Having the correct ph is vital to grow healthy plants. Our plant variety does very well between 5.8 and 6.3. We like to feed at the high end of the scale. Feeding at 6.2 to 6.4 allows a buffer for nutrient availability. When we feed in at 6.2, we aim for our runoff to come out 6.0-6.1. This shows a healthy buildup of nutrients to manage ph drift in the rootzone. We assume that if we are feeding 6.2 and our runoff is coming out at 6.1, our rootzone is sitting at 5.9-6.0 and the runoff is splitting the difference. In DWC or hydroton ebb and flow setups the water is the medium. In this case we would run 6.0 ph and maintain that ph. We use Bluelab ph dosers in our reservoirs to make sure ph is on point at all times. Every reservoir also gets a Bluelab Guardian as a backup to monitor ph and ec.
We use and highly recommend Bluelab Guardian ph/ec monitors. We have never had one fail on us and the ph probes are easily replaceable. Make sure your probes either sit in your nutrient solution OR are kept in a storage solution. Keep your ph and EC probes clean using cleaning kits from Bluelab. We clean our probes once every 2 weeks. After each cleaning we calibrate using calibration solution. We use American Marine Pinpoint ph probes for replacements as part of regular preventative maintenance. Replacing your ph probe once a year is good practice or any time it starts to become hard to keep calibrated.
