PH absolutely matters doesnt matter what medium or style growing one uses PH has to be in range or Nutrients will get locked out then problems start happening. But if a soil is mixed just the right way it will self regulate the PH so you dont really need to PH the water. But even then a good Soil PH meter can come in handy when having to trouble shoot. If using a mixed organic soil like the Op's fox farms ocean forest you would be wasting time by PHing the water. Although if you use bottled nutrients you would need a PH pen as some are extremely acidic and a PH up would be required. If using organic amendments and top dressing a soil meter can also come in handy in determining what to top dress to bring or keep the PH in range. Hydro growing you are going to live by the water PH pen. So really all depends on what way you want to grow , but PH always matters
