A Beginners Guide: Electrical Conductivity (EC)

[@januismer]

Finally! Someone who really explains EC. Thank you.

[@giovannifurlan3619]

Finally! Clear like water!!!

[@geraldblount4159]

Right

[@cooperstan581]

YES, and it was in english , no bad room noise, and the subject was very well covered. God bless, Stan

[@wyldemanironworx7099]

I know right?

[@ToddBeal]

Finally, real information! The other KZbinrs need to watch this video and stop giving vague answers. Thank you.

[@wyldemanironworx7099]

Thank you sir. After watching 5 other videos trying to explain EC I watched yours and it clicked. 👍

[@scraigw]

Thank you for adding the Idiocracy cherry onto the top of an excellent EC cake.

[@bitTorrenter]

Very clear explanation. I especially love it where he explains how if a plant uses more water than the nutrients in solution it will actually increase EC. It must be a challenge to get it all balanced.

[@leannasplinter3236]

This is the video I have been searching for. Thank you for an easy explanation for this beginning hydroponic dummy. I think I finally understand!!!

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad to hear it was helpful Leanna!

[@ishmaelkumordji7946]

I need to watch this again 🫶🏾 Very informative

[@tocodelray]

It took many hours of searching but I am so glad I found this channel. So much good information and it is actually presented intelligently and clearly. Thanks guys!

[@KatariaGujjar]

My EC reading is in units 400 us/cm. But all the grow guides I've seen talking about EC 1.7, 1.0, 1 - 3.

[@zinimbita9789]

the explanation is top notch. thank you

[@Johnny_Benson]

Man you rock! Finally someone that breaks it down simply!

[@carbonbased5041]

The unit is correctly siemens, after Werner von Siemens. Nevertheless, as an electrical engineer, hobby gardener, I really learned a lot from your summary with plenty of very useful practical considerations. Thank you indeed.

[@rmni69]

Thank you for such a great explanation on EC. Thumbs Up

[@greghappening6867]

Woah, you proved plants really do crave electrolytes! Great video

[@brendacaley9333]

OMG Ethan! Thank you! Finally an exceptional explanation of the part of hydroponics I don't find particularly interesting but entirely necessary to know to be successful! You were enjoyable to listen to, made it make sense, and easy to understand! A thousand thank yous! :)

[@ZipGrowInc]

You're very welcome. Be sure to subscribe if you didn't already!

[@ymjdea]

CF/EC警棍仪表 YM-2005A - YM 仪器仪表有限公司

[@kushuifong]

Ethan Thank you! I learnt a lot from you. So glad you went straight to the subject. Hate small talk.

[@reyes2446]

Man, love your videos. You make the complicated, easy. Explain things clearly and understandable.

[@Bobby_Uterus]

Thanks Ethan. Very informative! Much appreciated.

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ziggityzekes.random.stuff.]

Thank you for this video I've been trying to find lots of videos explaining EC lots of them are very vague as well lots of them are explaining PPM instead of EC I've grown a few times but this video has given me some good insight on EC for my next grow thank you so much!!

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad it was helpful Zack!

[@bkilpatrick1909]

You are one of the brightest educational speakers I have found on you tube and this video saved me from getting the wrong one 😂😡 thank you for time that you put in to the educational videos and I'm in Florida and would love to work on a farm. I'm a graduate student from THC University it's ok to laugh, and Senci Grow FL. I did leave a message on the westside about working on farms but I'm not sure you guys have made it down here yet. Well a have a few more things that I have to learn so till next video. Have a great day.

[@sharifskijr.1257]

Thanks a lot Ethan!

[@nightwaves3203]

My Hanna Gro Line Combo HI 98131 meter does EC/TDS ppm with the option of 500 and 700 conversions setting. I've also noticed the meter when set for one of the ppm setting it shows EC first for a couple seconds then the ppm so you get to view both.

[@vivianematte8536]

Wow great presentation! 👌

[@ZipGrowInc]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Tracks777]

Great content. Keep it up!

[@ZipGrowInc]

Happy to hear it was helpful, MisterBassBoost!

[@bunndyboy]

Thank you for your easy to understand vid about ec. I was so confused watching vids but your explanation was so easy to understand. Thanks boss. Subscribed mate.

[@ZipGrowInc]

So glad it helped Mathew, thank you for subscribing. More great videos to come!

