Question about my ph tester and how to maintain a certain ph lvl

smokermore

smokermore

Well-Known Member
Hi again every1, sorry for all these dum ass questions, im starting to feel like an idiot cause i ask a new question on here everyday.
My question for today is how do i maintain a certain ph lvl? I bought a hanna ph tester online and had no idea how to use it, so i took it to the aquarium store and the guy adjusted for me and said it is reading accurate now. When i got home i tested it in some distilled water and tap water. disstilled read at 8.1 and tap read at 7.4. I bought some ph down from that same store, and i attempted to bring the distilled waters ph down a bit so i put not even a drop, more like 1/10th of a drop of this stuff in my large glass of water and the ph dropped to 3.3 I cant believe how much it dropped, so now im wondering how am i going to get in at exactly 6.5 - 6.8 area? I kno i could always just add more water, but i was planning on using distilled water the whole time, would it make a big difference ifi just used plain tap water?
I asked the guy at the aquarium store if he could explain to me how he was able to set the tester to an accurate reading, but i didnt really understand what he was saying. He said he set it up where it is reading accurately, but how do i kno if it is accurate? Im just a little worried cause ive heard distilled water is usually around 7.0 area, and my tester is reading 8.1
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thnx in advance
 
krustofskie

krustofskie

Well-Known Member
To be sure buy some ph calibration solution. You usually need two to calibrate testers, Ph 4 and Ph 7. If your tester reads ph 7 in ph 7 calibration solution then its right. The reason you need two to calibrate is the tester needs to know a range so the tester will have two tuners, one you tune to 4 the other to 7.

As for the ph down you have, it is designed to bring down the ph level of big tanks of water, so when working with small amounts of water it going to be very difficult to adjust. To get more accurate you will need to mix up with bigger amounts of water.
 
keico

keico

Well-Known Member
smokermore said:
Hi again every1, sorry for all these dum ass questions, im starting to feel like an idiot cause i ask a new question on here everyday.
My question for today is how do i maintain a certain ph lvl? I bought a hanna ph tester online and had no idea how to use it, so i took it to the aquarium store and the guy adjusted for me and said it is reading accurate now. When i got home i tested it in some distilled water and tap water. disstilled read at 8.1 and tap read at 7.4. I bought some ph down from that same store, and i attempted to bring the distilled waters ph down a bit so i put not even a drop, more like 1/10th of a drop of this stuff in my large glass of water and the ph dropped to 3.3 I cant believe how much it dropped, so now im wondering how am i going to get in at exactly 6.5 - 6.8 area? I kno i could always just add more water, but i was planning on using distilled water the whole time, would it make a big difference ifi just used plain tap water?
I asked the guy at the aquarium store if he could explain to me how he was able to set the tester to an accurate reading, but i didnt really understand what he was saying. He said he set it up where it is reading accurately, but how do i kno if it is accurate? Im just a little worried cause ive heard distilled water is usually around 7.0 area, and my tester is reading 8.1
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thnx in advance
Click to expand...

I used to let the whole ph thing drive me crazy

If you go organic PH is not an issue

You will sleep better at night
 
smokermore

smokermore

Well-Known Member
krustofskie said:
To be sure buy some ph calibration solution. You usually need two to calibrate testers, Ph 4 and Ph 7. If your tester reads ph 7 in ph 7 calibration solution then its right. The reason you need two to calibrate is the tester needs to know a range so the tester will have two tuners, one you tune to 4 the other to 7.




Man i have no idea what any of that means =( lol ... all i no is i stick the thing in the water and it tells me a number. For example, when you say " to calibrate" I dont no what that means lol. Is it some liquid i stick it into so that it does something? man im high...






As for the ph down you have, it is designed to bring down the ph level of big tanks of water, so when working with small amounts of water it going to be very difficult to adjust. To get more accurate you will need to mix up with bigger amounts of water.
Click to expand...


Man i have no idea what any of that means =( lol ... all i no is i stick the thing in the water and it tells me a number. For example, when you say " to calibrate" I dont no what that means lol. Is it some liquid i stick it into so that it does something? man im high...



would it be a good idea to delute the whole bottle of ph down with water? so that when i put a drop in a gallon it wont be as strong.?
keico said:
I used to let the whole ph thing drive me crazy

If you go organic PH is not an issue

You will sleep better at night
Click to expand...
i bought some fox farm ocean forest :mrgreen: I just really want everything to work out
 
W

WhateverOne

Active Member
keico said:
I used to let the whole ph thing drive me crazy

If you go organic PH is not an issue

You will sleep better at night
Click to expand...
"If you go organic PH is not an issue"

Not true sorry to say, your reffering that organic soil is the best medium to correct wrong ph (but without men made corrections it takes some time) but you still can fuck the ph up because of various resens, even when watering ph value will change (with will adjust fast)
What is true is that if your working organically you shouldn't get your head crazy, ph is important because it controls basically how much a plant can absorb and therefore how fast it grows but you should be a big dummy if u fuck it up in soil...
 
