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Electrical Conductivity and hydroponic gardening

August 4, 2015 by fifthseason 9 Comments

Electrical Conductivity (EC) measures a material’s ability to conduct an electric current and the conductivity of a solution is directly related to the amount of salts dissolved in it. The more salts, the higher the EC.

Why is this relevant to hydroponic gardening? Well, hydroponic nutrients are primarily composed of mineral salts, so Electrical Conductivity can give you an idea of how many nutrients are in your solution.

Each ion in the solution has a different specific conductivity and the ions that determine pH have conductivities hundreds of times larger than other ions, and thus have a disproportionate impact on the EC value. Because of this, the EC measurements of a solution at pH 5.5 will be completely different from that same solution when the pH is adjusted to 6.8. Many gardeners trying to replicate the same EC and solution concentrations week after week fail to make sure the pH is the same each time the EC is measured.

When mixing weekly nutrient solutions, if you can ensure the pH is the same at the time of every reading, EC meters can help you replicate past solutions to make sure your end result is as close to previous, successful results as possible.

On a daily basis, EC is useful because it can tell you if your solution has lost nutrients or water. If your solution’s EC becomes too high, you can add water to lower it to the original value. If the EC becomes too low (70% of the original value), your solution has been substantially changed in composition by the plant and needs to be disposed of and replace with a fresh one.

While EC is certainly useful for hydroponic gardeners, don’t get overly excited  —  EC does not measure the concentration of individual minerals (or ions) in the water, and thus cannot distinguish between phosphorous and table salt.

Filed Under: Hydroponics Tagged With: electrical conductivity, hydro, Hydroponics, indoor gardening, Nutrients, pH

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eddie says

    April 18, 2016 at 5:45 am

    That’s a sharp way of thnnkiig about it.

  2. Charles Kemp says

    May 26, 2016 at 1:34 pm

    I guess the EC would be pretty important given that you want to make sure that the plants grow well. I know that you would need the right supplies to make sure that the hydroponics kept growing in the right way. It would also make sure that you get them the right nutrients.

  3. Holmes says

    December 12, 2018 at 12:37 pm

    Is not it better to directly check the composition of nutrient solution? what tools do you recommend for it?

  4. ashley says

    December 12, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    Measuring EC is a way to check the concentration of nutrient within your growing solution. Knowing this information allows you to maintain consistency with each crop cycle and also ensure you are maximizing nutrients for your plants without over-fertilizing. We recommend using an EC meter to accurately measure your nutrient concentration. Here is a link to meters we carry in our web store for you to check out: https://shop.fifthseasongardening.com/search/blue+lab+EC/

  5. Parmeshwar Pawar says

    August 1, 2019 at 11:12 pm

    It’s Helpfull but not sufficient information here

  6. abdul wahhab says

    December 8, 2020 at 2:49 am

    is there device/instruments/ manufacturer to measure the nutrition’s micro/macro individually ??

    wahabq8@gmail.com

  7. ashley says

    December 8, 2020 at 6:21 am

    Hi Abdul, There is not, outside of an expensive scientific tool like a mass spectrometer. You just have to know WHAT macro and micro nutrients you are adding to your water, and the measuring tools will tell you the total concentration in there.

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