best meter(s) ph/tds/moister

[r3m1]

so wondering what would be the best cheapest meter to check Ph/ppm/moister. as i have been using a low grade unit that is off by a lot now that i dropped it (with no way to cal.) so i am looking at buying a starter unit(s) in a cost effective range $50-80 is what i can spare to spend on this as i need to purchase a few other things for the room as well. Also i am open to recommendations for things that are great to have for your grow.
I plan on starting a guide from seed to your first harvest/ beginners start up on what would be needed for your grow (exmaple: fans, inline blowers, lights and meters) also would like to hear what are pros and cons of that equipment.

eventually i will have a complete list of items for your first grow, harvest and anything else that might be needed. basically my own bible so should be fun lol


mostly important so i don't get confusion, i am needing the info on the meters lol

[9fingerleafs]

The mega meter by the grow boss

[Tika]

Not cheapest but I love my BlueLab pH pen. Easy to calibrate and very accurate.

[9fingerleafs]

The one I'm telling you about its 75dollars. Its PH. PPM and temperature meter with exchangeable probes and fully waterproof

[9fingerleafs]

http://www.thegrowboss.com/meters.html

[Nartak]

Ahh for US yeah,not for the rest of the world...Bluelab offers separate meters at 79$ both together so id still go for Bluelab!

[Nartak]

It's really depends on where you are and how far you want to take it..If you are within reach of growwell or other stores that sell Bluelab equipment...Amazon also has some nice stuff hiding in its pages that will surprise you if you allow them..
Personally i have cheap spanish meters that i calibrate and crosscheck with bottled water EC/Ph @ 25C/77F and they haven't skipped a single unit (The EC meter also fell in the tank and it always shows empty battery icon but works perfectly).

Now it also comes to a crossroad of Soil/Hydro/DWC and what kind of lights you are going to be using!!

There is a nice starting guide here but the basic things you will need from my experience till now (on my first grow still) are :

• A bit of extra medium(Mostly soil so you can bury a lanky plant) just in case you soak/drop/contaminate or just need more
• Measuring cups will ALWAYS be missing from the reach of your hand so have them close and a couple syringe tubes
• Twisty tie,coated metal wire tie,tire ups,snipping/trimming scissors(i used cable snapper for a couple weeks then eventually got a proper straight blade snipper for 1.5€)
• If you are going hydro always keep spare PE hosing,T connectors/corners/plugs according to your hose width.
• Screws,bolts,metal clams can be used to further assist with LST
• Tape,as in silver legendary tape
• Nails,hammer,carving knife/razor knife
• Superglue for plastic part gluing
• ----------
• Recommendations for soil i can't give for i don't use it
• Pots i would get smart pots,net pots or air pots depending on substrate and growing style!Few bucks extra can give a lot of results!And by few i mean smart pots for a start are VERY cheap!
• Lighting if you want yield/efficiency and a medium price for starting i would go 400MH for flower 600HPS for flower(i have 600MH) unless you can afford a led at least like this or this again depending on the size of your grow space!

Thats all i can think of for now mate,if something else pops up ill edit...good luck in your "book" writing!

[r3m1]

i picked up an inexpensive one off amazon 30 bucks came with a tds meter. until i can afford a blue lab this shall due. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

shall see if its worth the 30 for now. until i can upgrade to a better product ill have to wait. i do however like that pen havent seen one yet from blue till now. thanks

[Nartak]

Got that EXACT ph meter and have not calibrated after the first time once!Also i didn't calibrate with the buffers,i used bottled water that has both EC and Ph reading @ 25Celsious!Been a month+ now The EC/TDS meter i got elsewhere so i dunno bout it!!You should not need a bluelab pen as your ph pen (and most likely the tds meter) is *ATC

Q: What is automatic temperature compensation (ATC)?

A: The Solution Temperature Effect
When there is an increase or decrease in the temperature of a solution, the pH of the solution can change. This change is not an error caused by the variation in temperature; it is the true pH of the solution at the new temperature. Since this is not an error, there is no need to correct or compensate for the solution temperature effect.

The pH Electrode Temperature Effect
There is only one major temperature effect in pH measurement that can cause errors in readings. This is the change in the electrode's response (or sensitivity) to pH which results from changes in the samples temperature. It is the only reasonably predictable error due to changes in temperature, and is the only temperature related factor that pH instruments with temperature compensation can correct for. This temperature error is very close to 0.003 pH/°C/pH unit away from pH 7. If a sample is measured without using an automatic temperature probe, the solutions temperature needs to be entered into the meter manually to allow it to account for this error.

[r3m1]

picked up the same one with a tds meter