A Few Starter Questions....

This attempt will technically be my second grow. Anyways I am wanting to do a bubbleponics system this time. I have the system made, right now i just have a few reamaining items to get and this is where all of you come in . I still need nutes and pH equipment/solutions. I have been scourging the net looking for these items and have come accross many different ones.

As far as nutes go, i was thinking about getting these:
- FoxFarm Big Bloom
- FoxFarm Tiger Bloom
- FoxFarm Grow Big
- FoxFarm BushDoctor Sledge Hammer

I also want to make sure i monitor pH correctly but i cant seem to find exactly what im looking for. First what exactly does a measurement of EC and TDS actually do and is it necessary for a one plant grow? Also, how do i go about measuring my PPM once i start the feeding process so that i can track it over time.

Items still left to purchase:
- Nutrients listed above
- Net pot lid
- Rockwool blocks
- Hydroton

Any other ideas or suggestions are of course always welcome. Pics to follow!

Hi AB,
Can't answer your questions about FoxFarm nutes as I use General Hydroponics Flora series of nutes in my DWC.

EC (Electrical Conductivity) is a measurement of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and is generally recorded in ppm (parts per million). Basically this tells you how thick your nute-soup in your res is.
If you have just water you will have a low ppm reading on your ppm meter. If you have thrown a lot of your FoxFarm nutes into the res then this will add more bits into your res which means a higher reading on your ppm meter.

Do you need a ph meter or a ppm meter to pull off a one plant grow? No you don't "need" one but it will make your life many, many times easier.
Any hydro grower who cares about making sure they get the best possible result at harvest time will use both a pH meter and a ppm meter (you can get combo meters that do both) on a regular basis.

Otherwise pulling off a hydro grow without a meter is like trying to get through puberty without access to a good stash of wank-mags - possible but so highly frustrating it isn't even worth contemplating.

Once you get used to growing then you will probably come to rely less on your meters and more on feel or past experience but they are still so important for a successful hydro grow IMO.
Takes a lot of the guesswork out of diagnosing any problems you might hit in the future if you are able to provide at least pH/ppms to people on the forum trying to help.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on a pH/ppm measuring solution but it is vital when starting out as I have discovered recently.

Good luck!

i appreciate the help and the analogy lol. Are there any good but cheap-er ppm/pH meters that i can get online. All the ones i have found have been like around 70-100+ dollars.

Can't help you there I'm afraid as I live in Australia.
Suggest maybe just try doing a forum search here for a meter?

I ended up buying a Bluelab Combo Meter which wasn't cheap but is bloody awesome.

Good to see my bros in New Zealand coming up with the very nice cannabis-growing goods

ABSquaredX said:

i appreciate the help and the analogy lol. Are there any good but cheap-er ppm/pH meters that i can get online. All the ones i have found have been like around 70-100+ dollars.

Click to expand...

yes just get on ebay. I have used sub $20 dollar PH & PPM meters for 2 years now and they are still accurate.

I have found this item:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Combo-pH-EC-TDS-C-PPM-Tester-meter-/250660161007?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5c8285ef

should i also look into getting these as well:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/General-Hydroponics-Calibration-Solution-pH-4-01-pH-7-0-PPM-Trio-Combo-1QT-/250918073780?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6be1f5b4

are these the pH up and down solutions or are they just calibrating solutions?

ebay has way cheaper meters than that one if your worried about money.
and i believe calibrating solutions are just fancy wording for ph up n down solutions.

this is the ph meter i have used for a couple years now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-pH-Meter-Tester-Pocket-Pen-Aquarium-Pool-Water-/290540125183?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a58a7bff

and i have this ppm meter on the way
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HM-Digital-TDS-4-ppm-Meter-Tester-NaCl-Salt-Water-Pool-/230414176082?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item35a5c14f52#ht_600wt_1185

they have even cheaper ones than these too, just make sure the ppm meter can measure higher than 999ppm...u may need it depending how big ur gonna let ur girl grow

The calibration solutions are just for using to calibrate your meters which you should ideally do every month or if you start getting results on the meter that don't seem right.
You won't need much at all in your case and the meter should hopefully arrive with a couple of packs of calibrating solution to use.
Those big bottles of solution you linked to on EBay would only really be needed by commercial growers.

You will want to buy pH-Down at least and possibly ph-Up to be safe.
I only use pH down. If I want to raise the pH I will top up with water instead of using pH-Up.

Remember that you should wait a while after adding nutes/additives/pH-down for your res to settle before taking any new pH/ppm readings.

REMEMBER you get what you pay for! I went through 3 el cheapo meters before I bought a Bluelab truncheon meter. And this thing is the SH*T !!!

Yea just trying to price everything out before i start up. At least i got the system built completely. I just need to get some grown medium, nutes, pH Combo meter. I think that is it lol....Unless there is something i looked over?

It can be a bit daunting starting out with hydro as the costs all soon add up - lights, building materials, fans, nutes, etc.

But once you get it setup you will start learning in leaps and bounds and end up with better smoke for you and your friends. Being self-sufficient is an excellent feeling

Good luck with the planning and throw up a post of your new build when it happens.

Cheers!

i just bought the rest of my stuff. ill be sure to post up my new journal as soon as i start. Thanks for all the help.

I have recieved everything that i need to start my system now however i am out of town for the holidays. One thing i do need is a recommendation on storage solution for my pH meter.....anyone ??

I use these, I love the TDS meter but it has too many modes. I have no idea what the following are, but my meter reads in multiple modes. HM Product
UPGRADED: Four scales: µS, mS, ppm, ppt (mS and ppt are new) Three different non-linear EC-to-TDS conversion factors (KCl, 442[SUP]TM[/SUP], NaCl).

http://www.tdsmeter.com/products/com100.html

And my PH pen is this one (see below), made by Hanna. Ive got both liquid calibration solutions for it but it takes FOREVER to get a reading. I have to leave the meter in a shot glass full of the water and lean it against the wall. It'll take a minute or two before it settles out on a definate reading.

http://www.hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=040003&ProdCode=HI%2098103

They both work well but I wish I had got a wall mount EC/PH/Temp in-line monitor instead =/ came with my kit tho, no complaints.

Ohhhh and I just dry off my probes/meters via breath then cap them. Keepin it simple =D

Ok because I read that you need a storage solution for the pH meter because otherwise it will get ruined. I just wanna be sure I get everything down correct.

Depends on the meter. I use an El-cheapo from ebay. I rinse after I use it and calibrate as needed with coca cola. It's been workin like a champ for two years. You go through a shitload of ph down, I suggest you make your own out of auto-store battery acid. 6 bucks will get you enough to make a few years worth.