neckpod
Well-Known Member
I buy cheap ones of amazon and find they are good enough, you kinda get used to where you want to be with the meter you are using. They can use different scales to work out ppm so be careful which you buy. I have one that reads 750ppm and another says 1100ppm in the same nutrient solution.
The last one i bought! seems good enough.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multifunctional-Temperature-Monitoring-Hydroponics-Purifiers/dp/B01C5PAIMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512999340&sr=8-1&keywords=ppm+meter
currently running at 1150 ppm on week 3.5 of flower with a small daily ppm rise of about 20ppm.
Happy Growing
Thegermling
Well-Known Member
After buying a cheap unreliable Ph/ppm pen I bought both the ph and ppm pen from Bluelab. They are superb quality and will last a long time if taken care of. They will cost you around $175 for both, but trust me dont buy cheap ones that dont last I had to learn that the hard way.
macsnax
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the input guys. That's kinda what I'm looking for, I want something I know I can rely on. I'm not worried about the money I just want quality so I'm not doing guesswork. How do you know which ppm pen to buy if they run off different scales. How do I narrow this down to what I'm going to need? I'm going to be running maxibloom throughout the life cycle. Powdered nutes, not sure if that makes a difference.
HomegrownGenetics420
Well-Known Member
If you have 200-300$ to spend, I recommend a bluelab guardian monitor for anyone doing hydroponics. Gives a 24/7 reading of temperature, concentration, and pH. My favorite piece of equipment. If you don't have the money, bluelab also makes great pH and concentration pens that give readings for a few seconds at a time.
macsnax
Well-Known Member
Is there maintenance or upkeep on the monitor? I was thinking about getting something that sends data to my phone.
dstroy
Well-Known Member
The one that can log data and has WiFi connectivity is a lot more expensive than the regular guardian monitor.
You’re supposed to clean the pH and EC probes periodically, I do mine weekly. Just need a soft bristle tooth brush to get any biofilm off of them. Bluelab makes a kit. The guardian monitor lets you know when the pH probe needs to be calibrated, though you can do it more often than that.
The pH probe doesn’t last forever, and is easily replaced. Replacements are ~$45. The EC probe lasts “forever”.
HomegrownGenetics420
Well-Known Member
They recommend cleaning the two probes, checking the conductivity probe with solution, and then calibrating the pH probe with 4.0 and 7.0 solution once a month. I let it go for up to a year and didn't see any issues. There is a connect stick for an extra $100 that can plug into a computer that is place near the guardian monitor and you can get the 24/7 readings sent to your smart phone.
Lordhooha
Well-Known Member
I have the guardian, truncheon and just ordered Hanna’s new grow line monitor only one probe maps ph and all that good stuff it looks pretty awesome.
https://hannainst.com/groline-monitor.html
I really like my truncheon but I’m super excited about the Hanna monitor.
Black Thumb
Well-Known Member
I have spent about 3 grand on pens just in the past several years. I have bought $400 dollar pens and replacement probes. I have bought cheap $50 pens.
Every brand you can think of hanna, milwaukee , oakton,ect... Even no name brands .
I go through pens like every 60 days. I have bought solutions to soak them in after every use, cleaning solutions, activators and bla bla bla ... Done it all.
Then i bought the Apera Instruments PC60 Premium 5-in-1.
This thing came with a very nice case better case then the $400+ hanna i bought.
I cannot break this thing, I have had it for a year now I even bought another one just in case because im used to pens just being junk after so long and don't even need it. ( they even sell replacement probes that are easy snap on snap off the bottom 20 seconds and done, No spending hours hunting the company that makes the replacement probe and spending more on the probe then the damn pen itself.
I measure my solutions, Rinse the probe in RO water use my shirt to dry the probes and prongs put the plastic cover back on the bottom no solution just empty and dry.( as per directions)
I have calibrated it and it has barely lost its calibration each time.
Its fast has lots of modes and they are programmable, It gives you your reading within seconds even has a little happy face to tell you it has been x amount of seconds locked into that reading.
For me this Pen is the Bee's Knees.
P.S it has programmable modes for which ever EC,ppm System you use 500 /700 ect...
Every brand you can think of hanna, milwaukee , oakton,ect... Even no name brands .
I go through pens like every 60 days. I have bought solutions to soak them in after every use, cleaning solutions, activators and bla bla bla ... Done it all.
Then i bought the Apera Instruments PC60 Premium 5-in-1.
This thing came with a very nice case better case then the $400+ hanna i bought.
I cannot break this thing, I have had it for a year now I even bought another one just in case because im used to pens just being junk after so long and don't even need it. ( they even sell replacement probes that are easy snap on snap off the bottom 20 seconds and done, No spending hours hunting the company that makes the replacement probe and spending more on the probe then the damn pen itself.
I measure my solutions, Rinse the probe in RO water use my shirt to dry the probes and prongs put the plastic cover back on the bottom no solution just empty and dry.( as per directions)
I have calibrated it and it has barely lost its calibration each time.
Its fast has lots of modes and they are programmable, It gives you your reading within seconds even has a little happy face to tell you it has been x amount of seconds locked into that reading.
For me this Pen is the Bee's Knees.
P.S it has programmable modes for which ever EC,ppm System you use 500 /700 ect...
macsnax
Well-Known Member
That's
That's pretty sweet, I'll have to look into that one.
neckpod
Well-Known Member
Buying big $£ pens or multi read meters is just a waste of money unless you have a big operation going on .
You really don't need to spend lots on meters, my tds/ec meter was £11 and tells me what i need to know.
I would much rather spend £11 every grow and just throw the old one out no calibrating the thing,
I mean you could spend 70 or 200 or more!! if you want but you will only get the same info as a cheapo pen and it will still need calibrating?
I do like the idea of a constant readout meter for ph and ppm/ec but i just cant bring myself to splash the cash when what i'm doing works well, I work away from my grow through the day so the constant readout is a bit of a waste. I do monitor temps humidity and nutrient temps remotely on my mobile though which is nice.
Lordhooha
Well-Known Member
I’ve bought those cheap ones in the past same brand each one gave a different reading using them side by side. So imo it’s better to get a better one and just take care of it.
macsnax
Well-Known Member
My new setup is going to have two flower rooms, so I kind of want those controls since I'm new to hydro. Every time I do something new I learn as much as possible, and do as much as to prevent problems. I've been fairly successful so far. My wife thinks I'm a little mental, because I almost obsess over reading/learning as much as possible.
macsnax
Well-Known Member
I hear you, your probably right on the money.
neckpod
Well-Known Member
Have you had a few expensive ones side by side? It's an Indicator of strength.
IMO you don't need super accurate just repeatable results with the same meter. Ie in and out of the same nutrient mine reads the same every time so in that respect the indication of strength with the way your plants look should be enough. Bit baked so dont know if that makes sense. Not saying the branded ones are not good just you can do just fine with cheap meters as long as your results are repeatable.