I

Illegal Smile

Guest
You only need 7.01 calibration solution and use it for storage solution. Calibration solutionis precisely adjusted for acidity so when you put the meter in 7.01 solution and adjust a screw until it reads 7.01 you know it is right. Distilled water should be 7.0. If it read over 8 and then dropped to 3s something is wrong somewhere. I think you have to start by getting 7.01 solution, calibrate for yourself instead of the fish guy, and go from there. pH varies naturally. Just keep it below 7 and above 5.4 and you'll be fine. Check and adjust once a day. Don't try to force it.
 
W

WhateverOne

Active Member
smokermore said:
Man i have no idea what any of that means =( lol ... all i no is i stick the thing in the water and it tells me a number. For example, when you say " to calibrate" I dont no what that means lol. Is it some liquid i stick it into so that it does something? man im high...



would it be a good idea to delute the whole bottle of ph down with water? so that when i put a drop in a gallon it wont be as strong.?

i bought some fox farm ocean forest :mrgreen: I just really want everything to work out
Click to expand...
"Man i have no idea what any of that means =( lol ... all i no is i stick the thing in the water and it tells me a number. For example, when you say " to calibrate" I dont no what that means lol. Is it some liquid i stick it into so that it does something? man im high..."

if u just bought your ph meter it should work fine.. but over time the stored values will change.. to make the device accurate again (with is called calibration)
you do as krustofskie or illigal sile says (it changes by device)

"Is it some liquid i stick it into so that it does something? man im high.."

Yez actually 2 liquids.. 1 to control if the ph meter is still working properly and 1 to give it 2 values to calibrate on (to explain simple: so the device knows the gap between both and can adjust itself)

"would it be a good idea to delute the whole bottle of ph down with water? so that when i put a drop in a gallon it wont be as strong.?"

Sounds like a very good idea to me! if u use 1 on 1 so to say 1 liter of water and 1 of ph corector you'll need half the water acquired to mix..
if anyone reads this--> I'm right, Right? give me some backup on this issue...
 
W

WhateverOne

Active Member
Illegal Smile said:
You only need 7.01 calibration solution and use it for storage solution. Calibration solutionis precisely adjusted for acidity so when you put the meter in 7.01 solution and adjust a screw until it reads 7.01 you know it is right. Distilled water should be 7.0. If it read over 8 and then dropped to 3s something is wrong somewhere. I think you have to start by getting 7.01 solution, calibrate for yourself instead of the fish guy, and go from there. pH varies naturally. Just keep it below 7 and above 5.4 and you'll be fine. Check and adjust once a day. Don't try to force it.
Click to expand...
Agree but devices vary...
 
keico

keico

Well-Known Member
WhateverOne said:
"If you go organic PH is not an issue"

Not true sorry to say, your reffering that organic soil is the best medium to correct wrong ph (but without men made corrections it takes some time) but you still can fuck the ph up because of various resens, even when watering ph value will change (with will adjust fast)
What is true is that if your working organically you shouldn't get your head crazy, ph is important because it controls basically how much a plant can absorb and therefore how fast it grows but you should be a big dummy if u fuck it up in soil...
Click to expand...
Actually it is true

Based on your organic nutrients in the soil they will buffer the ph so you don't have to worry

This is taken from another website.

I hear a lot of people asking or talking about the pH of their organic soil mix or organic nute solution and how they might correct or adjust it. pH in organics is not an issue like it is in synthetic growing.
The best place to settle the pH issues in organics is within the grow medium. A medium rich in humates (humus) is the place to start. Humates work to "buffer" the pH of organic mediums and the nutes you pour (or mix) into it.
Humates come from compost, worm castings and bottled humus. If you use a peat based medum, use dolomite lime to raise the pH of the acidic peat. Dolomite should be used in any soil or soiless medium to provide magnesium and calcium. But since we are talking about pH here, I'll mention dolomite lime's pH correction benefits.
A medium of coir has a pH near neutral (or 7.0). But humates are still neded to allow uptake of organic nutrients that are outside a near neutral pH range.
With an active medium rich in humates you can pour in nutes like Pure Blend Pro, Earth Juice and guano teas way outside the optimum pH range without worry. The humus will allow the nutes to be taken up through the roots, even at such an extreme pH reading.
So throw those pH meters away folks and enjoy the ease and safety of organic gardening.
And one more point in an organic grow you feed the soil and the microbes feed the plant
 
GrizzlyAdams

GrizzlyAdams

Well-Known Member
Sup. I don't bother with a pH meter because I hate calibrating things. Buy some drops, comes with a vial. You fill the vial halfway with water, drip drip with the drops, shake, boom. Spot on every time, no ifs ands or buts.
 
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