Cost effective ph/tds/temp monitoring

I’ve put together a cost effective way to continuously monitor my ppms, ph and temp. Everything together cost about the same as a decent meter alone. Everything is available on amazon for about $140.
The ppm monitor is by HM it has two leads so you can monitor different parts of your system. Cost about $50, there’s a cheaper model but you can’t calibrate the leads separately. I think that one is like $35.
The ph monitor is just call 2 in 1 ph temperature monitor. It come with a ph probe that is junk but the brain is as good as any. Toss the probe that comes with it and get a $50 apria. I calibrate weekly but often they don’t need adjusting.
life much easyier especially if you have multiple reservoirs. (Separate set up for each res)

I hope that works out for you.

Ive had good luck with my Apera PH meters, but Ive only used the PH20 and PH60 pens. I have no experience with their remote probes, but they should be ok too I would think. I dont know anything about that meter you have it plugged into.

I have used the HM TDS meters before, but I had horrible luck. I bought three of them in a row from Amazon and returned all three. They were not even close to accurate, and would not stay calibrated for any length of time. I would calibrate one probe, set the other one to match, then put them both into a different TDS calibration solution and they would read differently. Sometimes wildly differently. If I waited a day, they would both be off, sometimes one would go up and one down. Other times both would be off the same direction. I gave them up as worse than useless.

Im currently using Inkbird controllers to monitor temps and turn on various fans, heaters etc. They run about $15 on Amazon. I have 3 of them in my system at the moment.

For EC/TDS I use a BlueLab truncheon meter. They are bullet proof and last forever and dont need calibration, but they are $$ at about $120 or so last time I checked.

As I said, Im using a $60 PH60 Apera PH pen at the moment. I was using the PH20, but the sensors only last about 2 years, so I went with the slightly more expensive PH60 because it has a replaceable probe. Works out to a little less cost/year.

got a link for the ph meter head?

93OG said:

I’ve put together a cost effective way to continuously monitor my ppms, ph and temp. Everything together cost about the same as a decent meter alone. Everything is available on amazon for about $140.
The ppm monitor is by HM it has two leads so you can monitor different parts of your system. Cost about $50, there’s a cheaper model but you can’t calibrate the leads separately. I think that one is like $35.
The ph monitor is just call 2 in 1 ph temperature monitor. It come with a ph probe that is junk but the brain is as good as any. Toss the probe that comes with it and get a $50 apria. I calibrate weekly but often they don’t need adjusting.
life much easyier especially if you have multiple reservoirs. (Separate set up for each res)
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Very cool. I have one of those PPM meters on my RO system and love it. Never thought about using it for nutrients. It's not like you need a high / low memory or anything like that.

The pH meter probe, the Apera one, how long have you been using it? When you calibrate it weekly how far off is it usually? I am interested because the big problem I have had with pH probes that stay in the nutrients is they just don't seem to last very long. The best ones I have had would last maybe 6 months, I stress the maybe. Of course I guess thats not bad really, say $10 a month for pH probe but when you have multiples it starts to add up and I often had probe life that was only 2 or 3 months. Oddly enough the best luck I had was with the old (early 2000's) nutradip trimeter probes. Those actually lasted a good 6 months and sometimes up to 9 months and I had a few early ones that lasted about a year. I think that sometimes it's old stock/shelf life issues, like the replacement probes seemed to last less time as the years progressed and then I noticed the new replacement probes I was getting were actually dry, no KCl storage solution was left, it had all dried up leaving salt residue. Useless. I had similar problems with the old Hanna HI98129 combo pen, the first probe and the first replacement probe each lasted about a year and as time progressed after about 5 or 6 years it got to where the replacement probes would be bad out of the box lol. Damn I really ramble on sometimes smh

Really isn't that odd stuff today compared to 20 years ago is built like complete and utter trash. Go back even farther quality gets better. Accuracy would probably start dropping off pretty quick tho.

