are air stones even necessary?

[Sir Napsalot]

Speaking as a longtime freshwater aquarist, oxygen exchange occurs at the water's surface, all the little bubbles do is cause surface agitation, they are not absorbed into the water column. I use HOB (hang on back) filters on my 3 aquariums and they have a "waterfall" output but do not splash, all they do is cause rippling at the surface so they are nice and quiet.

 

[HydoDan]

Although most of the roots in a Dwc are submerged the roots in the net pot are constantly being sprayed by the bubbles in a aeroponic fashion by the airstone.. I built my recirculation system with misters on the return,kind of like an aerocloner..
The waterfall wasn't cutting it.. Trial and error!

 

[ttystikk]

Speaking as a longtime freshwater aquarist, oxygen exchange occurs at the water's surface, all the little bubbles do is cause surface agitation, they are not absorbed into the water column. I use HOB (hang on back) filters on my 3 aquariums and they have a "waterfall" output but do not splash, all they do is cause rippling at the surface so they are nice and quiet.

And it worked great, no dead fish.

 

[ttystikk]

Although most of the roots in a Dwc are submerged the roots in the net pot are constantly being sprayed by the bubbles in a aeroponic fashion by the airstone.. I built my recirculation system with misters on the return,kind of like an aerocloner..
The waterfall wasn't cutting it.. Trial and error!

Maybe the waterfall was poorly designed.

 

[HydoDan]

Maybe the waterfall was poorly designed.

No it wasn't..

 

[ttystikk]

No it wasn't..

Weird. Was the water chilled?

 

[HydoDan]

Weird. Was the water chilled?

It was always under 70.. Is that too warm? It's just a small 3 bucket system I built years ago and I just couldn't keep white roots.. When I went to the airstones I ran the air intake from the crawl space under my house.. kept temps in the mid 60s...
No problems after that.. Thinking about building a SIP system for my next run...

 

[ttystikk]

It was always under 70.. Is that too warm? It's just a small 3 bucket system I built years ago and I just couldn't keep white roots.. When I went to the airstones I ran the air intake from the crawl space under my house.. kept temps in the mid 60s...
No problems after that.. Thinking about building a SIP system for my next run...

Those temps were pretty good, really.

Whatever works, right? Lol

 

[JSB99]

what kind of bud is that? banana kush?

 

[JSB99]

Putting the pump in the tank creates HEAT, HEAT and low D.O. = ROOT ROT. Go For It. A pump costs 10 buck at Walmart..... Why is this a fuckin issue for you??

I find it amazing that 99% of well-known growers here do things one way, and then there are those who have their own ideas and theories that go against how the pros are doing it! If 99% of the growers do it one way, it's probably the best, most efficient, tested and fine-tune way of doing things. If using open air lines was better than using air stones, then 99% of the growers here would be doing it that way, and every thread would support that method!

Some people like to make things so overly complicated for themselves!

 

[JSB99]

wrong. undercurrent moves water with water pump, not without.

And "Under Current" is the incorrect term here. What he's talking about is "Recirculating". You need a powerful water pump to achieve "Under Current, where the flow of the water is strong enough to get DO to the center of the roots. Otherwise, and air pump is needed to to get oxygen to the centers

 

[JSB99]

Although most of the roots in a Dwc are submerged the roots in the net pot are constantly being sprayed by the bubbles in a aeroponic fashion by the airstone..

Yep. With a bubble Cloner, the bubbles popping on the surface of the water create micro-dropplets that float around until they land on something (like the stems).

I used to use sprayers with my rdwc, but it was always a hassle with clogs. Bubbles are so much easier

 

[glani]

While im here, can someone review my setup for me? Water is ph 5.9, ppm 600 (combo of flora series micro and bloom), temps are cool. Water level is like a millimeter beneath the cups. Roots barely pokin outta bottom of cubes. Growth has seemed like it's been on pause the last few days but roots are growing. Another forum said the yellow tips on seedlings was nutrient deficiency, so i upped it from 200pm to 600ppm. Maybe too much of a jump? Those brown circles are just cardboard paper that keeps out light from rez and shows me how wet the tops of the cubes are. Tried a dome for a couple days but now have a small fan on them.

 

[PetFlora]

I find it amazing that 99% of well-known growers here do things one way, and then there are those who have their own ideas and theories that go against how the pros are doing it! If 99% of the growers do it one way, it's probably the best, most efficient, tested and fine-tune way of doing things. If using open air lines was better than using air stones, then 99% of the growers here would be doing it that way, and every thread would support that method!

Some people like to make things so overly complicated for themselves!

I grew with air stones for many years and they are a PITA to clean/unclog, cheaper ones not making it through a full grow cycle. I tried various aquarium waterfalls, but where I live pesky mosquitoes get into my rezes and trays, requiring more of a closed system. Fortunately about a year ago I came across a thread that eliminated air stones with Flooming. Yes it requires a second pump in the rez, which will heat if left on 24/7: I use a small <200gph pump on a deep cycle timer running 4 minutes/30 minutes. works great while doing a much better job of agitating/moving/circulating the nutrients. Adding a venturi is the key

Next grow I plan to use low mist heads on the deep cycle timer

 

[Jypsy Dog]

While im here, can someone review my setup for me? Water is ph 5.9, ppm 600 (combo of flora series micro and bloom), temps are cool. Water level is like a millimeter beneath the cups. Roots barely pokin outta bottom of cubes. Growth has seemed like it's been on pause the last few days but roots are growing. Another forum said the yellow tips on seedlings was nutrient deficiency, so i upped it from 200pm to 600ppm. Maybe too much of a jump? Those brown circles are just cardboard paper that keeps out light from rez and shows me how wet the tops of the cubes are. Tried a dome for a couple days but now have a small fan on them.

First, don't jump someone else's thread. Second, who ever told you to raise you feeding LIED to you.

 

[Jypsy Dog]

I grew with air stones for many years and they are a PITA to clean/unclog, cheaper ones not making it through a full grow cycle. I tried various aquarium waterfalls, but where I live pesky mosquitoes get into my rezes and trays, requiring more of a closed system. Fortunately about a year ago I came across a thread that eliminated air stones with Flooming. Yes it requires a second pump in the rez, which will heat if left on 24/7: I use a small <200gph pump on a deep cycle timer running 4 minutes/30 minutes. works great while doing a much better job of agitating/moving/circulating the nutrients. Adding a venturi is the key

Next grow I plan to use low mist heads on the deep cycle timer

View attachment 4021832 View attachment 4021833

I just keep an extra air stone supply around. Takes less than a min. to swap out. Soak a slow stone in white vinegar for 5 min. and it's ready to go again. Don't see the issues.

 

[PetFlora]

I just keep an extra air stone supply around. Takes less than a min. to swap out. Soak a slow stone in white vinegar for 5 min. and it's ready to go again. Don't see the issues.

I would rather eliminate issues. More than enough to keep on top of

 

[Jypsy Dog]

I would rather eliminate issues. More than enough to keep on top of

I would rather NOT run Another pump.

 

[PetFlora]

I would rather NOT run Another pump.

PLUS, that extra pump helps lift/circulate nutrients that fall out of solution

 

[Jypsy Dog]

PLUS, that extra pump helps lift/circulate nutrients that fall out of solution

Keep telling your self that. Not worth the Extra heat.