Why do you need airstones for dwc?

Discussion in 'Hydroponic Growing' started by GanjaDwarf, Aug 24, 2016.

?

Do you need airstones?

  1. Yes

    10 vote(s)
    66.7%
  2. No

    1 vote(s)
    6.7%
  3. I once saw a butterfly.

    4 vote(s)
    26.7%
  1. I've seen a lot of people say that airstones dont reallly oxygenate the water.
    And i also know a lot of people grow different plants using the kratky method with no airstone.
    Does anyone know if you can grow weed using the kratky method?
    Or is the airstone absolutely necessary?
     
  2. I've read that for dwc you want to reach a certain amount of air saturation in your solution. Imo the more stones per bucket the better but I'm sure there's a threshold where you would be adding nothing by more aeration. Even in ebb n flow it helps. I've never head of your mentioned method but if you point me in the right direction I'll educate myself and add input on that if no one has helped u by then.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  3. You can just search for kratky hydro on youtube.
     
  4. I'm starting an experiment soon growing spinach using airstone vs no airstone. Why spinach? Because it grows quickly:)
     
  5. not a hydro grower..
    but whenever my hydro grower friends power goes out for any extended period of time his plants usually die..
    so i'm guessing airstone good.. no airstone bad.
     
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  6. I read a bit on that method and I think your conditions, water and strain would need to be optimal for that method to work. I think you would struggle with your plants having wet feet all the time in the beginning. My two cents is that two setups the same expect one has air stones the air stone bucket will surpass it's counterpart the whole grow. On the other hand experimenting is how we learn to do it right..right?

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  7. Your nutes can only hold so much oxygen, based on the temp of those nutes. That being said, the air in the bubbles will heat the nutes, which will lower the ability to hold that oxygen. So having too many stones can be bad as well. A water fall helps to do the job without adding heat.
     
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  8. The reason they are necessary in most DWC is the water is stagnant. If the water was circulating and spilling over waterfalls it would maintain it's own oxygen level. Since it sits in the bottom of a bucket in the dark you need to inject air to keep it circulating and to introduce air to the solution. Plants need air to get to the roots to be healthy. It's the way you aerate the roots and have them in solution at the same time. In soil they aerate when the water level drops. Since it never really goes dry in DWC you have to give it water and air at the same time.

    Many people have problems when they first setup their DWC because they underestimate how much air they really need. 100gph of air for each plant is a good rule of thumb figure but you can go twice that without harm.
     
  9. People that say airstones don't oxygenate water have never had a fish tank.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  10. The capacity of air the water can hold depends a lot on the temp, cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water. 95% of the oxygen the plant uptakes is through the roots. One of the reasons hydro is faster than soil is that hydro allows more oxygen to the roots, aeroponics even better because of the available oxygen. If you use warm water and no air stone than about 2-3 weeks into flower, when the plant really starts to feed, the plants roots will be rot and not able to uptake water, your plant will die in no time...So I suggest water in the 20-22C and an air stone.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. This fucking thread.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  12. Ahhhh......for oxygen bro....hrdro 1 o 1...better read up more
     
  13. Read this:

    Simply Hydroponics - Nutrient Temp

    You need a well aerated nutrient "soup" and the ability of the soup to hold oxygen depends on the temperature.

    Wether you use airstones, or a "waterfall" for aerating the soup depends on your rig.

    I prefer an airstone and an aerating tank.
     

  14. ^^

    that
     
    • Like Like x 1
  15. Also bacteria lives still water.
     
  16. People have a mistaken thought that hydroponic systems are sterile. That's very far from the truth. There's all kinds of stuff living in the water with the roots bacteria, fungus, ect. Roots naturally form a symbiotic relationship with the other organisms in the soil. The plant exchanges sugars for help processing certain nutrients. In exchange the good organisms that live with the roots keep the bad stuff from getting out of control. You can supplement your hydro with these good organisms or just cross your fingers and hope you get the good ones.
     
  17. Oxygenation of the NS is essential if roots are submerged because they will drown otherwise. But even if they're not submerged, it's still worth doing because without it, less oxygen will be available and anaerobic bacteria will set in and rot everything. Using air pumps and stones is the best way to achieve this and I always recommend pushing around 1 litre of air per minute for every 2 litres of nutrient solution you have. One of the most common beginner problems is not having a big enough pump. I have seen countless people using like a 2LPM pump in a 25 litre bucket and asking why their roots are rotting and their plants are dying
     
  18. Like in every thread involving a debate of this sort, high on anecdotes, low on science. Itd be cool if DO meters didnt cost an arm and a leg.
     
  19. I have done many experiments over the years and have seen the difference that different amounts of air makes. Look up anyone on here getting root rot. Every time you will see that they are using some stupid crappy little fish tank air pump
     
  20. ? " And i also know a lot of people grow different plants using the kratky method with no airstone."
    looks like you answeed your own question
     

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