[@niyasmohammed3002]

Thanks for the video man. I had no idea why the ec sensor was used in my project. You cleared it. Perfect video for starters.

[@spicytuna27]

It really made me understand. So I check my water. Tap water came to 3742 EC and drinking water was 72. First I thought my meter was broken. PPM for my solution was 832. Can I still use dechlorinated tap water?

[@paddyhughes3598]

excellent video . well explained . You must have been a teacher

[@spspearing]

outstanding video!!

[@renaldresarf4319]

Thanks guys you cleared up so much

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad we could help. You are also welcome to join our Facebook group where you can share your successes or pose a question. facebook.com/groups/zipgrowers

[@perryfallowes5533]

Blue lab E.C truchen best on the market no calibration needed

[@davidrosa3182]

Is that still true?

[@elbietaljaard2195]

@@davidrosa3182 "calibration" is not needed ... however cleaning of the contact points are required (about once per month). After cleaning the Truncheon is tested in 2.77 Conductivity Fluid to see that the contact points are clean and again taking accurate measurements.

[@rayerven5559]

Thx bro. Great video to being a beginner to the next level

[@damiensouthee6913]

Very informative, cheers great video

[@JohnDoe-ww4gs]

Awsome Vid bro !! Thank you !!

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad you liked it John!

[@steveroberts3713]

Thanks clearly explained!!

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sidharthg]

Brilliant! Thanks so much for dummies guide to EC!

[@dutchkushman9984]

GOOD EXPLANATION‼️

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad it was helpful!

[@dutchkushman9984]

100% 🙏 Thank you

[@tyronemedina1716]

Hello, great content. I am starting and am looking for an economical EC meter. What would you suggest. Thanks

[@ZipGrowInc]

Hi, we are using Bluelab combo meter for our R&D farm, you can find it in our online store zipgrow.com/product/bluelab-combo-meter-phectemp/

[@tyronemedina1716]

Thanks

[@ShopperPlug]

4:20 - Oh god, I have been reading about gardening for almost 10 years and this is something I never heard of before in which PPM is not a good unit of measure as compared to EC unit of measure for hydroponics, interesting. You think it would be a good idea if I took my PPM sensor meter and reverse engineer it by placing some math calculations to shoot out EC unit readings?

[@ZipGrowInc]

yeah, go ahead, we'd love to see that Max!

[@hueylong3763]

ethan you are awesome!!!

[@SebastianKlahr]

Good basic information :) keep them coming:)

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad it was helpful! We've got a few more up our sleeve. Stay tuned and thanks for subscribing.

[@joshlcaudill]

Nice Idiocracy reference

[@carlomagnofernando2094]

Thank you Sir! You explain it so well!

[@gorillamotors]

I have well water and the EC for it is 0.40. My 3 part hydroponic solutions guide says to use an EC of 2.0. Does this mean that I only add 1.6 EC solution of nutrients for a total of 2.0 or do I add an EC 2.0 of nutrients for a total of 2.4?

[@ZipGrowInc]

Hello! The latter is what you should do… if forgoing an RO unit you should use the incoming EC as if it’s 0 and then add the recommended nutrients accordingly 2:45 Target EC is raised by same amount as incoming source water

[@rksilvergreen]

Love your videos. I'm a new subscriber! One thing i'm still confused about tho: EC represents the electrical conductivity in a solution, and we use it to give us an indication of how much nutrients are present in a solution, since more nutrients = higher EC. But are all EC enhancers necessarily nutrients? I think they say that lettuces require an EC of about 1.4, so lets say i'm growing lettuce and therefore aiming at an EC of 1.4. Scenario 1: My tap water is 0.3. Therefore I should add a decent amount of nutrients to get to 1.4. Scenario 2: My tap water is 1.1. Therefore I should add a small amount of nutrients to get to 1.4. Will both scenarios lead to the same results? Is the difference between the original tap water EC in the two scenarios (0.3 vs 1.1) necessarily due to the 1.1 tap water containg more nutrients, and therfore requiring less plant food to be added to the solution? Or does it contain other random particles you might find in various water supplies? And even if it contains nutrients, are these nutrients necessarily beneficial to the plants im growing? Hope I was able to convey my question :)

[@growstrongwithwellness]

Thank you for this helpful information! We just got our EC meter, and your video helped us understand how to use it. Janine and Paul of GrowStrong with Tower Gardening, Louisville, CO, USA

[@hernanh.tecuala2624]

I discovered that diffrent temperature has diffrent ec reading. what time of the day do you recommend to measure my ec ? when its the hottest or the coldest ? it ranges from 29-35degrees celcius

[@hsbc2468]

informative video. Thank you

[@bremlquan]

what would you consider "high" enough EC to require RO filtration?

