Auto Flower Perpetual Redundancy Part 3

Week 9 Update The flush is on the girls are throwing out some great coloration and permeating the house with their funky goodness. I used FloraKleen in the previous watering then let them dry out a bit. Then I put 6 gallons through the pots dropped the run off to under 150 ppm. I adding more FloraKleen to the last gallon of water. Still applying my LABS(Lactic Acid Bacterial Serum and Organic Blackstrap molasses mixture through the end until harvest. I'm letting them dry out fairly well until the next watering with R.O. water which should strip the soil of whatever nutes are left in there. TIP OF THE WEEK PH and TDS/EC METER CLEANING, CALIBRATION, STORAGE The end of a grow is a great time to clean and re-calibrate your PH and TDS meters. Some recommend monthly cleaning and or calibrations depending on how much testing is being done. Taking care of and properly maintaining your precision measure tools is very important. With PH meters cleaning the porous glass electrode is important to get an accurate measurement. Most manufacturers recommend soaking the bulb in a cleaning solution for about a half an hour. Next you need to rinse it off with distilled or deionized water. Rehydrate the bulb in fresh storage solution for at least ½ hour then rinse with distilled or deionized water. Don’t forget to clean the storage cap out well with a Q-tip or swab. Bacteria and other contaminants can thrive in these dark, wet and warm environments. You can use a one- or two-point calibration solutions. Typically, 7.01 ph and 4.01 ph solutions are the range we are usually testing in. Doing a 2-point calibration will give you the best accuracy from your meter. Follow your manufacturer’s instructions for properly calibrating your meter. After the first 7.01 ph calibration point be sure to rinse off the solution before performing the 2nd 4.01 ph calibration point. Perform a final rinse with distilled water the add some storage solution to the storage cup ensure the glass bulb is kept wet while kept in storage until it’s next use. I find that using a small plastic cough medicine cup is perfect for testing with your calibration solutions to prevent waste. Never pour the used solution back into the bottle. Always use fresh testing solution when calibrating. Manufacturers claim there is an expiration date on these solutions but in my opinion if you properly store away from extreme heat, light and cold you can use them for well over a year with no issue. I have tested new against old and they test out the same. Storing the bulb wet is very important. The storage solution is usually potassium chloride and distilled or deionized water. If the glass bulb ever dries out you need to place it in storage solution to rehydrate the porous glass bulb. Storing it in the proper solution will extend the life of the sensing bulb. You should try to always rinse off your ph meter in distilled water after using it. I typically use a glass with some storage solution in it keep the bulb wet when taking multiple measurements and another with distilled water to rinse it off between measurements. Using distilled water for long term storage is not recommended and can cause inaccurate ph measurements. Lastly if you are experiencing erratic ph results always replace the batteries then clean and recalibrate the meter. If issues are still occurring the bulb may need to be replaced then recalibrated. TDS/EC meters are pretty good at holding calibration. Cleaning can be done by soaking the sensing tip in white cider vinegar or other acidic solution to dissolve any minerals that may have built up on the probe. Use a Q-tip or other soft swab to remove any excess debris then rinse well with distilled or deionized water and shake off the excess. Typically, a 342-ppm and 1000-ppm sodium chloride testing solutions are used to calibrate TDS meters. Use the solution which is closest to the ppm you will be mixing your nutrient solution to. Once again using a cough medicine measuring cup helps prevent wasting your calibration solutions. Early in your grow using the 342-ppm calibration solution will give you the best accuracy when feeding delicate younger seedlings and plants. Once your feedings are getting into the 700-ppm to 1200-ppm range using the 1000-ppm calibration solution will give you the best accuracy. Always discard the used calibration solution. If you are getting erratic measurements try replacing the batteries. Always rinse off your TDS meter probe with distilled water after use and shake off the excess then store in in a cool dry location keeping the sensor in a dry state.