Has anyone ever just skipped using an air stone/ air hose and just secured the open ended hose to the bottom of the bucket? Results? I can't seem to find anything on this but recall some people doing it.
no u need more bubbles try putting a pebble at the end of your hose and poking thousands of little holes in the end with a needle or safety pin good luck
Yeah man. It's called a bubble bucket for a reason. The bubbles play a big part. The more bubbles, the better. My advice would be to either go and buy the air-stones, or make some kind of device "like the one in the post above" to aerate your solution.
Pebble and needles sound good. I just wonder because. Air stones ive had suck. Flexible air stones/hoses keep losing their force until i wipe them with my hands because they are clogged or something. and i have some super pumps, open ended was like a hurricane in there which is why i wondered if it could work. Thank you for the input
ok you could use the pebble/needle method but i would perfer you just go to a local hydroponic/indoor gardening store and buy a 5-6 inch air stone bar. you can also get them at a petsmart or petco. mabey even wal-mart.
alrighty for sure. ty i was just makin sure if the 'type' of bubbles mattered or if any aeration is good aeration. tryin to get the most bang for my buck cuz seems most air stones ive bought really SUCKED at bubblin.
just get some cheap airstones nothing special and the more bubbles the more airation to ur roots and all airation does is give the roots the oxygen they need and prevent root rot. less bubbles-no bubbles are the main causes of root rot. good luck dogg keep growin hydro!
Ya think?! Wow. I don't get the concept of a non aquadic plant submerged in water? I understand if you add bubbles it can live but it does not seem a perfect enviornment for a weed. So is it because it is easy that people use them or what? Soil is better,, And well for my hard work I prefer NFT/Areoponic sprayers. Nft is a water film over the roots to feed but the sprayers make it areo in a way as well so lots of air lots of oxygen and roots get time off from the water every 15 minutes. Makes them love it that much more. So I am just curious why is it used again???
You understand how NFT works but not DWC? Only difference is one has the roots submerged all the time and the other doesn't. It's much easier/cheaper to make/buy/use, all you need is a bucket w/ lid, air pump system and your plant. It's also useful if you have different strains or have plants at different stages of growth, if you have the reservoirs/buckets separate. I'm trying to do a perpetual grow so I'm going to have plants separated by a few weeks or so in age. Some will be done flowering while others will be just starting, so an NFT or other system won't work well for me without the added expense/effort of having separate systems. I was going to do an aero/NFT system, but it was just too much work/expense to do at this point. The bubble buckets are just way more convenient and cheap.
Realy...Wow....Soil is only better to those who grow in it.. Its called hydro...ya know when the roots are hanging in a nutrient rich solution... Nft IMO..is nothing more then a pita... the heads constantly clog and if the heads give to much pressure it damages the roots... so i guess for me..bb's are much better... Sorry if you were offended
Finally an real answer. Thanks, I knew the ease of it was the main attraction. As for the other dude. I am in no way offended. Hydro is not a single grow method. My set up is hydro but as this guy said it is anything but easy.. As for sprayers clogging, it can be a real bummer/challenge but Mine never clog anymore since I put my best first pump into my main systems rez. All you need to do is have one that filters pre-pump then you have no issues. Sprayers to be to strong would have to be on a huge pump. Not an issue at all in hurting roots. I also have them in different stages of growth and that actually can be a real buger to figure out how to have them going all the time. I have a small curtained off area and after 2.5 months of veg they are big enough to move to flower, I take the finished buds out then clean up then put the veged ones in, take clones for next crop and flip the switch to 1212, in 2.5 months the vegged/clones are ready and I do it all over again.... Works out great......... It is more work x 20 than a bubble bucket...... But it pays off in the end......
If you have the extra money buy Micro-Pore diffusers. They will not break down or clog like other cheaper air stones. The amount of very very verry tiny bubbles they put out are amazing. They are also heavy so wherever you place them they will stay put.
Here is why: Its all about surface area. The same volume of air in a million bubbles has more surface area than the same volume of air in 1. That means more surface area of life giving Oxygen to the roots. Thats why it must be diffused. How you diffuse it is your business.You can either spend it up, with cash OR time to make one, or be cheap. Your results will answer the question of if it was the right thing to do. Happy Grow
Old thread, but no answer to the question. I have been using no air stones for about 2 years now. Check out Youtube Rons bubble bucket. I have been using the system and it works great. I have been running 4 buckets under a 1000w light for flower. Veg for 4 weeks under t5 fixture. I use Jacks hydroponic 2 part nutrients, tap water, that is it. When things are going good I get around 2 lbs. a light. I have a perpetual grow and recently I added a hose and valve system so I could just water all my plants from the res. I haven't been cleaning the buckets because I was lazy and now my air holes are getting plugged. I hadn't had a problem until I added the self watering system and stopped cleaning like I was. Anyway I hope this helps someone that doesn't want to use air stones.
Point is proven with 2 years experience. Bubble rocks are unnecessary, their a waste of time, money, energy...