[@ZipGrowInc]

Hi, thanks for your question. Anything under 0.4 mS is passable without RO. You’ll need to adjust your dosing to compensate for a baseline above 0.0 however. Having said that municipal water is safer as it goes through treatment already whereas with well water you’d probably want to have it tested for biological activity and/or heavy metals.

[@bdarley5]

What is a high starting EC in tap water? when should I need a filter?

[@metubewot]

My Hannah meter reads in microsiemens

[@prakashsuthar7459]

Please explain selective ion uptake

[@tinagray5063]

Thank you. Now I can relate. Question, where can I get a chart listing what my ec should be per plant?

[@Jikdor]

Great video thx

[@pradeepjagannath5316]

Hi Ethan, what is the ideal EC for Maize grown in hydroponics for fodder?

[@paulrogers9336]

Brawndo! It’s got the stuff plants crave 😂

[@refusneant]

congratulation ,precise and clear very good

[@malkitjoshi1975]

Hi Ethan.. when you say 1.2 EC u mean 1.2 milliSiemen?? Correct??

[@msaad42]

1.2 milliSiemens/cm

[@rosemacaskie]

WHy s sulphure used on soils. DOes it replace hmic acids? is it needed to increase the conductivity of the soil. Nitrogen can get stuck to clay particles does a high ocnductivity change this help take nitrogen off the clay?

[@bo_392]

it's what plants crave!

[@gillenzfluff8380]

Brawndo.

[@kingofkleen1]

Great explanation. But I'm still confused. My EC meter (Vivosun) reads 148 for plain water and 1446 for my solution. On PPM it reads 68 in plain water and 690 in solution. I don't see 1.2 or 2.5. There are numbers at the bottom of the screen:78.0 and 63.0. I don't know what any of this means. :(

[@ZipGrowInc]

The electrical conductivity of water is normally measured in millisiemens per centimeter (mS/cm). This unit of measurement would give you either the 1.2 or 2.5 you are looking for. In regards to converting from PPM to EC, you can take the reading of 690 and divide it by 1000. This will leave you with 0.69 and then multiply that number by 2. You should end up with an EC reading of 1.38 (mS/cm).

[@hrishikeshav5260]

which nutrients solution is the best for growing??

[@bluememehehe9314]

cheers buddy. helpd me untold

[@mandylaker1]

Thank you!

[@ZipGrowInc]

You're welcome!

[@shanefrye2161]

excellent!

[@ZipGrowInc]

Glad that it helped!

[@AbidHussain-sq2mt]

I have bought TDS meter but I couldn't make a appropriate hydroponic nutrients solution so for. What would be reason behind this problem.

[@phsalomao1986]

Is it possible to differ EC from salinity? How these two parameters interact? I know you dont use salt in hidroponics, but I wonder if i found a use for my EC Meter in my Aquaponics system.

[@materra3]

Hi, good informative video. Just one small query. Understood the concept of EC, and how to increase or decrease it. But what should be the ratios of each individual nutrients if i wish to increase the EC?

[@GodDamnBender]

Your additives are always the same, it's just your base nutrients (grow or bloom) that you vary. Put your additives in first and then just keep adding your base nutrients until you hit your desired EC value

[@materra3]

@@GodDamnBender additive as in what? Since we did not discuss any here in this video, if i am not mistaken. Btw you people have a nice channel, keep going :)

[@newtonoluoch5074]

Well broken down

[@s03342687]

Easy and very informative. I got a question please, if I have a city water of ec 0.4, will amino acids help to chelate those insoluble nutrients and make them available to the plant (especially calcium)?

[@growshack9067]

About 200-280 ppm.. same as my tap water.. good question

[@prashantmahalle1956]

nice information...thanks. in my region wich is saline track the ec is more than 2 and sometimes go up to 4 for soil as well as water. how can we help the farmers in this region. due to less affordable capacity farmers cannot afford to install RO plants. can you suggest the remedy/ solution for the problem

[@jasonpavlak2055]

Reuse your dehumidifier h20

[@jencarlosgameing8556]

If my EC going in is 1.6 what should my runoff EC be??

