simple ph test question

[malachii]

A quick question for you guys. I just bought one of those drop based PH testers that uses a colour system for a +- 0.5 ph accuracy.

I tested my tap water at 8. I had a bucket sitting for 24 hours as is recommended. I added my store branded A+B nutes to it, and tested it. I got 6.5.

For promix I believe 6.5 is good. Is it common for nutes to adjust the number? Is it possible the blue colour of the nutes make me miss the measurement, or is this a known normal condition?

Thanks!

 

[hiboy]

Homie,
u need to invest in a good ph/ec/ppm meter. Its the minimum requirement and def. the most important growing tool
Invest cause u need to read the digies
hiboy

 

[malachii]

Homie,
u need to invest in a good ph/ec/ppm meter. Its the minimum requirement and def. the most important growing tool
Invest cause u need to read the digies
hiboy

Yeah, I know it, but I have to make due. Went over budget building the room by quite a bit, so I had to put the brakes on the spending. It will be my next purchase though. Next grow.

For the time being, I need to make due. Anyhow, anybody seen nutes affect PH that way?

p.s. I think those meters are about $200 right? At least the ones at the hydro shop were around there. I hear they stop working a lot. Is that true?

 

[hiboy]

No dis at all my man
its just super importante
I bought a blue lab tester, it has two probes, one for ph and one for ppm/temp
Disappointed about two probes but this tester is working awesome six months. Also got a hanna at another grow site. Both are dig.
Its kinda how u keep em, take care of em, dont get and leave it dry. Thats the main one.
I store the probe in a glass of water or you can put a cap on it with a little sponge that keeps the sensor moist.
hiboy

BLue lab was 300
Hanna was 240

 

[MIway]

Actually... after having thrown away half a dozen or so pens through the years... my vote is the exact opposite...

Although I agree pH is one of the most important items... the pH drops is one of the most accurate forms of testing available to the grower.

It is a pretty damn nut on chemical reaction that is indicating pH... and if you are attuned to the color scale... bright yellow is 6 nut 0... you can usually indicate better than any 200 meter... gotta fig I'm at +/- .09 with my eye... yeah, just better than .1 ;-)



AND to the OP... 6.5 is just fine... should be a very light green tinge to the base yellow. If it looks more green than anything else... likely you've hit 7.0+.

Play with the tap... measure it... then add pH down til you find bright, clear yellow. Then add a little down to the orange & back up to the green. After spending 10 minutes, you'l get a pretty damn good feel of the color scale.

Use a t5 flouro or MH for the lighting & use a white paper towel behind the vile to better judge. :)

 

[malachii]

AND to the OP... 6.5 is just fine... should be a very light green tinge to the base yellow. If it looks more green than anything else... likely you've hit 7.0+.

Play with the tap... measure it... then add pH down til you find bright, clear yellow. Then add a little down to the orange & back up to the green. After spending 10 minutes, you'l get a pretty damn good feel of the color scale.

Use a t5 flouro or MH for the lighting & use a white paper towel behind the vile to better judge. :)

The drops did seem pretty accurate to me. Used an MH. I assume I should measure after the nutes are added to the bucket. But I worry that the very light blue shade of the nuted water will affect my reading. Do you have this problem? Probably so little that I should ignore it.

I'm pretty sure promix has some lime in it, so I don't have to go to 5.8. I suspect 6.5 is good as it is...

 

[hiboy]

thats y they make chocolate and vanilla amigos, people have diff. desires/
I like to read my ph and ppm on a dig scale, only used the drops in my pool,:confused0059: but if your good with that then do what makes u comfortable. Just make sha you hit it hard
hiboy

 

[afi]

The drops work just fine in my opinion. They will show true colors no mater the color of your water but if it is real dark like with an organic tea you have to add extra drops to bring out the color but the answer to your question is no the color of your fertilizer wont affect your reading. Peace, Afi

 

[malachii]

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Seamaiden]

The accuracy of the drops themselves is important. As an aquarium person I'm curious as to brand you went with. Jungle, for instance, is pure shit, whereas Tetra Laborette is pretty damn accurate. SeaChem, Salifert, La Motte--all excellent quality products.

 

[malachii]

The accuracy of the drops themselves is important. As an aquarium person I'm curious as to brand you went with. Jungle, for instance, is pure shit, whereas Tetra Laborette is pretty damn accurate. SeaChem, Salifert, La Motte--all excellent quality products.

They are general hydroponics branded. Not sure who really makes them, or if GH makes them themselves though. I do like the method. With visual gradations, I'm fairly confident I can get +- 0.25, which I think is enough for my purposes. This assumes the accuracy of the drops though!

 

[HeadGrow]

To your original question, yes it is normal for nutes to change the pH. Always check your pH AFTER all additives have been added to the solution.

One thing i've noticed is once I got into understanding pH, ppm, ec and how they all work together in growth, I started to dial back how much solution i'd add to each pot. It made my plants grow faster and more vigorous. I think before since I wasnt paying attention to how much I was feeding each plant, I was overloading the soil and getting slight lock-outs.

 

[malachii]

Hey thanks for the answers guys. Appreciated.