[growingcorners42]

My pen is fucked I think mine will lower then it will rise it doesn’t know where to stop it seems like I hate ph-ING water

[jmystro]

https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Test-Kit-1-Ounce/dp/B000BT32UA?th=1

[backyard-boogie]

When using gh test drops or the strips, and say mixing nutrients say ruby fulv or something that would change the color of your water how accurate is your ph reading?

[bartmann]

Don’t buy the cheapest ph meters they usually last like a week lol but something $40 or more u should be good. I bought an hm brand on Amazon and has worked for about 5 years now

[jmystro]

5 years? I don’t believe that at all. They don’t last more than a year even if maintained properly. It’s lying to you at this point.

[sunny]

I’m looking at at least a solid four with my pH and probably seven years with my ppm. I maintain them impeccably, of course. I treat all my equipment as if I do not want to ever pay to replace it as I also enjoy testing the pH of my soil. I have other PH monitoring devices on my moisture meters, everything pretty much always says the same thing. So I’m going with it. Fact of the matter is… I use recharge. So I’m not stressing either way.

[jmystro]

I’ve used a bunch of different meters over the years and have come to one conclusion. Trash. When a bunch of replacement Bluelab Guardian probes were bad brand new, I threw it all away. They’ll lie (even after calibration) after about 6 months to a year. Test drops have never failed me. Thankfully I’ve always had them to test against digital meters.

[sunny]

OK, I do have a blue lab. But I also have drops for all of my fish tanks. So I am inspired to give it a little test and see where I’m at.

[jmystro]

Instead of just saying digital meters are junk, I’ll explain why.

pH probes have 2 electrodes, a glass measuring electrode and a reference electrode. The reference electrode has potassium chloride (neutral pH of 7) inside and has a specific amount of hydrogen ions. The glass electrode works by measuring the difference in pH between the reference electrode and a solution being tested. The probe must stay submerged in potassium chloride to allow ions to flow in and out. Over time, potassium chloride will leach out of the reference electrode causing the damn thing to lie even when showing proper calibration.

[wrath420]

The Apera ph20 is a great ph meter for around $50.00 from Amazon but it’s on sale for $40.00 dollars right now and it comes with the calibration liquid and is really accurate and durable for the price! I bought mine in 2023 and it’s been working great since then and I usually calibrate it every few weeks or so and most of the time it’s just a .1 off!

• This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by  wrath420.

[lettruckerstoke]

I got the whole kit and it’s been fantastic I’ve had it a couple months now it works phenomenally

[jmystro]

NEVER buy a digital pH meter. NEVER. Throw that shit in the trash and use test drops.

[sunny]

Oh, for god sake‘s calm down Grandpa. Don’t throw anything in the garbage guys. Sell it to a noob! Haaaa haaa

[satori]

Those vivo sun ph meters are junk. They calibrate to 6.83 and not 7. Where do you even get 6.83 calibration solution? The battery doesn’t stay in place and turn on and off in the middle of readings. Calibrate you pen monthly. I had a blue lab that costs over 100 and are very good but it went up after a long time and got a $40 one that is working just fine.

[noah-og]

I bought a ph meter on Amazon that looked mid-way decent and it died right after I put it in the storage solution. Got it replaced and it lasted for like a week then also died. Went to using the drops which are slightly annoying and doesn’t feel fully accurate when the water isn’t clear, but have had a very happy looking grow so it can’t be off that much!

[m1ghtym0u3e]

Another case of good gear ain’t cheap and cheap gear ain’t good. Use drops or get a ph20 or similar. If your in soil then maybe it’s not a big deal but in coco or hydro if any sort a few points can ruin your day. Also Vivosun is rebranded crap and their customer service is worse.