[@ZipGrowInc]

Thank you for your question. There are a lot of variables that contribute to how EC fluctuates in your system, and there is no concrete answer to this. In hydroponics, typically your EC would decrease as it becomes used in your system; however, this all depends on the type of nutrients you use, what type of system you are set up with, what crops and how many of them are currently growing, etc...the list goes on.

[@airkaty_]

So helpful!! Thank you! But dang it, I got a ppm :( ... question about combining what I learned from your diagnosing plant deficiencies video & this - if a plant is in soil that does not have the correct ph so certain nutrients are not available... can you correct or at least help that deficiency by spraying a custom mixed nutrient solution on top? Is this why people get those misting spray things?

[@AgroGeorgia]

One question Ethan please - While planting the lettuce seedlings, I set up the EC on 1.0, and as I know, I have to increase it step by step, but what is the exact period when I have to set it up at 1.5 and 2.0? or above them?

[@ZipGrowInc]

Hello! I would generally recommend with Lettuce that you hold the EC at 1.2, any higher and you are wasting nutrients and risking nutrient lockout by too much Calcium or Magnesium! Thanks for watching

[@AgroGeorgia]

@@ZipGrowInc Thank you so much too, and one more question please - If you set up the EC at 1.2, what is your TDS and the concentration of macro elements in grams per liter water?

[@onisezivzivadze2193]

@@ZipGrowInc ???

[@ZipGrowInc]

@@onisezivzivadze2193 Hello Onise, this typically depends on the nutrient mix you use, so depending on those ratios your macro elements will be affected. The only real way to get these numbers is to send them off to a lab after mixing your nutrients, or calculate based off the fertilizer bag and how much water you added Thanks for watching!

[@stevendavid9430]

Hi could i know wat ec should i hv for a flowering chilli plant?

[@saeed6811]

This might sound dumb but am gonna ask anyway. 1. What standard solution do use to calibrate your EC parameter(specifically)? Can I make my own solution for this? 2. I have some standard solution to measure PH alone for lower end and higher end but any means I can make my own solution that I can use for testing? Thanks.

[@Sideshowbobx]

technically you could produce your own standard solutions, all it takes is the ingredient salts and distillated RO water, a fine scale and the rest is mixing a big batch to reduce your inaccuracy in measurements. In practice, even in a lab with all bells n whistles you just grab a pack of standard and rip it open. Due to the fast denigration of these standards labs use single use packages too - so go figure what that means for your big batch ;) So for the economical question, get a cheap source of these standards in little packs and stocking a stash of 7.01/4.01/1,413µS/KCL will get you the furthest.

[@Omshanti68]

I love all of your videos, they have helped me understand what is going on in my garden. I checked the Bright Agrotech link for Bluelab combo meters and the link was broken. I checked other sources for this meter and it is quite expensive for a backyard gardener. Do you have a cheaper suggestion. I see some on Amazon but they read in ppm not EC. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

[@jasonpavlak2055]

Hanna grow line makes an all in one meter. Ph ec, ppm. About 270$

[@cybercrazy14]

Where should my source water be in regards to EC, whats too high? When do i need to filter?

[@vickiehitt1787]

how often do I need to change water/nutrient solution in a dwc hydroponic system?

[@stephp2751]

excellent thanks

[@yassingurhan6204]

How do I know how much nutrients are in my fruits and vegetables once I use nutrient dense soil, water etc?

[@supertaco86]

Are there other ways of measuring EC? I can't justify spending 200 dollars on a meter and I don't trust the 15 dollar one to be accurate. What can I do? Will not checking it make a huge difference? (I'm only growing a few trays of microgreens and some tomatoes)

[@ZipGrowInc]

Usually we only trust good quality EC Meters such as the Hanna or Bluelab Meters. If you cannot justify the cost, as long as you are replacing your solution every few weeks and dosing consistently you should be fine with microgreens and some tomatoes.

[@ghostleader83]

Well said bro

[@dexxxxxxxx]

What to do if TDS level increases while adjusting pH of water with pH down/up solutions? How to balance these both?

[@janetrielley1710]

It took me a while to understand that EC measures ALL the nutrients in solution, basically the sum of all the ionic compounds. You can't measure how much phosphorus you need to add, because it's just a part of the reading. If you keep adding an "all-in-one" solution, at some point you have to dump everything out and start over because the proportions are out of whack. How do you know when you get to that point?

