Reddit reviews Ph. Test Tape Dispenser Hydrion Papers Strips Made for Saliva Or Urine Testing-Range Is in 2 Intervals & From 5.5 To 8.0, Check Body for Alkaline or Acid Environment, Approx. 100 Tests

You're not stupid or a fool, you're naive to growing plants- stupid and foolish people don't ask questions so stop putting yourself down or be hesitant to ask questions or ask for help. You can PM me or others if you're a bit shy about public posting.

My first grow lights in 1995 were incandescent "plant bulbs" which, of course, didn't work out too well. That was so naive but I very quickly learned and moved on through the whole gamut of plant lighting and trying different types of reflectors.

I don't recommend the following method to this extreme but as an amusing anecdote my first plants all died because I wanted to see how plants work and we learn more in our failures than successes. I would pour a little table salt on them (this would induce osmosis problems and interfere with potassium uptake), over and under fertilize them, shock them with a high voltage power supply (would the whole plant die or just this one branch?), put a clear plastic bag over them so the relative humidity would be 100%, try different soils, slowly heat the soil up until fungus problems occured and do other types of "failure mode analysis". I couldn't go online and ask for help so this seemed like a logical way to learn. It wasn't until my wife (at the time) insisted I knock it off and actually flower them out ("damn it, you promised me buds!") so for the first 6 months or so I just worked on how veging and cloning worked.

You can not reliably fix or even diagnose nutrient problems without having a proper pH since an improper pH can cause nutrient uptake problems. I use pH test strips since there are no special storage techniques, no calibration issues, can test a single drop of solution, accurate enough, etc. Only get the pH 5.5-8.0 version of pH test strips if you go this route, not 1-14 version which are not accurate enough. I don't know why some hydro shops sell pH 1-14 test strips.

Don't love your plants to death. The harder you push a plant the more likely problems can occur.

http://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Hydrion-Papers-Strips-Testing/dp/B002ZYVU4O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426730546&sr=8-1&keywords=Hydrion

good?

Read through the article, you will get a lot of information. Feel free to google words you don't know. In short, in milk, the main spoilage is driven by gram-negative bacteria. They are able to grow a little better than other bacteria in cold temperatures and over time their concentration is high enough where they start changing the chemical make-up of the milk. Mainly, it seems that they release enzymes that break up the fats in milk (not entirely sure about non-fat milk) to other fats whose taste we don't like.

Measuring different kinds of fats, or bacterial concentrations is possible, but to do so cheaply with a simple readout on a carton or bottle is very hard. You will have to go for something that can have an easy read-out but is still indicative of the bacterial concentration. As you guessed, a good metric may be pH. It turns out, many bacteria like to make lactic acid as they grow, especially without too much oxygen, which lowers the pH of the milk.

Again, there are studies already available on the change of pH of spoiling milk, but this is where the fun part comes in. You can do these test yourself very easily. All you have to do is get a couple of cartons of milk (preferably different makes, and different fat% milk). Then measure their pH over time. Probably once per day for the 2 or so weeks it takes the milk to spoil. Each time you measure the pH, write it down and then taste the milk to see if it has spoiled. Try to find a pH value below which you would say the milk is spoiled.

Don't worry, having a little spoiled milk will not hurt you. Especially if you spit it out. Then make sure to take a couple more readings a few days after you know the milk is spoiled (don't taste that stuff) and make sure that the trend of lowering pH is still there.

As for how to measure pH. You can use pH strips. It's important to find ones that have a good change in color in the range you need (6.4-6.8 for fresh milk and lower for spoiled). This might be a good option.

Ideally, then you would need to find a dispenser design that would allow for a pH strip to be subjected to the milk without leaking the dye back into the container. Have fun coming up with some ideas!

Good luck and make sure you talk to your science teacher or any scientists in your community to help you plan experiments. This will help you learn how good experiments are done and in turn make your project all that much better.

I use Hydrion test strips (the 5.5 to 8.0 range) and have for a long time now with great success.

I use these pH strips: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZYVU4O

Never liked meters since they break easy and you have to keep them calibrated.

I use something similar to http://www.amazon.com/Dispenser-Hydrion-Papers-Strips-Testing/dp/B002ZYVU4O . I use ones on a little wider PH scale and they work great.

edit: the nice thing is you only need a tiny strip making the test strip roll last a LONG time.

These are the strips SAG recommended that I use.

I never did like the drops and the vial, but I LOVE the pH strips.

I bought a few gallons of purified water early on, but now I just fill them with just tap water or tap water with the FF Trio Nutrients .

I use the strips to test the water each time, and then use the pH Up or pH Down when needed.

If your soil is peat or wood based and you have no liming in there then pH or Ca/Mg deficiency may be an issue. I use these pH test strips to get an idea of my soil pH.

> https://www.amazon.com/Micro-Essential-Laboratories-Testing-Range-Environment/dp/B002ZYVU4O

Do you think something this accurate for use on a plant that is not having issues? I have the same brand of strips that covers the entire spectrum, so obviously less accurate. I usually get the PH around 6, airing on the side of 6.5 if possible. Should I be going for something more accurate?