Can anyone help me find a good soil ph meter?

mstrpkl · Aug 17, 2024

Hi everyone! Im a first time grower and im trying to get ahold of a bunch of good devices to understand whats happening in my grow. Does anyone have any good suggestions for a soil ph meter?

I found one online but im unsure how reliable it is.

YINMIK Digital pH Tester for Soil, Soil pH Test Kit for Indoor Potted Plants, Professional pH Meter for Soil and Water, Measuring Soil pH for Garden, Grass,Lawn, Greenhouse,Outdoor,Farming, Yard Use https://a.co/d/a9EoILA

I looked into the bluelabs one but thats over $150, i cant really afford one at that price right now. Any advice is appreciated! :)

I was using one of those cheap combo meters (moisture, ph, light) but i dont trust the readings from that thing honestly.

emanresu · Aug 17, 2024

my advice. get that thing, use it. if it is not any more accurate than the cheaper one you have. send it back and get your money back. if you like it keep it. gadgets are cool and fun. :) matter of fact if it's any good tell me about it. I may get one myself. I use the cheap combo ones to.

Natep · Aug 17, 2024

I have never tested my soil ph. I also do not ph my water. In soil it is not really necessary.

mstrpkl · Aug 17, 2024

Natep said:
I have never tested my soil ph. I also do not ph my water. In soil it is not really necessary.

Well i figure its good to know some specific info about the soil im using. Seems like awesome soil so far so itd be cool to learn how to replicate it

Newty · Aug 17, 2024

I don't test my soil ph but if you really want to, a $20-$50 tester won't do it. If you want accurate results, Apera or Bluelab I hear are good but will set you back $200.

I would personally put that $200 into other equipment, seeds, supplies, or something else.

Here are the links for the Apera and Bluelab.

Amazon.com

Bluelab PENSOILPH Soil pH Pen, Digital Meter and Water Test Kit, Also Used for Coco and Rockwool with Easy Calibration for Hydroponic System and Indoor Plant Grow, Clear: Soil Testers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Bluelab PENSOILPH Soil pH Pen, Digital Meter and Water Test Kit, Also Used for Coco and Rockwool with Easy Calibration for Hydroponic System and Indoor Plant Grow, Clear: Soil Testers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

BackwoodsCultivation · Aug 17, 2024

Apera is the standard, they make a pen that checks ppm, ph, temp, ppt, and ec. It's awesome and very much worth the money!!

Newty · Aug 17, 2024

BackwoodsCultivation said:
Apera is the standard, they make a pen that checks ppm, ph, temp, ppt, and ec. It's awesome and very much worth the money!!

I'm pretty sure Apera makes the AC Infinity water PH pen.

I wonder why they don't make a 2 in 1 water and soil PH pen. They have removable probes so I don't understand why they can't make one where you can just switch the probe to soil or water instead of having 2 separate pens.

mstrpkl · Aug 17, 2024

@Newty @BackwoodsCultivation

Hell yea thank you guys! Im gonna look into a few of these and see which one should work best for my situation. Appreciate ya!

emanresu · Aug 17, 2024

BackwoodsCultivation said:
Apera is the standard, they make a pen that checks ppm, ph, temp, ppt, and ec. It's awesome and very much worth the money!!

jesus christ the thing is like 2bills for the soil tester. that's freaking crazy. the one you talking about like 150 not as crazy for all it does...but still pretty dang high.

Phyto · Aug 17, 2024

If you’re growing organic or using most any commercial soil, you really don’t need to test soil ph.

BackwoodsCultivation · Aug 17, 2024

Newty said:
I'm pretty sure Apera makes the AC Infinity water PH pen.

I wonder why they don't make a 2 in 1 water and soil PH pen. They have removable probes so I don't understand why they can't make one where you can just switch the probe to soil or water instead of having 2 separate pens.

I have also wondered this, i would buy that probe today!!

emanresu said:
jesus christ the thing is like 2bills for the soil tester. that's freaking crazy. the one you talking about like 150 not as crazy for all it does...but still pretty dang high.

It sure is! I don't have one but instead bought a ph pen first, and a second pen to check ppm which put me over the cost of the single pen, which I deeply regret.

Phyto said:
If you’re growing organic or using most any commercial soil, you really don’t need to test soil ph.

This is the truth! Ppm of runoff yes, runoff ph no, soil ph no. In MY personal opinion!

Beachbumm · Aug 18, 2024

BackwoodsCultivation said:
Apera is the standard, they make a pen that checks ppm, ph, temp, ppt, and ec. It's awesome and very much worth the money!!

I've gone thru several Apera meters, imo not worth the $, and their customer service sucks too, they didn't honor their warranty.

Beachbumm · Aug 18, 2024

mstrpkl said:
Hi everyone! Im a first time grower and im trying to get ahold of a bunch of good devices to understand whats happening in my grow. Does anyone have any good suggestions for a soil ph meter?

I found one online but im unsure how reliable it is.