[@EMPERORSPROTECTION-TERRA4LIFE]

Change out weekly is the norm.

[@crawford323]

I have two meters which are reading in ms and one is reading 2k and the other is reading 5k. There is no calibration for either and they both are new and cheap designs. What gives?

[@chiefawilkerson]

can anyone explain why ec in soil rises when being watered with a solution thats below its current ec?

[@KarlAlmighty]

Im making a project about measuring salinity of salt ponds. Using ec. How can i convert the value of current to siemens. Any help please.

[@villanuevaruth21]

I have watched your video many times most of it, to understand whats all this EC, ppm, TDS, etc. I understand somehow, I only have a ppm measurement, so 1k ppm depends on which conversion EC . well when I measure my water there's already a ppm like 300 then I tried the rainwater it is like only 30 ppm most likely. so its not ok to just minus the ppm in the water so you can come up to what EC you want like I need 1k then when putting the nutrient solution I will gEt a 1300ppm. Is this ok?

[@smm19761]

As usual, a very informative video. I do have a question, though. It seems like EC and exactly what contaminates are in the water are two separate 'readings', is this correct? Clearly, EC doesn't actually tell you the exact names of the chemicals that are in the water, more just how much of them there are, so is this a 'problem'? I ask this because I live in Saudi Arabia and the ppm of the water here is over 2000 which means it is out of range for my Hanna Instruments EC / TDS meter (for both scales). If, I am able to get the EC to within an acceptable range, is this all that matters, or do I actually need to know what is in my water (the exact names of the chemicals) and somehow 'balance' them out too? Thank you very much in advance. :)

[@courtreinland6285]

You need to get that Ppm way lower. You can do it with a reverse osmosis (RO) filter and then add the nutrients to the cleansed water.

[@bailhongaldeveloper4183]

I am a beginner wrt Hydrophonics. I had questions wrt EC value.what is the relationship of EC wrt Temp..i am seeing strange values ex morning 1.1 to 1.2 temp 18C evening .7 to .9 temp 22C for continuous three days. Need help on this

[@cirkusdfds8022]

Higher temp higher EC. Always check ec around 25c or get an ec meter with automatic temperature compensation (ATC)

[@Mr.M1STER]

Really informative video and well explained.

[@andrenarcisse4858]

Thanks Brother very informative brother

[@Jorshan100]

Is mesuring PPM according to the recommended no. will be enouh?

[@impseeder5756]

Please, the name and source of the meter you are using.

[@ZipGrowInc]

There are a few great ones out there. We like this one: shop.brightagrotech.com/bluelab-combo-meter/ but there are others out there as well.

[@mohsenaghdam3136]

I really enjoyed thank you

[@brittany16950]

HAHAHA nice tip o’the hat to Idiocracy!!

[@michaelkrakofsky9890]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hey Brother, your a genius with this subject,i have meter that is a 3 way,What would the number mean on us c/m if it was like the number 302,does that mean 3.2? like 1500 ppm's plus,im still learning,or is it a real low number,like close to .05 ec?my regular meter is off the one i used all the time,and that one is with the decimal,and i was taking 302 on the us c/m scale as like 1500 ppm's,so i wasnt sure if i was over or under feeding,i hpe you understand and have time for an explanation,>>much appreciated,i see its from 2017,and if you are still active here ,you have some serious knowledge,id to see your grow )))))))) Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge.

[@mukundbhujbal8222]

What is difference between TDS and EC

[@bradsubject2687]

No im not confused its called the 500 and 700 scale and ec is a conversion of both so if my friend is useing 700 and im useing 500 we can talk back and forth just useing the ec conversion

[@bradsubject2687]

@delosombres ppm isnt useless half the reason people use ec is to have a direct conversion between the 500 scale of ppm and 700 scale of ppm

[@bradsubject2687]

@delosombres it dosnt matter what u put in 500 ppm on the 500 scale is 1.0 ec it dosnt matter ifnu put in 500 ppm potasium or manganese 500 ppm is 500 ppm and it comes out to 1.0 ec

[@bradsubject2687]

@delosombres now the 700 scale is completely dofrent than the 500 scale when it comes ro ppm thats half the reason we hav e ec so that people useing dofremt scales can talk back and forth without mixing up numbers from dofrent calibrations also 1.0 ec is 10 cf i have a whoke chart that dosproves everything u said if your growing and not understanding ppm 500 or 700 scales, ec or cf then u shouldmt be growing period