ph & ec meters: how necessary are these. I have a digital ph meter, but it's really a pain because of the requirement of calibration solutions and storage solutions for the electrode. It gets expensive using the storage solution all the time. I am using r/o and am testing ph every time I change the ratio of nutes to water, but if I am using the same amount of nutes to water I don't test. I change the water 100% (this is a DWC setup) every two weeks and have only been topping off with r/o in between changes (I don't add any nutes when topping off).
So, am I asking for trouble going on like this? do I really need these expensive and fiddly electronics?
I could go out and buy a combo ph/ec/tds meter but that + all the calibration / storage solutions I am looking at $200 and probably $50 every 6 months for the solutions. Not to mention it is a pain to put in storage solution after each use and then carefully rinse it off before each use.
Oh I am using fox farm nutes + just a little bit of epsom salts to give a little hardness to the r/o
So, am I asking for trouble going on like this? do I really need these expensive and fiddly electronics?
I could go out and buy a combo ph/ec/tds meter but that + all the calibration / storage solutions I am looking at $200 and probably $50 every 6 months for the solutions. Not to mention it is a pain to put in storage solution after each use and then carefully rinse it off before each use.
Oh I am using fox farm nutes + just a little bit of epsom salts to give a little hardness to the r/o