6 in 1 Digital Monitor Water Testing Meter

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ChangeofIdea

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Since I am not new to gardening, I have made the mistakes of using the chemical PH testers, and Nutrient chemical testers for NPK, and letting them sit around and try to compare it to a chart etc... I then tried the PH Meter you push down into the soil and we all know how those $10-$20 work out. Now I am getting serious about my PH Meter this time around, and after reading about the digital PH Meter, ECC, and TDS Meter, looking at finding a good accurate thermometer, etc... the calibrating, cleaning and storage solutions and trying to do a lot more research I ran across an article by seemingly a professional grower, or at least someone who wrote a nice Grow Guide about just buying a good multi digital meter, and saving yourself the nightmare.

So after digging around on Amazon, I've found a "6 in 1 Digital Monitor Water testing Meter- PH, PPM, Temp TDS, EC cf Tester" that is how its listed. Of coarse I want to know is once a meter system like this calibrated do you just leave it in the water and perhaps check the calibration weekly? Are the probes left in the nutrient solution for constant monitoring? Or do you have to buy the cleaning solution for them, the storage solution, etc... and treat them like the other handheld Stick type Meters? If its really something you can leave in your nutrient tank so I can monitor my tank at a glance throughout the day and save time?

I want to invest in a good quality product that will last years, and I am looking for something that doesn't require all these various cleaning and storage solutions and it has to be accurate, and so I am looking at these 6-in-1 Meters... does anyone here use them, what do you think of them, and what brand name or types of meters would you suggest?
 
I don't know what this six in one meter is, or the six things it is supposed to do. I'll go check it out. But I do have a combo meter. It is made by Bluelab and is called the Guardian. It has two probes (one for ppm (EC) and temp, and one for ph) and yes they dangle in my water reservoir while the unit hangs on the wall. I calibrate the ph probe at least once a month. The EC probe barely ever. It came with a small sample calibration kit but a larger one should be ordered. This meter is top of the line quality and was my holy grail of ph meters I dreamed of for years but felt I couldn't afford. I wasted so much time and lost so much herb and suffered so much mental stress through using regular crappy ( I want to say 'cheap' but they cost $80 here) ph pens. So if you can somehow afford it you need to look no further than the Bluelab meter . Any questions just ask me. No I'm not a salesman, lol.
 
Ok I looked for the six-in-one thingy and found something by that description. I couldn't find any reviews of it written yet but I know already at a glance what we have here. It is a cheap piece of crap made in China which will suck and suck, and then suck some more, and then break, and then break some more, if you don't just go ahead and break it yourself in disgust and hatred and loathing and rage. Hell, maybe I should go ahead and be the first one to write a review of it.
 
I really appreciate your blunt honesty... I couldn't agree with you more, and that is why I am trying to look into these things and learn everything I can about them. I know there is some really good ones out there, after all there is no way companies are running acres of hydro/aero grows out there and have teams of people running around with PH Pens testing things. There is no way I want to buy some cheap garbage and then it either breaks or I get so mad I break it so I can throw it away legitimately because it's broken. Yet on the same token I do not want to buy the same garbage with a much higher price tag and have the same problem either... Like you said I've gone through the chemical tests and compared colors to learn how the colors can be influenced by different lights, letting it sit for different times, and even depending on the water changed my results... I fought my soil grows, and hydro wasn't exactly 'forgiving' and now that I am hardcore learning about aeroponics and seeing what I can really do with it, there is no way I'm burning my plants because of some cheap meter... not for the headache, and certainly not for a few more dollars spent early on, verses lots more down the road.

