ph and tds meters absolutely necessary?

[friendowl]

i knew it was gonn abe like this but
this is the way i learn best.
now that i know first-hand what not to do
i am more aware of what to do
it cant get any wose only better
and the worse aint all that bad
my ph is proboly like 27.0

[turtle420]

my ph is proboly like 27.0

Ahahahaa!

Thanks for the morning laugh man!

Have a great day FreindOwl,

-turtle420
.

[Zandor]

i knew it was gonn abe like this but
this is the way i learn best.
now that i know first-hand what not to do
i am more aware of what to do
it cant get any wose only better
and the worse aint all that bad
my ph is proboly like 27.0

Well friendowl at least you know you will get better and are willing to learn more. :thumbsup:

[friendowl]

i love growing a lil more than i do smoking

[Garden Knowm]

i love growing a lil more than i do smoking

LOVE


If your PH is off.. the plants will not grow.. THEY will die!!

Or they will get stunted at around 2-3 weeks.. and the stems will turn red..
You said your PH was off and that caused you plantto go hermie..

HMMMMMMMMMMM?

PLease check your PH.. something does not seem right...
MAny people around the country have tap water that is 7.0....


If you grow a plant that is worth 900 dollars and it dies after 70 days of love and care cause "YOU" did not get a PH tester... you may end up being one very sad chap..

A lot of new growers want to try it their way.. this includes growing males.. just for the HELLA of it....

And I understand that newbie menatlity... BUT it will go away very fast when you project fails after 100 days of care reap you ZERO... HERB...

love
: )

[turtle420]

BUT it will go away very fast when you project fails after 100 days of care reap you ZERO... HERB...

Unless you're stupid like me... and you spend all your time and energy on 4 plants, since SEPTEMBER 2005, and it's APRIL 2006 and you STILL don't have anything to show for it...

But hey, the support on this forum is great! If it wasn't for this,... I would have given up long time ago...

[krustythfreakinclown]

I have a very small hydro setup: One Waterfarm in a C13 cabinet (got the instructions from Overgrow and it worked out perfectly).

I have never owned a TDS/EC/pH meter. Instead, I bought a cheap little pH testing and nutrient kit from the local garden store. I follow the directions on the nutrient bottles and only test for pH once a month or so, just to make sure the pH from the tap water isn't changed. Once the nutes are added to the water, I'll get a reading of 5.5-6 (it's color coded, so there is no *definite* answer), which is about where I want to be.

I used to use pH Down to drop the pH even lower, to around 4, and it didn't hurt the plants. But, I figured that it sure as hell wasn't helping anything, either. Got 5+ ounces out of one harvest even when I was using water with a pH of 4.

My point is: If you can't/don't want to buy a meter, then don't. You can buy the pH testing strips instead for like $8 for 20 strips. That's more than enough for the testing of a couple harvests.

If you have a large grow, you probably should get one of the meters, though, since there would be more chances for nutrient/pH problems to occur.

[Weedhound]

Just to throw in my 2 cents: 3 best things I ever got for my hydro --a good PH/TDS meter, using R/0 water (we have a well) and a good quality light. Cost money? Yep. Worth every penny? You bet they are. Skipping stuff is fine until something goes wrong. And since I'm putting the work and time into them I might as well get a really good yield rather than an average one.

[Racerx]

Exactly. TDS pen, $40. pH pen, $100. Knowing exactly what your PPM and pH is immediatly and accurately; Priceless.

Honestly if your doing something for the first time and dont care too much, Id say the pH pen is not 100% neccessary. The big problem is, that nute solutions are not clear so you have to gauge with the readings. For the plain sake of simplicity and ease, all you gotta do is drop the pH pen in for a few seconds and you know what it is. Will the plants grow without having a perfect 5.8 or whatever pH? In my opinion, often yes they will grow, but they definitely wont produce as much or as good of bud. The TDS pen has been a life saver. With my resovoirs, I dont always know the exact amount of water I have since I just use the bathrub to fill. So I go approx with measuring the nutes, and then I can just add till I get the ppm I want.

Hydro is more expensive and more involved, even though you can theoretically leave it for periods of time. You need the proper investment like everyone has said...if you want to help make sure you get a good product.

[deftdrummer]

Dude, if you don't know where you start from How do you know where you end up. It is most critical. You can get by mixing nutes but PH is king. Below 5 and nute lockout .Up into 6 and nute lockout.

While I do agree with pH being the absolute lowest common denominator in hydro growing, I have to call you on your pH facts. Since when is into pH 6 range of lockout inducing potential? Far as I knew 6.5-7 is optimal