TDS Meter
TDS Meter
Don't be without one. This item is a must!
Before you consider growing Disas, your first purchase should be a conductivity or TDS meter. A TDS (Total Dissolved Salt) meter is basically a meter that measures how easily a current passes through a liquid and gives a reading depending on the amount of current passed. There are a number of different types of conductivity meters but the TDS meter is probably the cheapest you can get. The idea behind using it is that Disas are extremely susceptible to salt in the water and if the measured salt is above about 200 ppm, you will not have success growing them. I think poor water is the main reason Disas are said to be so hard to grow. BTW, rainwater is not necessarily low in salts. It is usually a good source of water but you need to be careful about what type of material you are collecting from. For example, my rainwater, off a shake roof, is hard to get below ~260 ppm during the first rain of the season. Only at the end of a day-long rain is it usable. You can get a TDS meter from any hydroponics store or I now sell the inexpensive Hanna Instruments Model TDS 1which you can purchase for about the cost of a plant. With it you can measure your water, optimize your fertilizer solution, and check your media to make sure there are no salt contaminants. Absolutely indispensable! The meter is limited to 0 - 999 ppm which is more than adequate for our needs. Some of the more expensive meters are waterproof and have a wider range. The main point here though is to get something and USE IT! Even if you decide not to grow Disas, it is very helpful for measuring the fertilizer concentrations that you are using on your other orchids. It will also help you to grow Masdevallias and the pleurothallids.
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Mark Wilson pointed out a couple of years ago that Hanna Instruments had a TDS meter offered as a special promotion. Unfortunately, Hanna stopped selling direct as of January 2002. I feel so strongly about your being able to get an inexpensive meter that I have become a distributor just so I can sell these TDS meters to you for $25.00. Go to the Supplies Page for information.
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| I was interested in getting a new tougher, waterproof TDS meter prior to going on the 1999 S. A. trip, I did a little looking around and found this company that carried TDS meters (as well as a whole bunch of useful stuff) and seemed to have fair prices. I ordered a couple meters from them on a Saturday and had them in my hands the following Wednesday via USPS Priority Mail. I was pleased with the company and product and furthermore, they agreed to pick up the postage on a meter for you if you mention that you were referred from this web site. James Curran, (the Boss) wrote:
Absolutely we can do the free shipping thing as long as it is in the Continental U.S. (including Hawaii and Alaska). If it is outside the U.S. I would need to quote them on the shipping anyway but I will give them some kind of break on it. The customers would need to make a note of that in the special instructions section of the order form that the order is coming via your web site and would request the free shipping option. The order will go through as normal but the site doesn't automatically charge the person's credit card the total amount. We do that manually, so we can then get back with the customer and tell them that A: the item has been sent and B: that the new amount of the order would be less the shipping charges. In most cases I will chose to send the item to them via Priority Mail not only because it is much quicker but it is also a little less money for me. BTW, I got the waterproof model. For about $65, it seemed like a no brainer. Check them out at FrostProof.com
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