PH Strips, Regents, Meters, what do you trust

[deecee]

Ok I have a question about PH meters, strips and regents ( drops). I have all three and they all give a different reading in my hydro setup. The strips are a generic brand that I bought at a local aquarium store, the meter is a Milwaukee pH 600 and the regent came with the General Hydroponics up/down solutions.

So now I am trying hydro for the first time and right off the bat I have a problem. See my first post on this site. One of the suggestions was that my pH was off so I bought a meter and the GH up/down solutions. I cut back the watering and adjusted the pH to 5.5 and the plants have been doing great, they grow faster and thicker then my plants in soil did.
One day I decided to see how close each pH tester is to each other. And I was surprised at the readings.

The strips have a range of 5.0 to 8.0 in 0.2 increments. The meter goes from 0.0 to 14.0 in 0.1 increments. The GH regent goes from 4.0 to 8.5 the increments vary and go as follows 4.0,5.0,6.0,6.5,7.0,8.0,8.5.
So I test my 5 gallon distilled/steamed water I get from the store, the results are,
Strip - 7.2
Regent - 8.0
Meter - 7.6
The manufacturer says there water is neutral (7.0)

I have used the test strips for years in my aquariums, with the type of fish that I have they require a very small range of 5.5 — 5.8 pH range and they have always thrived, bred and lived for years (3 of them are 12 years old). When the pH gets to 6.0 according to my strips the fish will stay generally low in the bottom of the tank and separate (normally they stay in pairs). So I have always trusted the strips. I tested the water of my aquarium with the other 2 testers and came up with the following, strip- 5.6, regent — 5.0, meter 5.9, this time the regent was showing lower than the others.

I then tested my hydro reservoir, strip — 5.8, regent - 5.0 and meter shows 6.0, and as I said before the plants are doing great.

I recently took the meter to a friend who has 7.1 buffer solution and it read 7.0, I did not calibrate it because I have read that you are supposed to calibrate it on the low end and the high end with corresponding solutions made for just that purpose.

I repeated the test several times plus tested many other things such as the lake, hot tub and well water with all the same varying differences.

So my question is, (finally) has anyone else tried side by side comparisons with any of the types of testers I have and come up with such different results?

And what about the GH regent being so far different then the other two? I have heard only good things about their chemicals and felt that they could be a brand that can be trusted.

On a side note, has anyone used Peat granules in the hydro reservoir to keep the pH stable in the 5.5 to 6.0 range? I use 4 lbs of Sera Peat Granules in the 250 gallon aquarium and it will last almost 6 months keeping the ph stable and makes the water very soft, even after doing partial water changes monthly.

 

[PrairiePoet]

I have not tested against each other. Though I do have three meters and none of them will ever agree exactly. I recalibrate them monthly, and they still won't exactly agree. But they are close.

I don't think the plants will be as picky about pH as your fish were. you needed to stay with in a 0.3 range, while I think you will find that for growing 0.5 to 0.7 range will work fine.

Anymore, I can just look into the grow and most of the time have a good feeling where the pH is. But I will still keep the meter's in.

Prairie

 

[Dirt Farmer]

On a side note, has anyone used Peat granules in the hydro reservoir to keep the pH stable in the 5.5 to 6.0 range? I use 4 lbs of Sera Peat Granules in the 250 gallon aquarium and it will last almost 6 months keeping the ph stable and makes the water very soft, even after doing partial water changes monthly.

I would be VERY interested in something like this..What are these peat granules you speak of ?

Amazon - Fluval Peat Granules, 500 gram (17.6 oz)

So you use these in an aquarium and the water stays a consistent 5.5-5.8? Are you running them thru a filter, or ?? Very interesting though, and the trace elements surely can't but help I would think.

As for your PH meter issues, without calibrating with 4.0 and 7.1 solution your really just spinning your wheels. I tried using the test strips but had very little luck with them, then went to a Milwaukee pen meter which, while it works great, doesn't work any more often than you put it in the water. Now I use the Hanna gro-chek meter with constant monitoring probes and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING. All I have to do is turn around and look on the wall and I know my systems PH and I know where it has been all week by keeping an spreadsheet on it and other variables.

Not checking frequently enough was my primary issue IMHO before getting the constant monitoring solution. Also, if my PH stays at 5.5-5.7 for more than a day or two, I will raise it up to 6.2 for a day for balance, as plants take up different nutes at different PH levels, and spending too long at one PH could cause deficiency in nutes at the other end of the PH spectrum.

In short I just wouldn't try to do this any other way now that I've used a constant monitoring PH meter and highly recommend it, you can find some great deals out there if you look good.

 

[JJ Bones]

I've always found the order of absolute reliability when it comes to pH tools is: strips, drops, meters. You're personal experience is another confirmation for myself.

Meters are very good for convenience purposes, however at the end of the day strips never fail. At least in my experiences.

 

[deecee]

I would be VERY interested in something like this..What are these peat granules you speak of ?

