stummer Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Can see here this pen isn’t even a couple months old. Didn’t think anything was wrong with it as plants was looking fine. Anyway first sign there was something wrong was I would add a fair amount of ph down. Yet the reading didn’t seem to drop as much as I’ve come to expect. Calibrated and thought that should solve it. Anyway I ordered another pen, for the sake of 47quid I’d rather just be knowing everything’s ok. Took a reading just now and brand new pen says 6 while the “old” one was reading 6.2. Also have been storing it with a sponge in the lid and every time I put it back would add some drops of storage solution. Tbh next time is either sensi ph perfect nutes or a Bluelab ph pen. Anyway here are some photos to show the issue, imo it’s got to be case of incorrect ph as oppose to environment. I just gave them a fairly heavy feed with a ph of 6. Wouldn’t say a flush but deffo got plenty of run off. Will it just be a case of doing this the next couple feeds and it should adjust itself? Any idea roughly how long till I should start to see an improvement. Leaves are growing slightly twisted and small in size although that’s harder to see. On the plus side, remember I was always moaning I never had the best of roots. Still not the best but certainly an improvement compare to what I’m used to seeing… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeypig Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 @stummer Stop fucking about with crappy ones mate. Get yourself blulab ones. I use their combo meter, but you csn get the individual ones. Look after them with regular cleaning and calibrating and it'll do you for years. The ph probes normally do 5-6 years easy before I swap them out for a new one (60 quid ish) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stummer Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 To be fair I didn’t think it was a crappy one because it was just shy of 50quid. I’m gonna get a Bluelab next time though for the sake of 50quid more. Or just go with sensi nutes where it’s ph’d for you. Tbh if I had literally just bought this new one now I would of gone with a Bluelab. I should of really looking back. Fixing the problem, is it just a case of keep watering with the correct ph and getting a decent amount of run off? Flush out the old and incorrect ph if you like. Any ideas roughly how long it’ll take to start seeing an improvement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindSoup Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) If it was of scamazon then send it back, just say it's not fit for purpose, they never actually check their returns. Edited January 31 by MindSoup 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeypig Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 if you shop around you can get the combo for £199. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle1 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 A difference of 0.2 is nothing to worry about because the pH situation is dynamic anyway. It's just getting it in the right ballpark for the roots to operate effectively. They are quite capable of adjusting the local pH around themselves by secreting organic acids. Religiously rinse under tap and dip pH probes in storage solution before putting away. Just rinse ec meters. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stummer Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 I’ve got a Bluelab ec stick that’s working fine. I’ll order a Bluelab ph pen. Seem to be one of the better brands. Am I right though in how I’m thinking about going about fixing the issue? Gonna wanna be giving the correct ph anyway ain’t I. With decent run off it should just flush out the incorrect ph over time. On a positive note, I’m quite chuffed with those roots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stummer Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 2 minutes ago, catweazle1 said: A difference of 0.2 is nothing to worry about because the pH situation is dynamic anyway. It's just getting it in the right ballpark for the roots to operate effectively. They are quite capable of adjusting the local pH around themselves by secreting organic acids. Religiously rinse under tap and dip pH probes in storage solution before putting away. Just rinse ec meters. Thing is I think it’s not just the case of the reading being out. I actually expected that to be on point. What got my alarm bells ringing was I added ph down and got 6.3. Usually a few more drops would see it come within range. Felt like I was adding a fair amount and the number wasn’t changing. Just thought nah go with the pen it’s still fairly new. As you can see hadn’t even had it more than a couple months. Also every time after a reading I rinse it and yeah stored in storage solution in the lid. Won’t bother with that brand again tbh. Bluelab for me going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle1 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) 14 minutes ago, stummer said: Am I right though in how I’m thinking about going about fixing the issue? Gonna wanna be giving the correct ph anyway ain’t I. With decent run off it should just flush out the incorrect ph over time. On a positive note, I’m quite chuffed with those roots Yes, you want to know the vitals are correct. A decent meter is worth it imo. It's our hobby. 12 minutes ago, stummer said: Thing is I think it’s not just the case of the reading being out. I actually expected that to be on point. What got my alarm bells ringing was I added ph down and got 6.3. Usually a few more drops would see it come within range. Felt like I was adding a fair amount and the number wasn’t changing. Just thought nah go with the pen it’s still fairly new. As you can see hadn’t even had it more than a couple months. Also every time after a reading I rinse it and yeah stored in storage solution in the lid. Won’t bother with that brand again tbh. Bluelab for me going forward. The buffering ability of acid depends on your water's bicarbonate - carbonic acid ratio, and other things, which can change with various environmental factors at any given point in time. You'll find, if you keep adding acid, there comes a point where the pH drops dramatically with the smallest amount. That means you've tipped the balance too strongly to acid. Best chuck it away and start again. Adding pH up to correct that unnecessarily raises the ec imo. Edited January 31 by catweazle1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stummer Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Ah fuck me, I just thought I’d get away with hitting them heavy with the correct ph? That’ll see the old water eventually replaced. Be fuming if I got to start again tbh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu914 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Try the ph perfect stumm, you've already got the bluelab truncheon and with these nutes it's all you need. If you decide to give them a go use at half the dose it says on the bottles and you won't go far wrong.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slippy One Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 All this faff and expense. Surely there’s a better way?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catweazle1 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 12 hours ago, stummer said: Ah fuck me, I just thought I’d get away with hitting them heavy with the correct ph? That’ll see the old water eventually replaced. Be fuming if I got to start again tbh. I was just explaining why there is a difference; just add the acid until it's where you want it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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