Benchtop pH/Conductivity/TDS/Salinity/Resistivity Meter Kit

What the PC800 Measures and Why It Matters for Commercial Cultivation

Licensed cannabis and hemp operations running recirculating hydro, coco, or fertigation programs need more than a pocket pen to manage nutrient solution quality at scale. The Apera PC800 covers six parameters in one bench unit — pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, resistivity, and temperature — so your head grower or production tech can run a complete water-quality check at the mixing station without swapping instruments.

pH accuracy of ±0.01 pH (±1 digit) and EC accuracy of ±1% full scale hold up under the repetitive daily testing that commercial production demands. ORP (redox) measurement is also available on the PC800 with an optional ORP electrode (201Pt-C, sold separately), useful for facilities running peroxide or ozone sanitation protocols on their irrigation water.

Electrodes: What's in the Kit and Why the Design Decisions Matter

The kit ships with two purpose-built electrodes. The 201T-F all-in-one pH/temperature electrode is built around Apera's proprietary lithium-glass membrane for high stability and accuracy. Its dual ceramic-fiber junction minimizes clogging — a real issue in high-nutrient or organic-heavy solutions — while the integrated temperature sensor enables true automatic temperature compensation (ATC). A detachable sensor shield protects the glass bulb during storage and transport.

The 2301T-F ATC conductivity electrode uses a proprietary firm platinum-black cell with a cell constant of K=1.0, delivering ±1% F.S. accuracy across the full 0–200 mS/cm range. Both electrodes connect via the meter's standard BNC port. That BNC compatibility also means the PC800 accepts Apera's full LabSen® specialty electrode line — useful if your operation later needs to test soil samples, low-ion RO/purified water, viscous nutrient concentrates, or high-temperature solutions.

Calibration, Electrode Health, and GLP Data Management

The PC800 supports 1-to-4 point automatic pH calibration with auto-recognition of standard buffers at 1.68, 4.00, 7.00, 10.01, and 12.45, plus automatic recognition of conductivity calibration standards at 84 µS/cm, 1413 µS/cm, 12.88 mS/cm, and 111.8 mS/cm. On-screen guided calibration workflows with self-diagnosis reduce the chance of an operator completing a bad cal without catching it — important when you have multiple staff members running tests across shifts.

Electrode Health Monitoring gives you real-time slope data between pH calibrations so you can track electrode performance degradation before it starts affecting your readings. GLP-ready data management stores up to 1,000 data sets with timestamps, and USB output transfers all stored data to the web-based PC-Link software — accessible in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on Windows or Mac with no installation required. From PC-Link you get real-time charting, one-click CSV export, and professional PDF reports that include calibration date, electrode slope, offset, meter model, and serial number — the kind of documentation that supports state compliance records and internal SOPs.

Where the PC800 Fits in a Commercial Grow Operation

The PC800 is a fixed-station instrument — it belongs at a nutrient mixing bench, a reservoir room, or a lab station, not in a grower's pocket on the floor. Its backlit LCD displays pH and temperature simultaneously alongside stable-reading and calibration-complete icons, reducing misread errors during fast-paced batch mixing. The IP54-rated housing (waterproof and dustproof) handles the humid, nutrient-splash environment of a working production facility without corroding or failing mid-run.

For operations already tracking water chemistry in spreadsheets or cultivation management software, the CSV export from PC-Link slots directly into existing data workflows. Facilities preparing for state audits or third-party certifications benefit from the timestamped GLP record keeping built into the instrument itself — you're not relying on handwritten log sheets. Hydro Supply Co. supplies the Apera PC800 kit (AI523) to licensed cannabis and hemp operators nationwide. Request a quote to get HSC's direct-account pricing.