can u have too many bubbles???? seriously??
Definitely can. Too much turbulence causes roots to take up less water and nutes, and even stop growth at a certain point. I had 3 6" stones in 2 5 gal buckets powered by a 45W air pump. Roots came out with a donut hole in the middle and now I've experimented with turning off my air pump in my new setup (where I made sure to have the bubbles around the roots, not right underneath them) and I still see about double the water and nute uptake.
Better way to oxygenate is to use more water flow and no bubbles at all. I know it goes against contrary belief, but from what I've been reading and from what I've seen myself high flow water and no bubbles seems to be best, the roots just don't like the bubbles on them from everything I can tell... And since this guy harvested 76oz from a single plant with only 1500W with no air pump and high flow water, I think I'm on the right path.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=3838091#post3838091
To each their own, but I'm ditching my 45W air pump next time around and getting myself a nice water pump instead.