YINMIK Digital pH Tester for Soil, Soil pH Test Kit for Indoor Potted Plants, Professional pH Meter for Soil and Water, Measuring Soil pH for Garden, Grass,Lawn, Greenhouse,Outdoor,Farming, Yard Use https://a.co/d/a9EoILA

I looked into the bluelabs one but thats over $150, i cant really afford one at that price right now. Any advice is appreciated! :)

I was using one of those cheap combo meters (moisture, ph, light) but i dont trust the readings from that thing honestly.

Slurry tests are cheap & easy

Beazy · Aug 18, 2024

Beachbumm said:
I've gone thru several Apera meters, imo not worth the $, and their customer service sucks too, they didn't honor their warranty.

I had the same experience with Apera meters and customer service

BackwoodsCultivation · Aug 18, 2024

Beachbumm said:
I've gone thru several Apera meters, imo not worth the $, and their customer service sucks too, they didn't honor their warranty.

Is there another meter you would recommend? Bluelab I know has a pen! Hate you guys didn't get a good one, I really like my apera! Going on 2 years strong

LoveGrowingIt · Aug 18, 2024

Beachbumm said:
Slurry tests are cheap & easy

I was going to recommend doing a slurry test. I have a $10 colorimetric test kit. I only tested the soil a few times before I learned I didn't need to test. That was years ago.

Beachbumm · Aug 18, 2024

Beazy said:
I had the same experience with Apera meters and customer service

BackwoodsCultivation said:
Is there another meter you would recommend? Bluelab I know has a pen! Hate you guys didn't get a good one, I really like my apera! Going on 2 years strong

First one lasted a couple years before the bulb went bad, the second one had a mechanical issue I can't remember exactly what it was now, but it was covered under warranty, but when I contacted Apera it became such a task to get them to honor their warranty that I gave up. I use aquarium drops now, if I ever bought another meter it would be a blue lab

mstrpkl · Aug 18, 2024

Looks like the general consesus here is that i dont necessarily need to test the soil unless i notice problems lol so i might just hold off on buying a tester, although i think that one i posted in the beginning of the thread is ginna be what i go with when i do get one, just to test it out. At 1/3 of the price of the others, i think its worth it for someone to test it out at least. If anyone gets it and finds out it works well, please post that info here for us to see it

Beachbumm · Aug 18, 2024

Here's my post about it

Mosh wants to learn to grow !

Got a threat on here somewhere I've already thrown two away from Apera, and the second one was under warranty so after a phone call with them I sent it back to them because mechanically it was failing and the control buttons had never totally worked correctly out of the box, it wouldn't shut off...

www.thcfarmer.com

Newty · Aug 18, 2024

mstrpkl said:
Looks like the general consesus here is that i dont necessarily need to test the soil unless i notice problems lol so i might just hold off on buying a tester, although i think that one i posted in the beginning of the thread is ginna be what i go with when i do get one, just to test it out. At 1/3 of the price of the others, i think its worth it for someone to test it out at least. If anyone gets it and finds out it works well, please post that info here for us to see it

If you're growing in quailty soil, then skipping on the ph pen is a smart move. Why spend the money if there isn't an issue.
If you do come across an issue, it probably won't be ph related.

I honestly wouldn't waste the money on the cheap $50 one you posted.
I do a lot of searching for reviews elsewhere before I purchase anything. You can't trust a lot of good reviews on Amazon, they give people products for free or pay them to write positive reviews so I have a hard time trusting them.

Can anyone help me find a good soil ph meter?

Can anyone help me find a good soil ph meter?

mstrpkl

emanresu

Natep

mstrpkl

Newty

15% Off Fast Buds Orders, Code: NEWTY42

Bluelab PENSOILPH Soil pH Pen, Digital Meter and Water Test Kit, Also Used for Coco and Rockwool with Easy Calibration for Hydroponic System and Indoor Plant Grow, Clear: Soil Testers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

BackwoodsCultivation

Newty

15% Off Fast Buds Orders, Code: NEWTY42

mstrpkl

emanresu

Phyto

BackwoodsCultivation

Beachbumm

Beachbumm

Beazy

BackwoodsCultivation

LoveGrowingIt

Beachbumm

mstrpkl

Beachbumm

Mosh wants to learn to grow !

Newty

15% Off Fast Buds Orders, Code: NEWTY42

Can anyone help me find a good soil ph meter?

Can anyone help me find a good soil ph meter?

mstrpkl

emanresu

Natep

mstrpkl

Newty

15% Off Fast Buds Orders, Code: NEWTY42

Bluelab PENSOILPH Soil pH Pen, Digital Meter and Water Test Kit, Also Used for Coco and Rockwool with Easy Calibration for Hydroponic System and Indoor Plant Grow, Clear: Soil Testers: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

BackwoodsCultivation

Newty

15% Off Fast Buds Orders, Code: NEWTY42

mstrpkl

emanresu

Phyto

BackwoodsCultivation

Beachbumm

Beachbumm

Beazy

BackwoodsCultivation

LoveGrowingIt

Beachbumm

mstrpkl

Beachbumm

Mosh wants to learn to grow !

Newty

15% Off Fast Buds Orders, Code: NEWTY42

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency