don't want to buy a water ph test kit, will litmus paper work too?

I know they aren't that expensive but I just don't want to buy a ph test kit. I do have an unlimited supply of free litmus paper however so I figure I'll use that to do all my ph testing.

I'd like to know if there is a reason every video I've seen suggests buying the test kit where you drop some liquid into a vial of the water and it changes color. Like, is litmus paper less exact or something?

Are you growing in soil?

Litimus paper will work well for hydro setups. You may find it hard to use when measuring soil pH.
Also, litimus paper is not going to give an as accurate, and up to date reading as a pH meter.
It tends to be a lot more work to use, when the time comes.
With pH indicators costing in and around $20 for an effective one, it is worth the investment.

i just bought this one off ebay for $18. works well!

"At the cost of just a few rolls of litmus paper, you can have the industry's best pocket-size pH tester."
Couldn't have said this better myself! Even if you get the paper free, I'd still spend some money and just get a digital probe pH meter.
Forget the sets. Too fiddly!

Bonzi Lighthouse said:

Are you growing in soil?

Click to expand...

I have one grow in soil and another about to start with DWC. I do have a soil ph probe that I got for free though so there's no problem there. I am mainly concerned with my DWC setup.

dyzel said:

Litimus paper will work well for hydro setups. You may find it hard to use when measuring soil pH.
Also, litimus paper is not going to give an as accurate, and up to date reading as a pH meter.
It tends to be a lot more work to use, when the time comes.
With pH indicators costing in and around $20 for an effective one, it is worth the investment.

i just bought this one off ebay for $18. works well!

Click to expand...

I'm on a severe budget at the moment and everything I get has to be free or borrowed pretty much. I've already spent my budget on the buckets and air pump and tubing. I had to resort to making my own net pot since nobody around here sells them but that wasn't too hard with a regular pot and a razor blade. The remainder of my budget is going toward buying nutes and the hydroton.

What makes litmus paper hard to use? All I have to do is dip a strip in the water reservoir and compare the color to the chart. I know digital meters are simpler in that I don't have to compare anything, it just tells me the exact ph. But seriously, if I'm too lazy to compare a strip to a chart then I don't need to be growing pot.

Thanks for the answers guys.