Amazon - Fluval Peat Granules, 500 gram (17.6 oz)

So you use these in an aquarium and the water stays a consistent 5.5-5.8? Are you running them thru a filter, or ?? Very interesting though, and the trace elements surely can't but help I would think.


As for your PH meter issues, without calibrating with 4.0 and 7.1 solution your really just spinning your wheels. I tried using the test strips but had very little luck with them, then went to a Milwaukee pen meter which, while it works great, doesn't work any more often than you put it in the water. Now I use the Hanna gro-chek meter with constant monitoring probes and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING. All I have to do is turn around and look on the wall and I know my systems PH and I know where it has been all week by keeping an spreadsheet on it and other variables.

Not checking frequently enough was my primary issue IMHO before getting the constant monitoring solution. Also, if my PH stays at 5.5-5.7 for more than a day or two, I will raise it up to 6.2 for a day for balance, as plants take up different nutes at different PH levels, and spending too long at one PH could cause deficiency in nutes at the other end of the PH spectrum.

In short I just wouldn't try to do this any other way now that I've used a constant monitoring PH meter and highly recommend it, you can find some great deals out there if you look good.

I am on the road right now, hard to write on these damm droid phones,but....
I only use Sera Super Peat, had bad experience with Fluval many years ago (bacteria problem).
I have 16 tanks, 3 are 1000gl vats which I made a 8" X 5' pvc pipe into a filter and it has many layers of different filtering material, the one layer is 9 pounds of sera super peat, and a 1800 gph pump moves the water through it. My tank in the house is a 250 gallon that I made myself and in the back is a layer of glass which is 1.5" from the actual back of the aquarium. in this setup there is also layers of substrate along with 4 pounds of the peat (I would probably have to show pictures to explain it better), the rest of the tanks are smaller and have smaller versions of the pvc pipe setup as i have in the vats. Back home I have the chemical make-up of the Sera Peat, I remember it was all natural stuff and the few chemicals it released are even safe for human consumption, it is beneficial in that it removes or changes all heavy metals it also eliminates algae and it kills many bad bacteria and mold spores and it softens the water. The only downside in using in aquariums is the first 72 hours it turns the tank dark brown, after that it will just be a very light tea color. I have plants in the 250 gl and they grow great. For years I have used the old water after doing partial water changes in various other potted plants and rarely ever used ferts including mj and always had excellent results.

I looked into the Hanna, but was turned off by the cost of the replacement probes and how often some people had been replacing theirs, I thought the 25.00 pen would be more economical even if I replaced it every 6 months.
Good idea using a spreadsheet, I use them extensively for just about everything.

Thanks

 

[Dirt Farmer]

That's really interesting Deecee..so you have it setup in your tank in a false wall, is that a drain to a sump, or does it just circulate in the tank?
I'm gonna seriously have to consider testing this out...so given your experience, if you were gonna run say 30 gallons, what amount would you think would be a good starting point?

Pen worked great for me, just a matter of sticking it in the water often enough was my issue hehe..I haven't replaced my probe yet, I keep it clean and calibrated with both solutions and it and my milwaukee pen stay within about 3 tenths of each other so far after 6 months of use, we'll see how long it lasts.

JJ Bones - Yeah, getting them strips into the water is crucial for them to work, right?! LOL Bout the same with the pen, it's all about how you use it.

 

[deecee]

That's really interesting Deecee..so you have it setup in your tank in a false wall, is that a drain to a sump, or does it just circulate in the tank?

The setup circulates inside the tank with powerhead pumps submerged behind the wall. The idea was way overthought, I must have had a bit to much to smoke when I came up with it. I should have just used a separate tank and sump system, it would be a lot easier to clean.

I'm gonna seriously have to consider testing this out...so given your experience, if you were gonna run say 30 gallons, what amount would you think would be a good starting point?

I am currently trying peat in a NFT system right now (1 plant in flowering in a 3 gallon tub, 2.5 gallons of water in reservoir). I am using about an ounce of peat tied up in one of my girlfriends pantyhose just floating around with aeration going. I started with distilled water at 7.4pH added Ph down to get it at 6.4, then added nutes and that brought it down to 5.8pH. I then added the peat sock to it and after 24 hours it brought it down to 5.2, so I added 25 cc of pH up and that brought it to 5.6. Day 5 and it is still at 5.6. It does fluctuate during the day and goes as low as 5.5 and as high as 5.7 in the evening.
If you just use some sort of flow through sock like I am doing floating it in your resevoir, in 30 gallons I would start off with 3-4 ounces, if using your pump to force the water through it then maybe a couple of ounces of peat would work. That's my guesstimate.


Pen worked great for me, just a matter of sticking it in the water often enough was my issue hehe..I haven't replaced my probe yet, I keep it clean and calibrated with both solutions and it and my milwaukee pen stay within about 3 tenths of each other so far after 6 months of use, we'll see how long it lasts.

JJ Bones - Yeah, getting them strips into the water is crucial for them to work, right?! LOL Bout the same with the pen, it's all about how you use it.

Thanks,