Learned a lesson. PH pen verify calibration!

[JollyGreen]

Followed instructions on storing/calibrating my PH pen. Had issues with a seedling looking sick with twisted leaves and spots. Went to the hydro store and picked up some ph drops. Didn't think my ph pen was the issue. Well lo and freaking behold. I'll try re calibrating as well as work in confirming the calibration once every other week with ph drops.

 

[Dannyboy58]

You should confirm calibration every time you use a pH meter. Also be sure you're using storage solution. If the tip dries out it may never work properly again.

 

[PLreef]

Pens are great till they're not. Be sure to always keep the tip moistened. I try to calibrate my pens monthly.

 

[DeadlyFruit]

I am very guilty of not calibrating until I realized how far off I was getting. Now I make sure to calibrate every couple weeks, check with a reference solution occasionally and always keep some storage solution in the sponge in the cap. My higher than normal incidence of hermies cleared up starting with the next crop. A side note, the way these tools work and why the tip needs to stay moistened etc is quite interesting. The instructions on my meter said if it does get dried out you should soak it in plain tap water for at least 24 hours - not RO or distilled. Unless the little glass ball gets cracked or some permanent type residue it is usually fixable by soaking it and then recalibrating and storing with storage solution (according to the instructions - I am not really a lab guy so I’m taking that on faith).

 

[Puglover1]

I have the storage solution and calibration packets in my A cart right now. I have a bottle of Core pH neutral water in the room, to compare, and my dog's 10-parameter urine test strips to check pH (and I think he might have another UTI.) I learned my lesson with the cheap yellow pen.

 

[Dannyboy58]

Good luck with the test strips. I've brewed beer for years. Tried the strips early on brewing and never had an luck with them. I have multiple pH meters from cheap to lab quality. Even the cheap ones worked better than strips for me.

 

[Puglover1]

It's not about pens' accuracy it's reliability. Strips are better than nothing when a pen Dies at watering time. I run three strips at a time to compare, even with my pug. While using his strips for my plants I checked his urine also and caught a UTI. This pug cost over $20K in vet bills in 3 years - bad vet, rare disease - so catching a UTI early can save me more money than growing my own weed. He turned 5 last month, I hope I have a few more years with him.

 

[RonnieB]

I also raise saltwater corals. And ph is extremely important in this hobby. I have 400 dollars ph probes and the ph up down test is almost as accurate as these expensive ph pens. But if its something you have confidence in. That's all that matters. I was just saying if you've never used ph up down with the test kit, it's very accurate and a lot cheaper

 

[Willyd]

I’ve tossed my pens and use the strips for my nute water and the drops for my regular water and haven’t had an issue but if you test before every watering you’ll be fine.