Should I even water?

[juggernaut]

I have a homemade drip system that is working very well. My two plants are growing great. Very green, nice stalks and stems, steady progress in growth. My roots have since grown down into the reservoir. I have noticed since then they alway seem droppy like they are being over watered. I water once per day for about 30 mins. But I was thinking being the roots are now sitting in the water, should I even water them anymore? Won't they pull up all the water they need when they need it?

 

[marchold]

over watering can lead to root rot. If you can see the roots you can look for (non-white) root rot. Maybe you have too many nutrients.

 

[TheFaux]

You could stop dripping or maybe lower the water level in the resevoir so the roots are exposed to more air. Do you have an air pump in the res?

 

[juggernaut]

You could stop dripping or maybe lower the water level in the resevoir so the roots are exposed to more air. Do you have an air pump in the res?

I'm going to be changing out the water today so I will mix a lower level batch. I do not have a air pump in the res, is that a good thing to do? I can see it helping to put oxygen in the water and can see that being good. But would like to know for sure.

 

[Consciousness420]

cant u just increase the height of the material/container between the plants and the reservoir? the plant roots should definitely not be sitting in water.. once the roots are hanging from the container and not touching the water then they are getting enough oxygen.. I wouldnt worry about pumping oxygen into the nutrient solution (tried it before and it doesnt seem to have any affect).. BUT CO^2 CAN be a huge help to the plants.. you can pump CO^2 right into the solution (but be careful.. there is a balance.. u can kill plants with too much CO^2).. get a tank and an air pump and try it out.. u will probably see an improvement in growth/health. good luck

 

[juggernaut]

cant u just increase the height of the material/container between the plants and the reservoir? the plant roots should definitely not be sitting in water.. once the roots are hanging from the container and not touching the water then they are getting enough oxygen.. I wouldnt worry about pumping oxygen into the nutrient solution (tried it before and it doesnt seem to have any affect).. BUT CO^2 CAN be a huge help to the plants.. you can pump CO^2 right into the solution (but be careful.. there is a balance.. u can kill plants with too much CO^2).. get a tank and an air pump and try it out.. u will probably see an improvement in growth/health. good luck

The growth is pretty big. Not sure how I guess I could increase the distance. I figured I would attach some images for you guys to see what I'm dealing with. Any comments would be nice to hear. Thanks

 

[TheFaux]

Just add an air pump to the reservoir and you don't have to mess with anything else.