Bud's Does A SIP Featuring The ViparSpectra KS5000

[Buds Buddy]

Hey buds I've just got a bluelab truncheon but im not sure if i still need to ph? as it only does EC and ppm

They say if you're growing in soil you don't have to pH. I still do it anyway. Hydro or Coco you have to pH.
There's 2 different ppm scales on the Truncheon. I can't remember what they are. @InTheShed knows & can tell you which scale to use.
I use to have the Truncheon, but gave it to a friend. I just use the pH pen now. I wasn't able to pH this morning as my pen needs calibration & for some reason I can't get it to calibrate with the 4.0 solution. But it calibrates for the 7.0 solution. Not sure if this stuff goes bad or not, but I'm guessing my 4.0 solution is the problem.

 

[GreenFingaz]

They say if you're growing in soil you don't have to pH. I still do it anyway. Hydro or Coco you have to pH.
There's 2 different ppm scales on the Truncheon. I can't remember what they are. @InTheShed knows & can tell you which scale to use.
I use to have the Truncheon, but gave it to a friend. I just use the pH pen now. I wasn't able to pH this morning as my pen needs calibration & for some reason I can't get it to calibrate with the 4.0 solution. But it calibrates for the 7.0 solution. Not sure if this stuff goes bad or not, but I'm guessing my 4.0 solution is the problem.

The medium I've used in my past 2 runs were the biobizz light mix which is peat moss perlite and sphagnum peat. Im sure its the 500 scale not the 700 Ide use on the truncheon but I just wasn't sure if I still had to ph when using EC and ppm lol

 

[GreenFingaz]

I wasn't able to pH this morning as my pen needs calibration & for some reason I can't get it to calibrate with the 4.0 solution. But it calibrates for the 7.0 solution. Not sure if this stuff goes bad or not, but I'm guessing my 4.0 solution is the problem.

Ive had that issue in the past before when using my ph pen off amazon with the bluelab care kit I also only had half an idea what I was doing lol and wasn't sure if I had to calibrate to both the 4.0 and the 7.0 or just one of them

 

[InTheShed]

There's 2 different ppm scales on the Truncheon. I can't remember what they are. @InTheShed knows & can tell you which scale to use.

LKA just did a post on that so I'll quote him here:

EC/ppm is a reading of the solids/salts in solution. EC is the standard, and PPM can be EC*500 (US standard) or EC*700 (EU standard).

BlueLabs write up is here:

What are the different conductivity scales? What do they mean?

EC, CF, ppm500, ppm700, TDS... What's the difference? EC and CF are measures of electrically charged nutrient ions in a solution. Pure water will not conduct electricity. Water usually conducts electr

support.bluelab.com

 

[GreenFingaz]

LKA just did a post on that so I'll quote him here:

BlueLabs write up is here:

What are the different conductivity scales? What do they mean?

EC, CF, ppm500, ppm700, TDS... What's the difference? EC and CF are measures of electrically charged nutrient ions in a solution. Pure water will not conduct electricity. Water usually conducts electr

support.bluelab.com

Thats a good read up on what is what and helps a lot. Do i still need to use my ph pen alongside my EC meter then? I thought I could use my new truncheon instead of the pen

 

[InTheShed]

Thats a good read up on what is what and helps a lot. Do i still need to use my ph pen alongside my EC meter then? I thought I could use my new truncheon instead of the pen

pH and EC are unrelated measurements, so you'd need them both if you're tracking both things. EC is used to check the feed levels for folks using that as their guide (and almost everyone in hydro), and a pH pen would be used to test the pH of your nutes going in if that's a concern for you (or daily in hydro).

 

[GreenFingaz]

pH and EC are unrelated measurements, so you'd need them both if you're tracking both things. EC is used to check the feed levels for folks using that as their guide (and almost everyone in hydro), and a pH pen would be used to test the pH of your nutes going in if that's a concern for you (or daily in hydro).

I see thanks shed makes more sense now. Like if you run into issues with the plants an EC meter could give you a better idea as to whats going on with the run off?

 

[InTheShed]

I see thanks shed makes more sense now. Like if you run into issues with the plants an EC meter could give you a better idea as to whats going on with the run off?

Measuring the runoff EC can give you an idea of how saturated the soil is with synthetic nutrients and their byproducts, but don't use it as a gauge to figure out how much the plant is eating. It's also helpful if you are flushing the soil clean to know when the runoff EC = the water EC.

 

[GreenFingaz]

Measuring the runoff EC can give you an idea of how saturated the soil is with synthetic nutrients and their byproducts, but don't use it as a gauge to figure out how much the plant is eating. It's also helpful if you are flushing the soil clean to know when the runoff EC = the water EC.

Cool man that's good to know im going to put my thinking cap on now for next time round . Thanks again

 

[stardawg17]

I pH my Nutes to 6.3 & I use a Blue Lab so it should be pretty accurate.

How old is is the pen? Even good ph probes will wear out after about 18 months.

 

[InTheShed]

How old is is the pen? Even good ph probes will wear out after about 18 months.

I've had my Apera way longer than that! I keep it always soaking in potassium chloride though so it never dries out.

 

[stardawg17]

Not sure if this stuff goes bad or not, but I'm guessing my 4.0 solution is the problem.

There should be an expiration date.

 

[InTheShed]

There should be an expiration date.

On the pen itself? Not mine (PH20).

 

[stardawg17]

I've had my Apera way longer than that! I keep it always soaking in potassium chloride though so it never dries out.

I'm going off info from atlas scientific. They state the membrane in the probe will deteriorate over time even when properly stored as you're doing. They also sell probes so maybe they have other motives.

My probe is over 2 years old and I do find the need to recalibrate more often and will probably give AS more of my hard earned cash

 

[stardawg17]

On the pen itself? Not mine (PH20).

No... the solution. I believe it will oxidize over time and the pH value will change.

I'm no expert and YMMV

 

[InTheShed]

No... the solution. I believe it will oxidize over time and the pH value will change.

I'm no expert and YMMV

Oh I'd have to dig up the bottle which is buried in the shed. I replace what's in the storage cap two or three times a year.

 

[ViparSpectra]

Sorry to hear that. Everything will be getting better, Buds.

​

 

[Buds Buddy]

There should be an expiration date.

There is no expiration date.... BUT, the bottle does say it's good for 3 months after opening. Yeah, it's probably a year old so that's most likely the problem.

 

[Buds Buddy]

As of last night, we have started flower. I did a defol / trim job on her a few days prior to the flip. I also removed all the LST tie downs. Once it starts building buds/ colas it will make the branches bend outward anyway. Now to see how much she stretches before I put up the SCROG net. My external res thing isn't working. It did at first, but I think the float is stuck in the off position. The res got bone dry, so back to filling it by hand. Just my luck.... lol. Right now I have to fill it 3 times per week. I'll probably have to fill it daily by mid flower.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Here is the Platinum Gorilla Clone my buddy gave me. She did alright, considering how bad she looked in the beginning.

Here is the Cherry On Top that looked like lettuce. She's growing kind of weird, but hey.... who knows, Right ?
Some of her leaves are gigantic. Twice the size of my hand. First time a Cherry on Top came out like this.

Here is my other Cherry on Top. She was kind of thirsty in the pics.