growing hydro with no way of checking ph

Hey latewood, you've got the milwaukee, so have i. Where do you make the PH pen stay when you don't use it? Now i let it bathing in a glass of water, because before ( i used to close it ) i had some algae growing on the electrode and it indicated PH 6 even when it was 4. Now i've got some hermies, bullshit! Do you calibrate it often ?
Fhydro

NFM

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Originally Posted by Gen

Don't despair, go to a pond store and get the chemical test kits. The paper ones suck. No r/o water does not come out to 7 or 6. I have r/o water and it comes out the same as my tap, 8.1. GH nutes do drop your ph a little, but it depends what you started with. I've been using GH nutes and I have to adjust my ph with vinegar every day to bring it back down. I'm not sure what other people do, this is my first hydro grow. My soil plants are great, but my hydro plants have had slimy roots, twice and are growing at a snail's pace.

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spend 10 bucks on gh or pro ph down/up and and your ph won't dance around as much.

i started with the vinegar and could never get consistent ph. Ever find that you are putting alot in the water?

I also noticed that when I got my RO filter, the vinegar worked better. metals and minerals in well or tap water will play hell with your ph control...spend the 10 bucks and you will rid yourself of 1/2 your problem.imho.lw

One more note...In most cases, when you use RO/distilled water...using GH or AN 3-part, the buffers in the nutrients bring the ph to acceptable levels, if not perfect. again, imho

Finally, it's really not usefull to ask a question to latewood because after he answers another guy. OK, so, can anybody else answer me about the maintenance of a PH pen ? It would be very kind!
Fhydro

fhydro, it's not good form to insult someone who is trying to help you.

If you have algae on your pen dip it in hydrogen peroxide and then clean water. I clean my ph meter by dipping in water before putting it away. I don't think storing it in water is a good idea. I might be wrong. I haven't had any problems yet.

Gen, i don't think i insulted Latewood. I just wanted to say that i first asked something to him, he did not answer, so i insisted for his answer and this time he aswered you and not me. Just funny, that's all. Not a big problem for me anyway, i just wanted the info. I think that you will remark when i insult someone.
Fhydro

there are two things to worry about with hydro. one is the ph and the other is PPM. I have purchased test strips that only cost about $7 for a small tube of them but which normaly last through the complete grow. One thin I have found though is that I have always had to lower never had to raise the PH. with Hydro they call for it to be around 6 as this is what allows the roots to absorb the nutrients. The other thing is the PPM (parts per million) I have had to set up a reverse osmosis as my tap water had to high of a PPM(560)(very hard water). You can get away with bottle water. If you can not afford to by the meater for PPm then I would measure out the food in the amount if water in the res( as per instuctions). Mark it on the inside of the res the water line. Each day add just water to get to the same level. As the plants grow you will not belive the emount that will evaporate. That way the ppm will never go higher then target level but will decrease as plants use up the food. Now I completly empty the res once a week and run just water for 24 hrs then add food. This flushes the roots of any built up nutr. and prevents lockup. When you can afford it buy the equipment this gives you a better idea what the plant is doing. Have fun