Ppm meters

Jimi O'Connor

Active Member
What should i get to check the nutrients? Like ppm ec or tds. Idk anything about them. I got a ph meter and thats all need to check the runoff for lockout and what not 9
 

calvin.m16

Well-Known Member
If you have had success without a ppm meter thus far, do not waste your time or money on one. I grow in coco and feed based on how the plants look at this point and mainly feed by volume vs PPM/EC. If plants look hungry I add more grams of fertilizer, look dark green and or burnt (rare) I will cut back the grams per/gal. Wayyyyy better than relying on meters, you just need a scale initially then once you figure out teaspoons and cups you will not need any of those gizmos even at scale.

You are correct about pH though. I haved owned BlueLab Guardians, BlueLab Ph Pens, EC Pens, EC meters you name it. I now use General Hydroponics ph drops and make sure the feed water is yellow based on runoff, if my runoff is acidic and I know I just fed yellow (6.0) then I will feed a light green for example to hit the right rootzone pH.
 

Jimi O'Connor

Active Member
If you have had success without a ppm meter thus far, do not waste your time or money on one. I grow in coco and feed based on how the plants look at this point and mainly feed by volume vs PPM/EC. If plants look hungry I add more grams of fertilizer, look dark green and or burnt (rare) I will cut back the grams per/gal. Wayyyyy better than relying on meters, you just need a scale initially then once you figure out teaspoons and cups you will not need any of those gizmos even at scale.

You are correct about pH though. I haved owned BlueLab Guardians, BlueLab Ph Pens, EC Pens, EC meters you name it. I now use General Hydroponics ph drops and make sure the feed water is yellow based on runoff, if my runoff is acidic and I know I just fed yellow (6.0) then I will feed a light green for example to hit the right rootzone pH.
I rhink i have lockout, i think i have a nitrogen deficiency i grow organic and my plants have yellow leaves on the bottom that keep falling off so dont i need ppm pen to check the runoff for lockout? Im a newish grower
 

amneziaHaze

Well-Known Member
Blue Lab make the best meters in my view, dont buy cheap crap
If you need 5.843 then yea buy blue lab its 200$ i think.but home weed needs 5.84 and the shitty ones make 0.01 mistake thats not much.
Tds ec is just digferent conversion units you can change from one to another with some math
I like ppm its usually in 600 1300 range for weed but ec is like 0.7-1.2 less information but people like that one a lot more
 
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Jimi O'Connor

Active Member
If you need 5.843 then yea buy blue lab its 200$ i think.but home weed needs 5.84 and the shitty ones make 0.01 mistake thats not much.
Tds ec is just digferent conversion units you can change from one to another with some math
I like ppm its usually in 600 1300 range for weed but ec is like 0.7-1.2 less information but people like that one a lot more
Why do they like ec more then ppm?
 

MissinThe90’sStrains

Well-Known Member
From trying to remember old highschool chemistr…… From my understanding, some things will affect tds but not specifically the EC. When things are dissolved dissolved into solution, they break apart/disassociate into ions. EC is more specific for these needs. Tds (ppm) is total dissolved solids. EC is electrical conductivity.
Why do they like ec more then ppm?
Some things will have an impact on TDS but not EC. EC is the more accurate measurement for “gardening” needs, and fertilizer use.
 

ponics42o

Well-Known Member
I have the cheap bundle from vivosun and so far so good.

I'm sure a few grows in those tools will be upgraded but for now they have been solid for me. At this point I almost know how much nutes to mix to hit my EC range per DWC bucket.
 
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