how do i know what the ppm is ive been looking into it watching videos but i really just dont understand i know its parts per million but i generally have no idea how to understand it or how to determine what mine is ?
Do yourself a favor, and just learn to read the concentration in EC. This will avoid the confusion of the three different PPM scales. I think you are planning on Jacks 321. Here is the desired EC levels on their schedule.
I use a meter that just reads EC ms. After knowing this you can just adjust nutrient levels to the EC on the schedule with a little more or less water per gallon. If you want a little more info on EC vs PPM this chart may help.
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awe dude thats awesome ty and im prob gonna go with foxfarm 70/30 just to cause my self less problems with understanding things sense most videos and people seem to have perlite in coco anyways ill have a better understanding of whats going on. foxfarm seems to be real coco from my understanding with just perlite added.
@keryilias, let me try to explain that last chart a little, and hope that I don’t get you more confused.
All of this is in effort to find out how much minerals and such is in our water. The preferred term for this is Total Dissolved Solids, (TDS). The more TDS that is in your water sample the harder it is, and with less TDS it will be softer. We measure the TDS by using EC. EC stands for Electrical Conductivity, and the more TDS that water has in it the more it will conduct electricity. And of course, with less TDS it will not conduct as readily. The starting point for all EC and PPM meters is reading the EC.
PPM stands for Parts Per Million, and this is the preferred measurement of the TDS. Sounds fairly simple so far doesn’t it? But no, there are three different scales for converting EC to PPM. Apparently it depends on what continent that you are standing on. So if you are trying to read PPM be sure that you, your meter, and your nutrient supplier are singing from the same PPM chart.
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@keryilias What is your water source tap, well, RO?
ill be using refill 5 gallons from like walmart and publix or winn-dixie. pretty sure its the same as aquafina/purified drinking water, ill be getting and using a ph meter aswell as the up and down for ph.
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Get a good one, money well spent. You will need a ppm meter also.
the new ph meter from acinfinity that releases the 27th has a ppm meter built in so ill be grabbing that
Yes you will want a good ph meter, one made to immerse in your solution. A good EC/PPM meter that reads between 0.0 to 5.0 EC. A descent set of small digital scales that you can weigh the Jacks in grams with.
Mixing jacks
First unless using RO or distilled water, you should check the EC of your source water. Add this to the target level of your nutrients. For example, if the water source is at .2 and you are shooting for 1.8, then you want finish with an EC of 2.0.
I like to use a dark colored bucket to mix in, as this help see the undissolved particles of jacks.
I first add silica to the plain water since I use RO. I would recommend silica if using a highly filtered water. You will get much stronger branches.
Next stir in the weighted amount of Part A. Stir until completely dissolved. This can take awhile with the Part A, and I stop stirring frequently to how things are settling out on bottom. After the A is completely dissolved add the weighted amount of Epsom Salt, and stir until dissolved. Next the weighted amount of Part B, and stir until dissolved. The B and Epsom dissolve much easier than the A. Finally I add ph up to bring it up to 5.8 to 6.2.
I am not a big fan of multi function meters, because if it quits working you have lost both meter functions. But at the price of that AC Infinity ph/EC combo meter. I would definitely consider this purchase. AC Infinity stuff sells out very fast, so you may not want to hesitate on this.
Today, I just opened the AC Infinity T3 humidifier that was bought last spring. Very impressive unit, and really like how it sits outside the tent. Has a remote humidity sensor that goes in the tent, and a flexible discharge hose that pipes the output into the tent. This thing just sets there cutting on and off holding the humidity in the tent at 60%. With its low price, range of function, and quality I am very impressed.