TDS PPM meter, what to do with results

Reiss

Reiss

Well-Known Member
Hi,
Just bought a TDS PPM meter to test my water, but not sure what to do with the results?
If I have a high PPM reading, do I just cut back on nutrients until it's within an acceptable range?
What is the correct range for watering my girls?
Do I test the run-off too?
thanks
 
Reiss

Reiss

Well-Known Member
thanks, but I was asking about TDS PPM (total dissolved solids - parts per million) & not PH.
Already got my PH in a good place :D
 
jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
It depends what medium you’re using.

Soil. Pretty pointless testing runoff ppm. Only concentrate in ppm going in.

Hydro then test your reservoir daily to monitor changes.

Any changes greater than 100-150ppm then you need to adjust your ppm in.

If you res tests higher ppm than first mix then you need adjust by adding water to lower the ppm.

If you res tests lower in ppm then you need to increase nutrient strength.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Reiss said:
thanks, forgot to mention, growing in soil
Click to expand...
In soil don't waste time with runoff PPM or pH. Use the ppm meter to check the strength of the nutrient solution. You can use less than the directions state. Starting at half strength is a good place. With some nutrients if you feed full strength you'll be overfeeding and end up with those crispy fried leaves so many people seem to have. Use the pH meter to adjust the pH of the nutrient solution after you've mixed it. Worry about the input. The runoff is not a reliable way to determine what's going on at the root zone.
 
Reiss

Reiss

Well-Known Member
thanks for the info, really helps.
I'm in week 5 flowering. Everything looks OK ish, I always end up with yellowing leaves around the 2nd - 3rd week of flowering, not a big issue as I get good results, but trying for perfection!
I use Biobizz nutrients & soil, usually use a little less than they recommend. Might try Advanced Nutrients next though.
Water might be an issue for me, I live in a hard water area. I did try cheap bottled mineral water on my last grow just to see the difference & I did get better results but I'm not buying bottled water for every grow!
So my plan was to continue using tap water that's sat for 24hrs & keep an eye on the PPM, hence the request for info.
I also might start flushing when I switch to 12/12 to try & remove some of the salt build up in the soil.
Always an experiment & something new to learn, one of the reasons I love my hobby!
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Reiss said:
thanks for the info, really helps.
I'm in week 5 flowering. Everything looks OK ish, I always end up with yellowing leaves around the 2nd - 3rd week of flowering, not a big issue as I get good results, but trying for perfection!
I use Biobizz nutrients & soil, usually use a little less than they recommend. Might try Advanced Nutrients next though.
Water might be an issue for me, I live in a hard water area. I did try cheap bottled mineral water on my last grow just to see the difference & I did get better results but I'm not buying bottled water for every grow!
So my plan was to continue using tap water that's sat for 24hrs & keep an eye on the PPM, hence the request for info.
I also might start flushing when I switch to 12/12 to try & remove some of the salt build up in the soil.
Always an experiment & something new to learn, one of the reasons I love my hobby!
Click to expand...
Hard water isn't always necessarily bad. It typically just has higher amounts of calcium and magnesium but you really need a water quality report to know what's in it. If it's tap water it's probably fine for your plants. Some well water does need to be treated. Letting your water sit out only allows the chlorine to dissipate which isn't in high enough concentrations in tap water to harm your plants. Most municipalities have water quality reports available online. You should see if you can find that information so you know what's in your water and can adapt your feeding to compensate for any abundance of specific nutrients already present. For example you don't need to add additional calmag if you already have ample amounts in your water.

Here in Portland they post a report that shows a breakdown of what's present in the water by ppm. See if you can't find something similar for where you live. Chances are your water is perfectly fine and as long as you know what's in it you can compensate.


Good luck.
 
Reiss

Reiss

Well-Known Member
xtsho said:
Most municipalities have water quality reports available online. You should see if you can find that information so you know what's in your water and can adapt your feeding to compensate for any abundance of specific nutrients already present.
Click to expand...
Great suggestion, thanks, I found it too http://twmediadevcdn.azureedge.net/waterquality/WQ Report_Z0363_Crouch End & Gospel Oak.pdf

Found this quite amusing from the report "Levels of Magnesium are included mainly for the benefit of beer brewers. At levels of 10-30mg/l"
also quite interesting "We don't add fluoride to the drinking water supply "
 
Bignutes

Bignutes

Well-Known Member
You can use the ph to test runoff of soil recipes to get it in the right place, it works and can prevent unnecessary lockout during the grow. You can also monitor ph drift after the first grow. If your water source is above 150 ppm calcium then you will get some drift.
 
P

PhatNuggz

Well-Known Member
tyke1973 said:
You wanna be on around 1.4 in flower ,I work on ec so convert that over to part per million
Click to expand...
Depending on which EC:PPM conversion. The 600 scale 1.4EC would be ~ 800 PPM

Early Veg~ 200 ppm
once plant has ~6 nodes < 300 I often see plants show sex at 300, so need to push it

hth
 
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