Truncheons, PPM's, and GH Nutrients - DWC Grow

Hello fellow growers. I'm on my way with my first grow ever, which will be grown in the DWC method. I have the whole closet setup rather nice, and now I have a few questions regarding nutrients, ppm's, and Truncheons...

My res is a 10 gallon fish tank, wrapped up and all that good stuff... according to the General Hydroponics bottle I should put in lets say 1/4 tsp per gallon, but when I go to the website it says to put double that, all around MUCH different than the bottle... should I just use their website schedule starting at half recommended strength and work my way up? When and how do I ramp up the nute's?

I read that Truncheons are a good way to go for measuring PPM, there are some on ebay for over $150, then others for 40, not too much of a difference other than the expensive one is made by Bluelab? Can I safely purchase the generic (cheaper) one and still recieve accurate readings? If it's only a matter of longevity, I can always invest more later.

Also, am I to understand that you would manipulate the PPM's by diluting the res, and to increase add small amounts of nutes until number is reached?

How necesssary is it to monitor these PPM's if my rez is only a 10 gal 10 holding 6 gals of water and I'll be doing full changes frequently?

Also, when should I take the plunge to take my rockwool with seed to the hydroton? I understand I should plant it with rockwool cube and all, but when?

I can't say enough how great it is that we have a community like this to share and enlighten!!! You guys rock!

Website calculator suggests higher nutes all around, but the printable pdf and the bottle label say different... Arghh!!!

I need your help ladies and gentleman!

The cheap truncheons on ebay are chinese knockoffs of the Bluelab. The cheap ones should work find but might not be as indestructible or last as long but if you can buy 3 of the cheaper ones for the price of one of the Bluelabs, why not?
Even the Bluelabs have a limited lifespan, about 4-5 years.

I sorta figured/hoped as much.... Here are the specs....

Features:
Fully waterproof
Measures EC, CF and PPM scales
High conductivity measurement for a broad range of crops
Factory calibrated, never needs recalibration
Auto turn on and off
No external knobs or switches
Measuring range :0.4 ~ 5.2EC/4 - 52CF/280 ~ 3640ppm(EC x 700)/200 ~ 3000ppm(EC x 500)
Accuracy: ±4%
Resolution: 0.1EC/1CF/70ppm 700/50ppm 500
Operating Temperature :0 ~ 50℃(32 - 122。F)
Batteries :3×1.5V (AA Batteries)
Dimensions: 415mm x 23mm
Weight: 180g

Package Included:
1 * EC/PPM/CF Meter

Does all that look ok before I go and bid on it?

Also, so far every time I test my tap water the pH is a steady 6 when tested using litmus paper, and also aquarium tester strips, does that sound normal that my water NEVER has to be pH'ed? Or is it the crappy testing method?

It looks a lot like the one I ordered. Here's the link
http://cgi.ebay.com/NUTRIENT-TRUNCHEON-METER-HYDROPONICS-WAND-EC-PPM-CF-W5Y_W0QQitemZ270315671517QQihZ017QQcategoryZ75670QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm expecting mine any day. $40 bucks shipped, no bidding needed.

Just to let you know, I just received my eBay Truncheon and it looks and works almost identical to the Bluelab model. For $40 shipped I thought it was a pretty good deal and it took less than 2 weeks from Hong Kong.

HM TDS-4 Pocket Size TDS Meter

Ordered this little gem and received it 3 days later. Has worked great and saved my butt more than once, at only $26.25 it's a steal!