when you need to. Simple 4th grade arithmetic that any human can learn very easily.

 

[Aqua Man]

I understand EC is giving the electrical conductivity and ppm is an estimation of total dissolved solids. But the ppm measurement uses smaller units of measurement.

For example, if I convert 1 mile into yards or inches, the smaller unit of measurement, inches, will be more accurate. A yard which is a larger unit of measurement will be less accurate because you have to round up or down to the nearest yard.

That is what I meant when I said ppm is more accurate in terms of units of measurements, and I know overall, EC will give a better measurement of actual electrical conductivity. It's just when you convert EC into ppm, it doesn't change what the EC is, it just allows smaller increments to get a more exact number of what the actual EC really is.

500 ppm is 1 EC, so 513 ppm is just slightly more than 1 EC, but if you go strictly by EC, it will say 1 for both measurements. That is what I meant by more accurate, if you know how to convert ppm back into EC, it gives you a more accurate reading of what the EC actually is.

The best thing to do is know how to convert all of it because it's not really that difficult. So when someone mentions ppm .5, .7 or EC, you will know exactly what they are talking about.

To say only use one, and not know how to convert EC to ppm because EC is more accurate, I think is bad advice. Better advice would be to learn what EC AND ppm is so you have no problem converting either one in your head when you need to. Simple 4th grade arithmetic that any human can learn very easily.

100%

 

[LexLuthor]

100%

Again, I do agree EC is the true measurement and industry standard. Also, it can be confusing for beginners to understand the difference between EC and ppm, especially with multiple scales to convert into.

 

[1Islandguy]

Im thinking acording to the charts 340 ppm is way to low thinking ill raise it maybe 5-600 and see how that goes

 

[Aqua Man]

Again, I do agree EC is the true measurement and industry standard. Also, it can be confusing for beginners to understand the difference between EC and ppm, especially with multiple scales to convert into.

Yeah... but like ya say it best they learn both and understand as it's a pretty helpful tool to have.

 

[Aqua Man]

Im thinking acording to the charts 340 ppm is way to low thinking ill raise it maybe 5-600 and see how that goes

How Olds the plants and have pics? The last thing you wanna do is overfeed. More nutes does not equal more growth. It doesn't work that way so I suggest feed light you can always increase as needed... over feed and you need to flush and piss the plants off much more often stunting them.

 

[1Islandguy]

24 days out of ground

 

[Aqua Man]

24 days out of ground

Yeah keep doing what you doing... no way would be jumping my nutes. You have em nice and healthy so I wouldn't change anything yet. Maybe a slight 50-100ppm if you really want but then give it a week to see how they respond.

 

[1Islandguy]

Ok. Ill aim for around 400-450 next water and see how they respond

 

[1Islandguy]

Watered this Am with 415 ppm then measured the runoff it was 550 and not sure why im using soil thats been cooked so im unsure where the extra nutez are coming from

 

[Aqua Man]

Watered this Am with 415 ppm then measured the runoff it was 550 and not sure why im using soil thats been cooked so im unsure where the extra nutez are coming from

Could be from the soil or slight accumulation... pretty good if you ask me.

 

[a4twenty]

in an ideal world we could get our nutrients to water ratio perfect for each stage of growth but......

now that you're testing you can keep an eye on your runoff and make changes to how you water.

without testing there's a tendency to gradually build up excess nutrients in the medium. this makes us think everything is going along just fine until all the sudden...... but it didn't happen all at once.

it's useful to use sheets / excel to keep a record as you move forward. this way you can see what results / trends you're getting in real time and adjust your actions accordingly as well as give you a reference to see what worked well and what didn't.

 

[Aqua Man]

in an ideal world we could get our nutrients to water ratio perfect for each stage of growth but......

now that you're testing you can keep an eye on your runoff and make changes to how you water.

without testing there's a tendency to gradually build up excess nutrients in the medium. this makes us think everything is going along just fine until all the sudden...... but it didn't happen all at once.

it's useful to use sheets / excel to keep a record as you move forward. this way you can see what results / trends you're getting in real time and adjust your actions accordingly as well as give you a reference to see what worked well and what didn't.

Really good advice here.