I looked up the Guardian by Bluelab, I really like that it flashes if the set levels go to high or to low, I'd rather spend the $275 on a good meter than waste over $100 on some junk. How often do I have to calibrate it? As a part of my justification for buying a high end meter I am comparing the money I am going to save for storage solutions, cleaning solutions, and the calibration solutions, as the stuff I've been reading thus far on what the guy was referring to as 'true aeroponics' where the roots are sprayed by a misting nutrient solution and then allowed to completely dry before the next spray, he is able to use PH solutions at degrees that would otherwise kill plants in Hydro and in soil, and is very clear that because of this you have to have an accurate PH & EC Meter or don't even waste your time and money trying to do it. He also points out that you have to check your tank 2-3 times everyday and if the solution is off he gives exact measurements of how much PH Up or PH Down to use on the best guess to move your PH Level up or down just one point and points out that you can have to do this more than once and keep checking it every 30-minutes to get it back into the correct range. So obviously a PH or EC Pen and the solutions for them could quickly start adding up in price if I am testing 5-6 times in a single day and having to calibrate the meters at least once a week to know they are accurate so I don't kill everything right at the end,
 
I've had the bluelab meter for about 8 months now. After a month a small light comes on to tell me I should calibrate ph. I've never noticed it being off by more than 0.1 which is the smallest amount it displays. I think if you read around you'll find Bluelab cited at the best or at least at the top of the line. I spent years looking, reading, dreaming of having a good ph meter. They also make a version which has more options to save data on computer. I can't remember if it is accessible by wifi or has a card or cable link- it wasn't something I needed- but would be handy for keeping records especially if you're doing hydroponics, which I'm not.
 
I am happy to do things the old fashion way of writing it all out on paper, I saw the USB stick on Amazon when I was looking up the meter, so you could do something with it on a computer with one of their products, but I didn't go look at it. Just knowing it has a light to tell me that it needs to be calibrated again, that in of itself makes it worth the money. Knowing that is accurate is a big thing for me, thankfully I was one of those 'students' who payed close attention and took careful notes from those who taught me, and learned early on that when you actually write something out on paper and not a keyboard you are much more likely to remember it and commit it to memory, which is why taking accurate and highly detailed notes is so important. Life is to short to make all of the mistakes ourselves, learn the painful lessons from those willing to share what they already have painfully learned. So I really do thank you for helping me to find this nice of a meter because then I can take highly detailed notes, and really carefully monitor what does or does not work, so I can repeat my results and not have to always worry that I am playing with a variable because of the Meter I'm using.
 
I've generally taken the approach of doing everything possible wrong, and then learning to do it better only when forced to. I was thinking last night- over the years I've had nearly everything possible go wrong- mold, electrical mishaps and mini fires, crazy grow partners, over feeding, underfeeding, mites and more mites, overwatering, light cycle screwups leading to reveg, law enforcement issues, heat problems, root rot - the list goes on. But the underlying number one issue that has haunted me throughout, and caused the most damage, has been ph. I think I've just finally got it sorted out now and my plants are looking better than they ever have.
 
I have painfully seen the most of the issues a person can run into growing, and have been the guy called in to fix the problems... but on the law enforcement issue, I hate to admit it but I was raided 3-times in 2-years which really got me super mad. All because I was growing legal plants within my house, and I was dumb enough to buy soil and soil nutrients both in the area and out of State. Which is stupid, I live 5-miles from the border of another State, and 30-miles off the border of another State, and live in a tiny little town, where I have to drive over 45-minutes just to get to a single place to buy soil, or cross State lines to go buy soil. When I go into the city I just need to cross the street to go into another State, so if one store is out, I cross the river to buy soil and things. So I raised red flags for buying soil and things locally when the temps are well below zero Fahrenheit with temps reach down into the sub zero ranges, and I'm buying soil and asking for nutrients, etc... They never found me doing anything wrong, but what a royal pain!

I've learned some painful lessons myself and I have found the answers to mites and white flies, and not only did I already know to pay for everything in cash, but now I know to borrow a friends car when you go to buy your soil and things when others can't grow plants outside. I keep thinking I ought to write a book of every thing I know about and the things I've seen and know about and turn it into one of those Growing Guides that is given away FREE and the expanded book which I sell, which I'd also offer in an actual book format. But for now I will keep learning and practicing and when I am older and wiser, and ready to retire I'll come out with my Growing Guide to retire on.
 
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