ph/ppm meter

clintsy

Active Member
there are so many to choose from and places to get them from.
im not sure which one is good or bad. .
im looking for a easy to calibrate and easy to store meter for under 150$
i have a rainforest 36 without the water pump, with a mh/hps 600w conversion balast, and 2 10 gallon air pumps and a 60 gallon air pump.
i need to know what pumps i should use and what meter to get from what store. .
any help is verry much appreciated =]
 

reggaerican

Well-Known Member
the hanna combp meter is nice.. they run about 200 but well worth it.. also sometimes you can faid them on ebay or craigs list super cheap a friend of mine just got one brand new for $50
 

BrannonC

Member
If your rez isn't anything fancy you really don't need to go overboard with any of these, as you are only going to waste money. A couple questions: Is your rez going to be sealed?

Also the PH meter doesn't need to be anything fancy. You don't need to spend anywhere near 150 bucks. Especially since you are doing hydro, you can have a PH range instead of a set PH such as you need with soil. (Although the spread is 5.3-6.2) you really want to keep it around 5.8 if you can. I would check ebay, as there are always people on there selling they're old PH meters.

...

http://cgi.ebay.com/pH-009-IA-Pen-Type-pH-Meter-Digital-Tester-ph600-Hydro-/200522274697?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb00f1789 (Not the most hightech, but it works for 25 bucks)

Or if you want you can go for a combo meter, if you care about PPM's for your nutrients you can go for something light this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/HANNA-GroCheck-Combo-Meter-pH-TDS-Meter-/180567905872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0aaf9650#ht_500wt_1156


Obviously it is a bit more expensive, but it will give u the ones digits and it also has a ppm meter. All depends on what you are looking for.

AS far as the air pump it is only going to be as useful as your application requires. I am not a master on aero so i suppose i will leave that for someone else.

Hope it helped!
 

reggaerican

Well-Known Member
If your rez isn't anything fancy you really don't need to go overboard with any of these, as you are only going to waste money. A couple questions: Is your rez going to be sealed?

Also the PH meter doesn't need to be anything fancy. You don't need to spend anywhere near 150 bucks. Especially since you are doing hydro, you can have a PH range instead of a set PH such as you need with soil. (Although the spread is 5.3-6.2) you really want to keep it around 5.8 if you can. I would check ebay, as there are always people on there selling they're old PH meters.

...

http://cgi.ebay.com/pH-009-IA-Pen-Type-pH-Meter-Digital-Tester-ph600-Hydro-/200522274697?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb00f1789 (Not the most hightech, but it works for 25 bucks)

Or if you want you can go for a combo meter, if you care about PPM's for your nutrients you can go for something light this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/HANNA-GroCheck-Combo-Meter-pH-TDS-Meter-/180567905872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0aaf9650#ht_500wt_1156


Obviously it is a bit more expensive, but it will give u the ones digits and it also has a ppm meter. All depends on what you are looking for.

AS far as the air pump it is only going to be as useful as your application requires. I am not a master on aero so i suppose i will leave that for someone else.

Hope it helped!
carefull that info might be misleading on the ph.. in dirt yes your right you can be all over the place with your ph cause the dirt acs as a buffer.. however in hydro PH is crucial.. you can even buy the ph dropper kit its simple, cheap and accurate ($12)
 

Tee Five

Active Member
I use a Hanna Multi-pen. It has both Ph and TDS---it's been fantastic.

It has multiple modes and conversions. But the important thing to remember is that any meter you get is "Lab-ready equipment." Any chemist will tell you in a lab that 50% of the work they do is maintaining and calibrating their equipment.

So which ever way you go---it must be kept clean, maintained, and calibrated regularly and it should remain accurate.
 

clintsy

Active Member
ok cool thanks for the info .

i have a 60 gallon air pump and 2 10 gallon air pumps and 4 air stones
the 60 gal. has 2 spots to connect the air hose but i need to know which pumps to use
 
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