Under what light do you see the (GHE) PH drop test kit results correctly?

I'm having a slight problem as newer grower using the PH drop test kit, the vial shows entirely different colors under different lighting conditions/angles. So how do i know what PH my solution is? The first time i added 2 drops, and the second time 3 drops PH- to my tap water.

These are from the 1st test:

And these from the 2nd test:

So under what conditions do i see the the right PH, at least i wanna be somewhat accurate so i don't eff up my feeding entirely. I'll be getting a digital PH tester as soon as i get money, but now i have to go with this.

I use less fluid than you are testing, and I typically use about 3 drops to test.

The more drops you use, the more the colour will be defined but will be on the same on the scale

below are some test examples, I would suggest you reduce the amount of test water and learn the range of results.

Start with your tap water, then up or down it by using vinegar (to lower the pH) or baking soda to increase the pH to learn the range of results

I don't think the light makes a huge difference, but just use the same consistent light and consistent amount of test water and drops



I use GH pH test fluid which is most commonly used and buy the large refill bottle


I would also ask what type of growing are you doing, hydro or soil?
If growing in soil, you don't need to be as accurate as hydro

cheers

ISK said:

I use less fluid than you are testing, and I typically use about 3 drops to test.

The more drops you use, the more the colour will be defined but will be on the same on the scale

below are some test examples, I would suggest you reduce the amount of test water and learn the range of results.

Start with your tap water, then up or down it by using vinegar (to lower the pH) or baking soda to increase the pH to learn the range of results

I don't think the light makes a huge difference, but just use the same consistent light and consistent amount of test water and drops

View attachment 4408842

I use GH pH test fluid which is most commonly used and buy the large refill bottle
View attachment 4408844

I would also ask what type of growing are you doing, hydro or soil?
If growing in soil, you don't need to be as accurate as hydro

cheers

Click to expand...

On my bottle it just says fill to half and use 2 drops to test the PH. I've been doing that but the lighting makes a big difference on the color so that's why i was confused. Will test with more drops.

ISK said:

I use less fluid than you are testing, and I typically use about 3 drops to test.

The more drops you use, the more the colour will be defined but will be on the same on the scale

below are some test examples, I would suggest you reduce the amount of test water and learn the range of results.

Start with your tap water, then up or down it by using vinegar (to lower the pH) or baking soda to increase the pH to learn the range of results

I don't think the light makes a huge difference, but just use the same consistent light and consistent amount of test water and drops

View attachment 4408842

I use GH pH test fluid which is most commonly used and buy the large refill bottle
View attachment 4408844

I would also ask what type of growing are you doing, hydro or soil?
If growing in soil, you don't need to be as accurate as hydro

cheers

Click to expand...

The light makes a huge difference at least for me, i don't have decent "uniform lighting" pretty much anywhere in my house because most lights are different and i live in a very small apartment. In my kitchen desk colors are darker, but when there's some light pointing at the the vial, the colors get much much brighter. That's why i'm having problems because the colors can vary wildly under different shades/lights.

Maybe my fast paint pic makes some sense, i tested like 5 different batches with 2, 3 and 4 drops with the same water level, and took the picture from the same place/angle every time. I'm very lost at this point as you can imagine. Using more test drops will of course make the solution darker.

So how can i learn the range of the results from this when i don't even know what would be considered a real result? Cheers.