DWC without checking ppm?

TheGreenThumber

TheGreenThumber

Active Member
I just purchased a new cab, 5 gal buckets and all the gear i need to start up a dwc grow in the near future. Well, everything except for a meter to read the ppm in the nutrient solution. How important is it to have one of these meters? Does anyone grow dwc by eye sight and testing amounts without measuring?

If it is impossible to do without one, where can i get one for the lowest price without sacrificing quality.

Thanks.
 
M

Mr.Therapy Man 2

Active Member
You really need one but the ph drops work well enough to get by if you use nutes that are ppm balanced and feed buy the instructions or less than whats called for on the bottle
 
BluBerry

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
get yourself a meter so you dont waste your time and fry the plants because you want to short on a very important tool. you can get them online for $30.
 
Flo Grow

Flo Grow

Well-Known Member
BluBerry is right.
We would hate to see all your hard work and money go to waste behind something so little yet so major.
 
Serapis

Serapis

Well-Known Member
Exactly.... why spend several hundred dollars on lights, nutrients, genetics, etc, only to cheap out on a PPM meter that lets you avoid killing plants?
 
Flo Grow

Flo Grow

Well-Known Member
Don't get us wrong.
It can be down and has been done.
Just not the sensible thing to do.
After all that time and money shopping, you're gonna the lack of a $30 - $50 meter (combo too) cause you to throw hundreds down the drain (water, nutes, electricity, time, seeds, etc.) ?
 
W

wiseguy316

Well-Known Member
for starters, you need the ppm more to test your water that you are using to obtain a baseline and determine if you need to use a hard water micro or RO system. Then you you will have it to measure the nutrient strength. After you have tested the water, you are using you probably wont use it very often, but it is a very useful tool to have.
 
BluBerry

BluBerry

Well-Known Member
zeny said:
I scientifically measure my ppm and ph in my dwc. so far my plants are really healthy...
Click to expand...
If you are just starting them then I am sure they are doing fine with no meter because you shouldnt have nutes in the water. And no offense but that sounds pretty dumb to me. "I scientifically measure my ph and ppm." How in the hell do you do that? Get yourself a meter so you dont waste your money and time. Once you get one then you will have an understanding of what is going on. You can "scientifically measure" but you will not be accurate on guessing the correct amount. Especially if you have never done it before. You won't know when they are eating or when they are being overfed. You can build a house without blueprints but is it the smart thing to do? Nope!
 
Z

zeny

Member
BluBerry said:
If you are just starting them then I am sure they are doing fine with no meter because you shouldnt have nutes in the water. And no offense but that sounds pretty dumb to me. "I scientifically measure my ph and ppm." How in the hell do you do that? Get yourself a meter so you dont waste your money and time. Once you get one then you will have an understanding of what is going on. You can "scientifically measure" but you will not be accurate on guessing the correct amount. Especially if you have never done it before. You won't know when they are eating or when they are being overfed. You can build a house without blueprints but is it the smart thing to do? Nope!
Click to expand...
I'm a chemist dumby XD. There are numerous ways to accurately predict the dissociation of H+ ions in solution (pH)... Right now I've been vegging for a few months and I took care of nute and acid amounts for my friends last 1/2 lb yield grow :P Personally, i find the best nute absorption to take place in a reservoir with a slightly fluctuating pH, similar as the rainwater does to plants naturally.
 
deprave

deprave

New Member
really I grew for a long time without one or even a PH meter with no problems and rarely even changed the water - its not that I didnt have one it was just I was confident I could do it in my head because it worked out for me for a good while, then one day a 6ft tree 4 weeks into flowering died(a more than 100 day investment), ever since then I check my PH and PPM and don't try to do it in my head. You can get a NICE DIGITAL PPM meter for UNDER 20$ if you use google no point in risking the potential loss of a huge investment.
 
Illegal Smile

Illegal Smile

Well-Known Member
Depends on whether you are an artist or a scientist. I have no use for ppms. If you are an artist you get to know your strain, and like tuning a piano by ear, you feed by what the plant tells you. I feed right up to the edge where the plants say STOP. I use Humboldt Master A&B and I'm usually at about 150% above their feeding schedule. Obviously it works or I wouldn't be doing it this way. They're weeds.

ps I do check pH
 
M

Mr.Therapy Man 2

Active Member
I ran some DWC bucket without a ppm meter and used drops to balance my ph and killed it. One of my SSH harvest 9 ounces of trimmed bud.I used pure blend pro and fed by the instructions and it worked pretty good.You really need a good ppm and ph meter ,they makes some thats decent for about 100 bucks
 
pwizzle

pwizzle

Well-Known Member
I grow without my ppm meter.
I have one yes, but I've only used it once during this grow. like 3 months ago.
After a while, with the same rig and same nutes you just know whats goin on.
It's a great tool to have. Do you need it, no.
 
Illegal Smile

Illegal Smile

Well-Known Member
I find pH to be largely dependent on nutes. Some nutes seem to be more forgiving and some are better at keeping pH within a certain range. I use Humboldt Master A&B and they claim pH is fine anywhere from 5.5 to 7.2. Mine never gets to seven or much below 6. I check it daily but don't worry unless it gets outside those ranges, which it doesn't. But remember, you have to calibrate those pH meters once in a while. You can do that just fine with distilled or RO water, just set to 7. I actually adjust pH no more than 3 or 4 times in a whole grow.
 
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