Roshambizzle said:

Really isn't that odd stuff today compared to 20 years ago is built like complete and utter trash. Go back even farther quality gets better.

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Isn't that the truth! Over the last few years we have purchased I dunno how many can openers. The hand powered kind because I think it's silly to have a plug in can opener wasting counter space. Many of them didn't even work well brand new and the others broke in short order. And meanwhile my dad is still using the same can opener we had when I was a little kid, an old 1960's model. Just yesterday I busted out the old p-38 can opener when another walmart one broke.

Everything is made so cheap nowdays and it's impossible to find a quality made in USA version of most things. How can we save the planet and stop filling up landfills, when we can't even purchase anything of quality? I would understand if we had at least one quality option as well as the cheap "harbor freight" option that's only good for one use.

Like one of those pure metal ones that kill the shit out of your fingers half way through the can or even older then that? Pretty much any with plastic won't last.

Roshambizzle said:

Like one of those pure metal ones that kill the shit out of your fingers half way through the can or even older then that?

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A modern version of that is what broke on me yesterday lol. The little ears you grab to turn it aere connected to the little gear wheel with a piece of plastic. smh. Yeah my dads old one is kinda like what you say but it really eats through a can fast and with little effort. So many of the fancier looking and more costly looking ones with more comfortable handles won't even grab the can with the little gear so it just pokes a hole and thats it lol. I had a fancy T-Fal hand powered one and the handle came off, I epoxied it back on but it only lasted another few months and the rivet that held the two pieces together busted. And we don't run them through the dishwasher or anything, just hand wash. It's become a running joke between my girlfriend and I, how long will this one last. It's hard to find one that we haven't already tried so I think I will have to break down and buy an electric can opener or just stick with the P-38 key chain can opener that never fails.

When I did the original set up about 2 years ago I had a blue lab, apera, and an oakton all in the &50 range. The original apera is still going strong. The bluelab was the first to go maybe 6-7 months. Got about a year out of the oakton. The apera is maybe a point or two off over 2 weeks.

Ph monitor
2-in-1 PH Temperature Continuous Monitor Meter Tester ATC Backlight Replaceable Electrode Buffer Calibration Set Dual Display 0.00~14.00pH °C/ °F Water Quality Kit for Aquariums Hydroponics Pools Spa https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M67K2V8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PG.AFbVYEJ7BP

Larry3215 said:

I hope that works out for you.

Ive had good luck with my Apera PH meters, but Ive only used the PH20 and PH60 pens. I have no experience with their remote probes, but they should be ok too I would think. I dont know anything about that meter you have it plugged into.

I have used the HM TDS meters before, but I had horrible luck. I bought three of them in a row from Amazon and returned all three. They were not even close to accurate, and would not stay calibrated for any length of time. I would calibrate one probe, set the other one to match, then put them both into a different TDS calibration solution and they would read differently. Sometimes wildly differently. If I waited a day, they would both be off, sometimes one would go up and one down. Other times both would be off the same direction. I gave them up as worse than useless.

Im currently using Inkbird controllers to monitor temps and turn on various fans, heaters etc. They run about $15 on Amazon. I have 3 of them in my system at the moment.

For EC/TDS I use a BlueLab truncheon meter. They are bullet proof and last forever and dont need calibration, but they are $$ at about $120 or so last time I checked.

As I said, Im using a $60 PH60 Apera PH pen at the moment. I was using the PH20, but the sensors only last about 2 years, so I went with the slightly more expensive PH60 because it has a replaceable probe. Works out to a little less cost/year.

got a link for the ph meter head?

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That's the issue I have with some meters, they are not consistent. I have two Bluelab Gaurdian Monitors. When I calibrate them they both read true to each other. Damn amazing. I calibrate once a month and no issues.

I'd love to get another two to put in my run off basins to I can always see run off ec as well, but for $400 CDN a pop it's too rich for my blood.