Get a Harvest Every 2 Weeks

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Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
Just a quick question, what do you use to measure pH and PPM?
I use a Eutech pHScan1 and a Bluelab Truncheon nute meter. Both are the most durable meters in their classes. Both are more than 5 years old and bulletproof. The Eutech pH meter is waterproof, with rubber O-ring seals and has a replaceable probe tip. The tips last about 2 years each.

However, I don't recommend Bluelab's new pHTruncheon, much as I love their nutrient meter. I had 3 of them die in quick succession, less than a month each. They've got some design or manufacturability issues to sort out on that thing before it's ready for prime time.

I've heard of some 'disposable' meters from Hanna. Considering the durability of their meters when I was using them- about 2-3 months- they were already disposable, just not labelled as such. :D
 

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
I use a HANNA pH and ppm combo meter
pH meter tip elements only last 2 years. If you buy a combo meter, make sure it has a user-replaceable pH probe.

Separate meters are nice if only for the comfort that if one meter dies, you're not totally blind until you can get a replacement.
 

cmak40

Well-Known Member
I have been reading up on cloning in my Jorge Cervantes 2008 grow bible in the cloning section, since i am almost at that point in my grow. That's where i got the info on cutting the fan leaves and keeping the medium evenly moist to prevent cut leaves from bleeding out sugars. It made since but i guess JC is wrong on that one.
JC just needs to weed out some old stuff. Most cannabis cultivation is indoors these days- ppl keep mother plants just for cuttings rather than taking cuttings from the lower branches of a plant that will later be flowered outdoors.

Cuttings taken from lower branches will be very thin stemmed and will have a hard time taking up water through the stem cut. That's about the only justification for going to the extreme of cutting the leaf blades in half.

The 'medium evenly moist to prevent cut leaves from bleeding out sugars' thing is just nuts.

I'd like to know what the fuck he was smoking... and maybe I could get a few cuttings. :D
i think JC is talkin about when the clones are first cut till root growth is predominant.

so i think youl know what jc and sticky means now Al but the sugar thing i think is an old wives tale sorta....i agree with al that jc JUST REVISES his book and does not do much of research anymore so take info from those books with an open eye
 

Maccabee

Well-Known Member
I use a Eutech pHScan1 and a Bluelab Truncheon nute meter. Both are the most durable meters in their classes. Both are more than 5 years old and bulletproof. The Eutech pH meter is waterproof, with rubber O-ring seals and has a replaceable probe tip. The tips last about 2 years each.
I picked up a Bluelab Truncheon nute meter and the Eutech pHtestr Basic a month or so ago. Also waterproof, replaceable tip, etc. I'm *very* happy with them.

My old Hanna pH pen and my nutradip meter had both died since I went inactive a few years ago. I'm much happier with these than I ever was with those.

It's true that it pays to get decent instruments. However, that's all relative. Cheap electronic meters are still better than nothing, and usually better than most paper or liquid test kits. Even if they die in a few months, in the case of the $15 pH pens.
 

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
i think JC is talkin about when the clones are first cut till root growth is predominant.
Yeah, I know what he's trying to do, but it's just an unnecessary step that will slow the clones down in a lot of cases. It shouldn't be taken as a generality. If you have clones with thick stems, a sterile angle cut and damp not saturated media, they won't have any problem with wilt, requiring leaf lopping or anything else eg anti-wilt sprays or humidomes.

I picked up a Bluelab Truncheon nute meter and the Eutech pHtestr Basic a month or so ago. Also waterproof, replaceable tip, etc. I'm *very* happy with them.
You'll have them for a long time.

My old Hanna pH pen and my nutradip meter had both died since I went inactive a few years ago. I'm much happier with these than I ever was with those.
Doubtless. The Hanna pH pens I used early in the piece had screw compression connectors from the main circuit board to the pH sensing element- and no gaskets on the case. Nute soln would wick into these things and foul that screw compression fitting in a few weeks, making the reading wander within minutes of calibration.

It's true that it pays to get decent instruments. However, that's all relative. Cheap electronic meters are still better than nothing, and usually better than most paper or liquid test kits. Even if they die in a few months, in the case of the $15 pH pens.
Absolutely- as long as they are reliable while they ARE working...
 

Kuji

Active Member
Al, What is your watering schedule for the clone box and how high does the water level get in the flood tray (how much of the rockwool cube does it cover.)

Also, do you use a grow medium in the clone tray or does the water just rise around the cubes themselves? Are the mums in a grow medium?


Sorry for all the questions, but I''m trying to put together plans for the grow/veg room and it's been the most confusing thus far.
 

Enigma

Well-Known Member
I use a Eutech pHScan1 and a Bluelab Truncheon nute meter. Both are the most durable meters in their classes. Both are more than 5 years old and bulletproof. The Eutech pH meter is waterproof, with rubber O-ring seals and has a replaceable probe tip. The tips last about 2 years each.

However, I don't recommend Bluelab's new pHTruncheon, much as I love their nutrient meter. I had 3 of them die in quick succession, less than a month each. They've got some design or manufacturability issues to sort out on that thing before it's ready for prime time.

I've heard of some 'disposable' meters from Hanna. Considering the durability of their meters when I was using them- about 2-3 months- they were already disposable, just not labelled as such. :D

That's exactly what I need!

:peace:

:blsmoke:

Enigma
 

LoudBlunts

Well-Known Member
al, im glad you commented about the ph and other meters and such. i have a few more questions for you!

okay, first...i decided to take your info and run with it. im not going to worry too much...just use the central a/c graciously. but that is not my problem.....my worry is would i be dumping too much co2 back into my living quarters? you know by not exhausting the used up co2 enriched hot air? or is the a/c going to take care of that?


another question....those ph meters and such....im in the market for a new meter...im kinda looking for an all-in-one cheap solution. I had my eyes set on this Hanna meter ph/TDS/EC/temp but once you mentioned disposable and not reliable...i started having second thoughts. You dont think that one specific meter is good? Could you recommend an all-in-one meter. Im willing to pay the extra money especially is they are going to take all the abuse very well and last. i also noticed the 5 year warranty....cant beat that!!!

is there a reason you stay away from continuous meters?
 

