I have had an apera pc60 for about 4 years. Replacement probes are 50 american. I trust it
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It’s a bit of a challenge because my nutes are brown. You can still get a pretty good idea, it’s just a bit of a guessing game.
Check it with no nutes and if all looks good add your nutes without worrry.
All the best
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I have an apera pen for my pH and absolutely love it! I woulda got that one if I hadn’t already bought the com-100… next time tho 
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@HolyAngel and @corgitron
I use Apera for my ph also and it’s treated me very well. Most have pointed me to BlueLabs, but I’ve been kinda wondering why I should deviate 🤷🏼
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The EC pens on the market don’t really have the same problems as PH pens. They usually have graphite electrodes which takes some doing to damage. Occasional calibration and cleaning.
PH pens are a different matter entirely.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: Thinking of putting on a server fund auction, who’s interested?
Yes, I was speaking of PH pens as I thought OP was, I should really stop reading stuff on my phone as I somehow missed that the OP was asking about EC pens. My mistake.
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You’re good man. No worries one bit👍🏻
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i was using strips and a cheap tds meter. i was just gifted a tri meter so will be using that now with strips here n there to make sure its correct.
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Thanks for all the input y’all. As a reminder, I’m hunting for a EC and/or TDS meter. I have ph covered 
. Kinda leaning toward an Apera at this moment.
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I have a dr meter ph pen that’s pretty decent. Holds calibration well and was $40 i rarely use it now since I’m in soil but if I have problems I know I can rely on it to test my water if I’m having plant problems .(though really since it’s just water I could use the drops the meters nice for murky nutrient mixes though) tds/ec I have a few they all work well enough.
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That’s a respected brand.
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Buy the growers kit, it’s cheaper for both ph and ppm pen
(Yes it’s out of calibration, it came out of cal during testing. [Happens on 30 day timer])
Your supposed to calibrate it every 30 days lolol.
I havnt had a issue with mine after 2 years of use.
If you don’t see a checkmark on your screen it means it needs to be calibrated. Every 30 days the check mark will go away, giving you a heads up to calibrate it. Calibration takes 15 secs for ph 7 solution, and 15 secs for ph 4 solution.
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Syn… iv got all the fluids and keep it calibrated and in KCI solution. Just dont have any luck with blulab for longevity.
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@GCBudz what’s the oldest BlueLabs you’ve owned? If @Syn has used his for 2 years, it’s possible the manufacturing quality has diminished since. That is, if you haven’t owned one longer than 2 years ago.
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This $20 on Facebook sales gave me different calibration fluids and a little measuring glass works fine before that $10 eBay special
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I’ve used bluelab for a year now and it’s never gave me any problems
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I always keep 2 of each meters around. This way if you feel like your meter is off you can use the 2nd one as a comparison.
Both pH and e.c/ppm meters are a must have (more so if your DWC)
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I do that as well.
My cheap yellow and blue amazon ones read the same as my bluelab
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