The best advice this newb can give to all the newbs.

[BigBudSpencer]

Hey guys,
Short Story 90%+ of your problems growing weed indoors is due to having an incorrect PH of your water or feed, read on for a story and explanation.

I'm on my 4th grow and after having only 1 major disaster last grow with white flies(arrgh) I've got some advice for you.

When you have a problem with your plants , every experienced person here is going to ask you what is or to check your PH of your nutrients or water
LISTEN TO THEM!

I have some clones of my last grow(separated with NO white fly) and after I had cleansed the grow room of the white fly I put them with a 1/4 strength nutes, the ph was right and after a run or two the EC was perfect( more on that later).

I knew the ph of my water that I top it up with is about 6ph, normally perfect and with nutes brings it down to about 5.7ph.

They powered for a week, growing like they should

Then it started to rain and rain and rain.
At this stage I made the mistake of thinking that the ph of the water would remain at 6.

So I kept giving them some water every second day and feeding once a week.

After about 7 days, they started looking pale but my EC was right. I thought what the fark, those little white fly farkers are back again, I checked the specific white fly symptoms but to my surprise I just couldn't find any at all.

I was stuffed, I knew I had a problem but couldn't work out where, I knew my EC was right and I knew my Ph was, hang on a tick I haven't checked it in the last 2 weeks ,just assumed.
So I ph tested the tap water and to my horror it was 7.5 ph .WTF?????

All the rain had significantly raised it and I'd solely been giving this to my plants and with the little nutes I was putting in it, didn't bring it down enough.

I adjusted the PH and boom off they went.

Short story, if you don't have the correct PH for your medium(outdoors, coco, hydro etc) your plant cannot get any nutrients at all.

A short note on "EC readers".
Serrated edge came to my help on this issue, in basic terms via electrical pulses these readers tell you how much nutrients you have in your feed.
Too much is worse than not enough, at different stages the plants need more( ie in growth and stretch periods) and less(in the clone stage, you make a higher ec reading slowly as they grow and at the end of flowering). 
I'm still learning with the EC

 

[Serrated edge]

Well my thanks go to Billygoat for prompting me to get an EC meter.

 

OS = One big classroom.

[afgahn bob]

Any suggestions on good EC meter thats not too pricey?

[merl1n]

Personally, I swear by the Truncheon made by Bluelabs.

They are accurate and they last forever.

Prior to my Truncheon I had tried 3 others, they either died or gave mixed messages.

I've had my Truncheon for more than 15yrs and its still going strong, only needed to replace the batteries.

At the time mine cost $180, but you can find them on Ebay now for $100.

You can pick up cheaper EC meters BUT you'll need to replace it in 12-24mths.

Buy once, buy quality and you want regret it. Buy crap and you'll be kicking yourself forever IMO

 

Merl1n

[stinkybrownmist]

Another vote for the bluelabs truncheon. Unbreakable and accurate. I went through 3 cheapies before I got it and wish I had have saved my cash and got the truncheon first

[Carnage]

i vote 10/10 for the cheap ec meters off ebay.

got one other day for $15 2 days delivery.

 

got ec, ppm, temp read outs, 3-in-1.

also switches from c to f for temp readouts.

 

i got a pile of replacement batteries for the meter for $1.30 off ebay as well.

[merl1n]

Hey Carnage,

$15 ya reckon? Well I guess you get what you pay for. At $15 I wouldn't be trusting it for anything personally.

I too tried an all-in-one meter, once. Mine was a pH and EC meter. The EC component stuffed up and it started giving false pH readings. IMO it's much better off to be using a specific EC meter AND a specific pH meter than an all-in-one. Or even better, for pH, one drop test fluid in a test tube . Accurate every time.

 

EC and ppm basically measures the same thing. EC=Electrical conductivity, PPM=Parts per million. In real basic terms, electricity won't pass thru pure water. The more salts in the water, the more electricity will pass thru it or the more electrically conductive the fluid would be. PPM or Parts per million uses the same theory. The more ppm the more electrical charge.

[Jim420]

I got this whole kit for $255 , free postage off eBay ..

[hydrochronic]

Looks good Jim. To add to the advice here make sure you keep your pH pen calibrated, the cheap ones go out of whack really quickly.

[Jim420]

Looks good Jim. To add to the advice here make sure you keep your pH pen calibrated, the cheap ones go out of whack really quickly.

One of the reasons I got this pack (apart from the fact that it's bluelab) was the cleaning kit .. I think with the right care , this shit could last a while ..

 

Plus my motto in life is ; buy the good shit to start with and you won't be buying it 6 months down the line when your cheap shit breaks ..

Edited June 24, 2017 by Jim420