How to choose the right weapons (tools) for hydroponic growers: EC, pH, and temperature

In hydroponic systems, the condition of your root zone ultimately determines the health and productivity of your plants. Therefore, pH, EC, and temperature are three crucial plant health factors that should be tracked and maintained. Therefore, we must understand how to choose the best tool (weapon) for the growers for the pH, EC, and temperature.

?First, understand how important EC, pH and temperature are for the plants.

?The pH of the root zone indicates its acidity and alkalinity, which affects mineral availability. If you set it to a pH that is too high, you will effectively lock out important essential elements like iron. If the pH is too low, it indicates acidity, and your plants may be deficient in essential macronutrients such as phosphorus.

?What is EC? Electrical conductivity (EC) is a measure of total soluble and dissolved salts in a solution. EC is measured in units of electrical charge. Dissolved nutrients and non-essential ions such as sodium and chloride all contribute to the EC. Too much high EC can actually dehydrate your plants. Having too low EC will deprive your plants of the nutrients they need for healthy growth and bloom.

?Another key factor influencing the rate of many plant metabolic functions is root zone temperature. Too-cold root zones can inhibit water and nutrient uptake, as well as stunt plant growth. If the roots zone too much hot, they will wilt, elongate, and desiccate, and they will be unable to absorb nutrients and oxygen.

?In pH estimation at the time make sure that the nutrient solution is thoroughly and completely mixed. It should be the last thing you do after adding all your nutrients and any additives. Either stir vigorously with a mixing stick or use a small pump in your reservoir to recirculate the solution.

?pH testing with litmus paper:

?Litmus paper is the cheapest option for testing pH. It is available in sheets or rolls and helps you maintain the pH of your nutrient solution. Simply dip pH testing strip?for a few seconds into?your nutrient solution.?These strips will change colour immediately, indicating the pH of the nutrient solution.?These strips should come with a colour chart to help you match your litmus paper test result with the respective pH value.

?Remember, that litmus paper is only intended for one use. If you need to re-test, use a new pH testing strip each time. also, pH testing strip is specifically designed to test pH between 5.5 and 8.0. It has a narrower range and is not concerned with measuring pH outside of this range. So, it's mostly used for home gardening, but it's a lot cheaper and gives you a general idea of the pH range.

?Handheld pH meters/EC meters (pH/EC Pen):

?This type of meter is more practical, faster, and more accurate. Simply dip the meter's probe into the nutrient solution to see the pH value. When you're finished measuring, wash the probe in tap water. Keep the probe wet or add KCl storage solution (usually included with the meter) to the meter's cap or store it upright in a small container with the solution stored in it. Because your probe shouldn't dry out, so pH meter will last longer.

It is the cheapest pH 'pen-style' probe that has the highest accuracy and is also an available waterproof pen in the market. this will also display the nutrient solution temperature on the backlit LCD screen. Some pH meters offer a read-out to two decimal places (e.g. pH 6.51 instead of 6.5) but this level of accuracy is required for most hydroponics growers.

A handheld EC pen-style meter, similar to pH pens, is the cheapest way to get started measuring EC. EC meters are often offered as TDS meters, with readings in parts per million (PPM) rather than electrical conductivity (milliSiemens /microSiemens), although TDS meters are simply EC meters disguised! They just multiply milliSiemens by a factor to convert to parts per million (Usually, 500 TDS equals 1 EC, but some people consider 760 TDS equal to 1 EC)

Monitors for pH/EC (with dosing systems)

If all this discussion of removing caps, dipping, stirring and storing sounds like a lot of work for pen systems, you may choose the pH monitors, which require less labour. These devices include a wall-mountable unit that continuously displays the pH of your nutrition solution, allowing you to obtain an accurate pH value with only a fast glance.

Even if your pH/EC probe is continuously buried in your nutritional solution, you shouldn't ignore it (though it can be simple to do so!). It will still require routine maintenance, like all pH/EC metres. Use two-point calibration to provide the most accurate readings and clean it frequently (every one to two weeks) under running water while brushing away any debris. The latter can connect to an app on your smartphone so you can check the pH/EC of your nutrient solution while you're on the move or even from the comfort of your couch.

When using active recirculating hydroponics systems like Deep Water Culture (DWC) or Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), where the nutrient solution repeatedly passes over the roots of the plants, at that time pH/EC monitors are used to take readings continuously.

?Note: Also, connected to this monitoring device were EC measurements and the temperature of the nutrient solution.

Root zone pH meters/EC meters

?These pH/EC meters can be used in a variety of substrates, including soilless growing media like coco coir or rock wool. Simply insert the meters into the substrate, making sure the probe is at least a few inches below the surface, and you'll get an accurate reading of the pH/EC in the root zone.

?In conclusion to this article, if you have a small kitchen garden of small sets of hydroponic gardens, there is no need for expensive instruments because you can operate it with a handheld EC/pH pen. However, if you are growing for commercial purposes, you will need to monitor Monitors for pH/EC??as well as use a handheld EC/pH pen for cross-verification.