Ph test kit

[Crebzie39]

Embarrassing question ( I bought 2 bottles of GH ,ph solution ......I lost the test vial. Anyone no how much water should you use for the test ..:would be a big help.

[9fingerleafs]

It’s gotta be somewhere between 5 and 15ml I’m guessing. You could reverse ingeneer the process. Take something you know the ph of (water) and slowly pour over a clear container with the right amount of drops inside. add that water until the color is right

[Crebzie39]

Ok thanks...I didn't want to buy the whole kit again ,just for the vile ......1 to 3 tsp GREAT

[starramus]

It's not really that important, if you have more or less water, the colour won't change only the depth of the colour will change. Buy yourself some pH buffering powder from ebay, they are used to calibrate meters but you can use the pH6.86 one (they come in pairs of 6.86 and 4.01) and use that as a reference for the colour chart that came with the solution.

However, I bought a $10 yellow pH meter from feeBay, screw calibration on the back this is the most basic one you can get. I bought some proper pH7 buffer solution and calibrated it, then I checked it against the powder 6.86 and it read 6.9, then I checked it against the 4.01 and it measured 4.0. In other words it was perfectly accurate even down to 4 which is 1000 times more acidic than 7!

The pH 7 buffer solution cost me more than the meter. The meters already come with a few packets of powder for calibration. Make sure you mix up the solution with distilled water to calibrate and you're golden.

Store the meter in a glass with the used pH 6.86 solution. Don't store it dry with the cap on. Some people will tell you the cheap meters are rubbish. They are not.

Edit: for example ... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Di...r/222798187593

My local hydro shop had the same meter for $60

Yeah I have two of these. For the money they are quite accurate. Some of these other companies take advantage of our hobbyist mentalities by offering overpriced products. Just gotta have the best. Mine read about .5 ph differently. I use the more accurate one double checking with the GH test kit.

Take heed of who is doing QC in China.

[BlueBudz]

Distilled water is actually something they clearly state not to store the meter in. I own 3 different Bluelab meters and they all say that. I also have two of the cheap yellow amazon/eBay meters, they are in accurate. I have done many tests and the two yellow ones always measure different and always different to the 3 blue lab meters that all read the same. Just sayin

[starramus]

No mention of this in the instructions for the cheap yellow Amazon/ebay meters. For the money they are accurate enough for me. I double check with the General Hydro PH test liquid. Works for me, and for a whole lot less.

[9fingerleafs]

Yeah me too. I’ve been using my 25 bucks yellow ph meter for two years now and the first year was all crazy got decalibrated every month, but the last year or so it works like a Swiss clock. I feed the same ratios all veg and all flower so I know what the ph is supposed to be

[Crebzie39]

Thanks guys....I found out on another site.......a simple question..the answer is 3 DROPS PER 5ML....1 TSP

[starramus]

As cheap as I am I use distilled water to calibrate my meters. It is only a buck a gallon. Most always PH7. I must be doing everything wrong, but don't tell my bumper harvests.