PH drift

[Callawave]

My meter does not do this:confused2: Why?

How do you know? :confused2:

 

[pcduck]

How do you know? :confused2:

I have a calibrated meter

 

[pcduck]

I adjust before hand as my tap is above 9 so I adjust to 5.9-6.0 then add nutes putting me right where I need to be. Then when/if they get hungry and eat all the nutes in the res my ph won't spike back to 9 only to the previously adjusted 6... And I NEVER touch ph up. Its a pain but its the only way I can do it personally. Once I get an ro filter it'll be a different story as all the nutes I use are ph perfect but til then I gotta give myself a safe baseline or I could lose everything over a few days :/

Even with this type of ph of the water I would still not pH the water first. If your nutes are pH balanced they should try to balanced themselves out prior to adding pH down, then once that is done you would not have to use so much pH down.

 

[pcduck]

Whatever rocks your boat. I prefer not adding algae spores and chlorine.

Answer: Chlorine is highly volatile; it evaporates as soon as it hits the air. By the time the nutrient solution reaches the roots, the chlorine is gone.

This is also from their web site.

Sometimes pH crashes because of the presence of a large amount of microbial activity in the nutrient solution. This is usually a result of poor maintenance of the system due to infrequent nutrient changes or other stresses. The best way to avoid this scenario is to keep a clean system with adequate nutrition.

 

[IRISH]

only if you know the swing of your ph , you can add the down first. this is for the more advanced grower, that already knows exactly what a tablespoon of thier nutes is going to do to the ph...

example= i want my ph 5.8- my tap is 9.0- knowing 1 tablespoon of super bloom is going to drop the 9 down to 8, then another , to 7. follow me?

so, if i start with the ph of 9.0, then add ph down, i can only take it down 1.2... then with 2 tablespoons nutes, BAM 5.8... ...

thats the scenario i can see here...

WE DO NOT DO THIS...lol...lol...but am guilty of doing it a few times when real high. ...usually just start over...

 

[pcduck]

The scenario that I see is about the time you think you got it figured out your water supplier/ water department changes the amounts they add b/c there are only certain parameters they have to meet and not exceed which vary greatly. I too thought I had it figured out till my water department did something or GH did something different...I would bet the water department did something.

 

[Callawave]

I have a calibrated meter

I know there’ll be a backlash of people saying, "crap, rubbish, bullocks" etc. But we all have opinions and while I may be on my first grow, and wouldn’t dream of telling you what pH you should use for soil or hydro etc. I have been managing pH in brewing, winemaking and fish-keeping for over thirty years, and have owned many different probes over the years (I have seven at the moment). So I do feel qualified to offer an opinion regarding owning and using probes.
Your calibrating solutions will read spot on when adjusted. But stick your probe in neat RO or distilled water and you can’t trust the reading!
I’m not saying that it’ll be miles out, it may even be spot-on. It may be perfectly acceptable for the purpose of growing weed. But the reason manufacturers tell you to use storage solution or tap water and not distilled or RO water to keep your probe tip moist (something else that a lot of people don’t do) is because it effects the probes ‘long term memory’. Let your sensor dry out or store it long term in RO or distilled and you can’t even trust your calibrating solution readings.
I await my detractors. :hubba:

 

[pcduck]

I know there’ll be a backlash of people saying, "crap, rubbish, bullocks" etc. But we all have opinions and while I may be on my first grow, and wouldn’t dream of telling you what pH you should use for soil or hydro etc. I have been managing pH in brewing, winemaking and fish-keeping for over thirty years, and have owned many different probes over the years (I have seven at the moment). So I do feel qualified to offer an opinion regarding owning and using probes.
Your calibrating solutions will read spot on when adjusted. But stick your probe in neat RO or distilled water and you can’t trust the reading!
I’m not saying that it’ll be miles out, it may even be spot-on. It may be perfectly acceptable for the purpose of growing weed. But the reason manufacturers tell you to use storage solution or tap water and not distilled or RO water to keep your probe tip moist (something else that a lot of people don’t do) is because it effects the probes ‘long term memory’. Let your sensor dry out or store it long term in RO or distilled and you can’t even trust your calibrating solution readings.
I await my detractors. :hubba:

How do you know not to trust your meters?

or out of the 7 which ones are right?

The manufacturer of my pH meter states not to use tap water because of the salts in the water will dry on the probe and give miss readings from this salt residue.

 

[Tater]

Whatever rocks your boat. I prefer not adding algae spores and chlorine.

True enough, hit it with a few teaspoons of 30% H2O2 and then add it to solve that problem.

 

[Callawave]

How do you know not to trust your meters?
or out of the 7 which ones are right?
The manufacturer of my pH meter states not to use tap water because of the salts in the water will dry on the probe and give miss readings from this salt residue.

You have to keep them clean, yes. If there’s a build up of concretion it will need soaking in something to remove it. Don’t scour it off!
And as for which of mine are right. All of them are right.
If they’re a good quality probe, and if you maintain them correctly from new, they’ll last for years.
I have four continuous readout units and three handheld, which I calibrate weekly. I store the handhelds with the probe tips resting in damp cotton wool balls.
A first sign of trouble is your screw or button won’t allow you to calibrate at 4, 7 or 10. (i.e. It’ll only reach up to 3.5 or down to 7.5 before you run out of thread for example).
Someone may also point out that the temperature of the liquid being measured has an effect on the reading. Most probes are designed to read pH at 20% Celsius.
But I’m probably being a bit pedantic for the sake of the perfectionists out there. :fid:

 

[pcduck]

And as for which of mine are right. All of them are right.

and how do you know that?

You did ask me the same question and I answered you the same way..I have a calibrated meter...I guess I just do not get your point of the conversation?

 

[Callawave]

and how do you know that?
You did ask me the same question and I answered you the same way..I have a calibrated meter...I guess I just do not get your point of the conversation?

Sorry pcduck.
What I meant by "how do you know?" was, if your (or my) probe is working perfectly and is calibrated correctly, when you place it in RO or distilled water, if you get a reading of 6.5 or 7 or 7.5, you can’t believe the reading.
I wasn’t criticising your probe or your calibration technique. I wouldn’t know if any of my probes were correct either, because you can’t achieve an accurate measurement in ‘stripped down water’. You need electrolytes to create electrolysis. Which was the point I was trying to make when answering Puff’s original post. But it doesn't matter that much.
Fin!

 

[pcduck]

True enough Cw it does not matter, because who grows in just plain R/O water?

Once a grower adds any nutes, the electrolytes return creating electrolysis, thus your meter is then working without the false readings.

I knew there was I reason I kept adding Seachem Discus Buffer to my tanks for all them years