ec / ppm pen

Can i get some input on a good ec/ppm/ph pen? Doesnt have to include all 3. Im going to be DWC with veg+bloom nutes...which of the three would be most important to have? Nothing too pricey either. Thanks

The word "pen" spells problems. Buy a good meter, a real meter. You will be very glad. Try an HM Aqua Pro.

http://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-AP-2-Electrical-Conductivity/dp/B0038QTQZ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356545458&sr=8-1&keywords=aqua+pro+ppm

I use one. It calibrates easily and is stable once dialed in. BUY the calibration solution at the same time!!!!!!!! I advise this always and 90% of growers do not do it. Then when it screws up they have to send for it.

You will probly find it much cheaper to get separate PPM and PH meters. getting one with both readings is much more expensive.

I have this one for PH : http://www.ebay.com/itm/370664981834

they have many knockoffs, gotta make sure its the milwaukee one. mine is rock solid, i stick it in calibration solution bout every 6 months, and its always dead on.

for PPm, i use this one : http://www.ebay.com/itm/300826017427

basically because it was given to me. I wouldnt be to bothered by choosing Ec/PPm readings, its just a reference point number.

When I grow up I'm going to upgrade to real pro meters like Blue Labs higher end handhelds. Until then I use a Milwaukee Martini PH55 for pH and the HM for PPM.

I jus got a milwaukee ph600 and it didnt come with any instruction for use or care...jus calibration. Any help?

if it came with a calibration solution adn the little screwdriver, dip meter in solution, turn the little screw on the back of the meter, its small and inset in the plastic, hence tiny screwdriver. adjust clockwise/counterclockwise make VERY tiny adjustments to the screw as it is extremely sensitive. dump out the solution, cap the meter. i never dry the meter probes. i stick the water, take my reading and put the cover back on it. it has remained rock steady for over a yr now. cept the one time i dropped it in the jug. i let it dry, replaced the batteries, re calibrated it, and all is good in the world again.

minus any black & white pics, that was probly better instructions than it came with anyways.

I have an oakton 35 that does PH SALT TDS and EC, I have had many issues with calibration and it is going back to factory next week. I also have an HM tds that works good and a blue lab PH that works nice and easy to calibrate. I need them for work BTW lol.

Stay with blue lab. You can measure ppm/ec with one device. It's determine nutrients need by the plant i,e ensure food available for your lovely plants

I am using a PH and PPM pen off Ebay and paid like $30 for both of them. I have been using them for a while now with no issues and they work as well as my $500 meters that I had on my reef tank, they where Milwaukee and Reef Keeper meters and probes. My Ph pen is identical to a Hanna that my friend paid $50 for at a hydro shop and mine was under $15. Calibration is simple with the Ph pen using 2 calibration fluids and adjusting a screw on the back of the pen, it hold it calibration for a good amount of time as well. The PPM pen is self calibrating every time it is turned on so nothing is needed to be done on the users part.

Blue labs Truncheon http://www.ebay.com/itm/HYDROPONIC-BLUELAB-EC-CF-METER-TRUNCHEON-NUTRIENT-STRENGTH-TESTER-2ND-GENERATION-/281134139095?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo=SIC&its=I&itu=UCI%2BIA%2BUA%2BFICS%2BUFI&otn=21&pmod=270712844660&ps=54 and Hanna 98127 pH meter http://www.ebay.com/itm/HANNA-HI98127-98127-pHep4-pH-Temperature-TESTER-METER-/310184253233?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item48386c1731

Bluelab for PPM, GH drop-based test kit for pH, GH dry concentrate for pH adjust (their liquids work fine too). For those that disparage drop-based testing as "pool maintenance stuff", I would like to point out that those pool drop-based tests measure in the very low PPM range and are as accurate as lab gear. In my view, the need to keep the pH measuring tip constantly moist on a pH meter is a pain. If it drys out, it is dead. Drop-based testing is cheap, completely reliable, and brain-dead simple. Never needs "calibration" either.

When I moved to dwc, everyone told me that I HAD to buy an etc meter or similar, so I did, I used it once, and never used it again.

tip top toker said:

When I moved to dwc, everyone told me that I HAD to buy an etc meter or similar, so I did, I used it once, and never used it again.

Click to expand...

Same here lol, my ladies let me know when something's wrong or if they need anything..(hate it or not just keeping it real) If you're not experimenting with a new regiment then I FEEL LIKE you SHOULD probably have a pretty good idea of where your PPMs are... Right?? No diss, just a thought

I am in a huge minority with that view, but people areE gullible. Cannabis is not difficult to grow. It does not need to become we a science. Seems like most markets, most of us are all too susceptible to marketing bullshit, making us think that we have to have something, and then the myth is perpetuated. You can grow with an etc own, you can absolutely happily grow without one. Just look at the number of growers who run a full line of notes because they are sold into thinking they have to use rhizotonic or such when a good 2 part nute is all you need if you understand what you are doung., (then they have to sekk their weed for so much more because of the needless expenses they have to factor into their markup)

Simply put, buy one if you want one, but there is absolutely no need for one if you don't want one.