blue lab vs 3in1?

2cent

2cent

Well-Known Member
whats the difference in the blue lab soil probe and a 3in 1 cheapo walmart ph moisture tester ? do thye both work the same, ive had 1 before it was broken tho....
never got 1 again,... wondering do i reall yneed to spend £100 on a blue lab to ph check soil or can i just get a cheap shit one?
i tryed the paper strips my eyes cant read the colour or they aint bloody changing,. distilled water can be 5-9ph so how teh bloody can it even be accurate on a slurry test
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
The cheap ones are less than accurate (totally pish) your better with a quality one or a test kit which are totally reliable for peanuts but not as convenient if you use it frequently.
 
N

NewGrower2011

Well-Known Member
If you're going to mess with measuring your pH, get a good meter. I recommend the soil probes as they can be used for either liquids or probing right into your medium itself. Blue Lab being the dominant name out there but I think Apex is also a respectable brand (?). There's some out there that are junk it sounds so when I bought mine (early on) I just did the buy-once/cry-once approach and went Blue Lab. They came out with the soil probes later on so when it was time to replace my probe, I went with the soil probe version.

If you do buy a good meter, definitely take care of the probe and don't let it dry out/store it properly with the right solution and be ready to calibrate it occasionally - and periodically you'll need to replace it. That's just the game if you're measuring ph. Now, there's the whole debate on whether you need to measure it or not (for soil at least). But for me, it's a tool to have in your tool belt - there if/when you need it.
 
C

ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
My Apera has never been off calibration once in 2 years, I check it against 7.0 solution and 4.0 and it matches perfectly.

Cheap meters dont and cant measure a broad range well.
 
2cent

2cent

Well-Known Member
Herb & Suds said:
You can do anything you want
But other than hydro you do not need to be concerned about ph in most soils
My two cents :fire:
Click to expand...
I feel my ph at 7 is limiting mg under such intense led dropping 0.2 would make it in the sweet zone
 
2cent

2cent

Well-Known Member
NewGrower2011 said:
If you're going to mess with measuring your pH, get a good meter. I recommend the soil probes as they can be used for either liquids or probing right into your medium itself. Blue Lab being the dominant name out there but I think Apex is also a respectable brand (?). There's some out there that are junk it sounds so when I bought mine (early on) I just did the buy-once/cry-once approach and went Blue Lab. They came out with the soil probes later on so when it was time to replace my probe, I went with the soil probe version.

If you do buy a good meter, definitely take care of the probe and don't let it dry out/store it properly with the right solution and be ready to calibrate it occasionally - and periodically you'll need to replace it. That's just the game if you're measuring ph. Now, there's the whole debate on whether you need to measure it or not (for soil at least). But for me, it's a tool to have in your tool belt - there if/when you need it.
Click to expand...
There interchangeable’? I though one was a meter for ph other was a probe for soil
As the ph pen is 70 and soil ph is 250 but probes only 70 ...
 
C

ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
Apera sells a ph pen for solutions that has an interchangeable tip. You unscrew the solution tip and can buy a separate soil probe that screws on. The soil probe can do both soil and solutions.

Blue lab has several options including one that does it all.

They are pricey, but imo worth it. I am a water only soil grower and found after a year it was well worth the purchase. Endless discussions about whether or not to ph the inputs but I do. If someone has a setup that doesnt need it that's great of course.

Bottom line is buy quality you never wonder. A member here convinced me to spend the money and I am happy I did. Which brand is not very important..quality is though imo.

Of all the devices to own, the ph pen is one of the most important.
 
N

NewGrower2011

Well-Known Member
Buy once, cry once. ;-)

Yes, the BlueLab 3-in-1 meter is what I was referring to. The probes are what you can swap out for a soil-based probe. By now, I'd hope they just sell the 3-in-1 shipping with a soil pen - but at worse, you buy the soil probe later (or along with it and set the original fluids-only pen to the side for backup).
 
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