TLR

Well-Known Member
In a lot of your posts I see that you say CFLs lead to shitty buds, and I was wondering why? I plan on buying some 6 odd CFL lights that (4 40 watt 2700K cfl's
2 23 watt daylight cfl's) for 3 plants based on setups I've seen and they have good results. Thanks :)
 

Maccabee

Well-Known Member
It's shitty relative to a plant flowered under a comparable HID.

On the other hand, no weed is even shittier.

Here's the golden rule of CFL growing:
1) Add two more bulbs.
2) See #1
 

cmak40

Well-Known Member
In a lot of your posts I see that you say CFLs lead to shitty buds, and I was wondering why? I plan on buying some 6 odd CFL lights that (4 40 watt 2700K cfl's
2 23 watt daylight cfl's) for 3 plants based on setups I've seen and they have good results. Thanks :)
with the lights ur talking about your almost at 250watts, why not just go buy a 250 watter hid, explaining the inefficiencies of cfls has been done 100 times. just realize its not the way to go unless you only wanna use about 100 watts on a single plant. be nice to your plants, they're nice to you arent they?
 

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
al, im glad you commented about the ph and other meters and such. i have a few more questions for you!
OK :)

okay, first...i decided to take your info and run with it. im not going to worry too much...just use the central a/c graciously. but that is not my problem.....my worry is would i be dumping too much co2 back into my living quarters? you know by not exhausting the used up co2 enriched hot air? or is the a/c going to take care of that?
You're enriching with CO2? If you're not, your 'concern' is the excess oxygen your plants are making.

If you are enriching, you ought to be using an automated CO2 metering and management system. This will set the CO2 concentration at about 700-1000ppm in the grow. If the metering system is working properly, this will be the CO2 concentration in the grow room, but as air is vented from the op into the much larger airmass of the house, it will be mixed with non-enriched air, reducing CO2 to natural atmospheric levels of 300-400ppm. No wucking furries.

However, I don't think I'd seal up my house and crack the valve on an E-size cylinder of CO2...

another question....those ph meters and such....im in the market for a new meter...im kinda looking for an all-in-one cheap solution. I had my eyes set on this Hanna meter ph/TDS/EC/temp but once you mentioned disposable and not reliable...i started having second thoughts. You dont think that one specific meter is good? Could you recommend an all-in-one meter. Im willing to pay the extra money especially is they are going to take all the abuse very well and last. i also noticed the 5 year warranty....cant beat that!!!
Hanna's quality might be better now than the last time I was shopping for meters. If they offer a 5 year warranty, the worst that can happen is that you're without a meter while waiting on getting a replacement.

As said previously, I prefer separate meters in case one of them dies. It's cold comfort only being able to see pH or ppm if one meter quits, but it's better than a sharp stick in the eye.

is there a reason you stay away from continuous meters?
Price, mostly. Continuous meters have been running about 3x the price of portable 'pen' meters around here. However, the convenience of a continuous meter is rather negated by the fact that I have 5 nutrient tanks. Either I have 5 continuous reading meters or move one's probes from tank to tank, rather defeating the purpose of a permanently mounted continuous meter.

In a lot of your posts I see that you say CFLs lead to shitty buds, and I was wondering why? I plan on buying some 6 odd CFL lights that (4 40 watt 2700K cfl's
2 23 watt daylight cfl's) for 3 plants based on setups I've seen and they have good results. Thanks :)
Read my posts about flowering with CFLs and you will have answered your own question. I've explained that in painful levels of detail not long ago.

The short answer is CFLs produce low-intensity light and putting a number of them next to one another won't increase their luminous intensity one bit. The added lumen ratings of 'paralleled' lighting (of any sort) are meaningless. If you have two 1500lm CFLs lighting the same area, the luminous intensity is 1500lm, not 3000. Cannabis needs high intensity to produce tight, dense nugs- and you won't get high intensity from fluoros, either CFL or cylindrical tube type. There's no such thing as a fluoro grow that is equivalent to HPS, no matter how many CFLs you use.

A photo of a plant flowering under CFL will not tell you anything about its weight and density. If you want some useful data from pics found online, find one of the myriad CFL-HPS comparison grows some adventurous folk have gone to the trouble to do.

It's your time and money to waste- but don't say you weren't warned when you get fluffy little buds from your grocery shopping basket full of silly little CFLs.

with the lights ur talking about your almost at 250watts, why not just go buy a 250 watter hid
Yes, indeedy do!
 

Al B. Fuct

once had a dog named
It's shitty relative to a plant flowered under a comparable HID.
This of course presumes that there is a such thing as a CFL (or combination of them) comparable in luminous output to any HID... but there ain't.

On the other hand, no weed is even shittier.
True... but if you're going to go to the trouble of growing dope indoors and you're going to use a couple hundred watts to do it, wouldn't you rather get some decent quality for your hard work?

Here's the golden rule of CFL growing:
1) Add two more bulbs.
2) See #1
That's the golden rule according to sellers of CFLs, but it's not terribly useful to you & me. As I have said many times, CFLs don't get brighter when placed side-by-side.

My revised golden rule of CFL growing:

1) use them on clones, seedlings and for slow vegging mums, they're great for those purposes
2) don't bother with CFLs for flowering, go buy a small HPS and cooltube it if you have a small air volume space to light.
 
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