Indicator Drops Are Better Than pH Meter.
For a small grow with one or not many reservoirs, I will always prefer to use indicator drops. They can be confusing if you try and go by the chart that comes with them which should not be relied upon. The best way if you already have a pH meter is to calibrate it then make some solution to be 5.7, 6, and 6.3 and see what the colour looks like for yourself.
I say it's more accurate than a pH meter because drops are always calibrated, if you take a reading and you find a sudden shift that is more than what you expected, your first instinct is to recalibrate the meter and double check before you start adjusting the pH. This is only common sense. This endless need for recalibration because you never really know for sure if something has shifted in your meter, is very taxing on time, and worry. We are not doing analytical chemistry here, a pH to within 0.1 is perfectly adequate. And there's something very satisfying in seeing the colour and getting used to it, rather than reading numbers off a battery operated product.
Below are some colour examples from the normal range you will be working with. A neutral yellow, is pH 6, you very quickly get used to what this looks like even under strange lighting conditions. pH 5.7-8 has a slight red tint to the yellow, pH 6.2-3 has a slight green tint. And that's it. Easy peasy. I find that the nutrient tends towards lower pH numbers and so I find myself always adding pH UP. I dilute the pH up 1:10 and I use that dilute solution, This works out to maybe using 5ml of dilute solution in a 30L tub to effect a small change.
I say it's more accurate than a pH meter because drops are always calibrated, if you take a reading and you find a sudden shift that is more than what you expected, your first instinct is to recalibrate the meter and double check before you start adjusting the pH. This is only common sense. This endless need for recalibration because you never really know for sure if something has shifted in your meter, is very taxing on time, and worry. We are not doing analytical chemistry here, a pH to within 0.1 is perfectly adequate. And there's something very satisfying in seeing the colour and getting used to it, rather than reading numbers off a battery operated product.
Below are some colour examples from the normal range you will be working with. A neutral yellow, is pH 6, you very quickly get used to what this looks like even under strange lighting conditions. pH 5.7-8 has a slight red tint to the yellow, pH 6.2-3 has a slight green tint. And that's it. Easy peasy. I find that the nutrient tends towards lower pH numbers and so I find myself always adding pH UP. I dilute the pH up 1:10 and I use that dilute solution, This works out to maybe using 5ml of dilute solution in a 30L tub to effect a small change.