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airstone, air disc or diffuser which is best

pdasterly 14 Replies 7,417 Views
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pdasterly

pdasterly

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#1
rebuilding my room and gonna make some changes. I have diy rdwc. 1st thing is im changing from white pvc to black abs( i have green sludge in the pvc, gross).
also when i first built system i used air stones( about 3-4 per bucket), then i went "all out" and put air discs in each bucket, this worked great for couple years but now its time to replace. Im gonna reconfig pump to a waterfall setup and replace the discs. My question is, are pentair/bubblemac stones worth it? i need about $500 worth but if they have unlimited service life as they claim i can see them as a worthy investment


Im disabled with limited mobility, the way i have my rdwc setup its pretty much maintence free, system has bluelab guardian connect and i use a camera to quickly glance at system daily but its stable(ph) and i usually only have to dump the rez every 3 weeks
 
#2
I'm interested to see feedback from the community on this. I've seen a lot of different opinions about aeration and hydro, from "the water should look like it's boiling" to "Meh, as long as the water is moving, we're fine". Personally, I'm more in the 2nd group. I have a single 30 gallon tote with a 15LPM air-pump feeding 4 stones. The result is pretty modest, but my plants are growing well. I also use anti-fungal religiously, that may play a factor too?
 
#3
Nate_in_AK said:
I'm interested to see feedback from the community on this. I've seen a lot of different opinions about aeration and hydro, from "the water should look like it's boiling" to "Meh, as long as the water is moving, we're fine". Personally, I'm more in the 2nd group. I have a single 30 gallon tote with a 15LPM air-pump feeding 4 stones. The result is pretty modest, but my plants are growing well. I also use anti-fungal religiously, that may play a factor too?
Click to expand...

im using 8 gallon ezstor buckets, i run 1 ecoplus pro 100 pump for every 4 buckets

agron.io

EZ Stor™ Container/Buckets 8 & 13 Gallon

Shop Agron's wholesale grow equipment catalog featuring over 10000 products including grow lights, ballasts, soil & grow media, hydroponic nutrients, pesticides, insecticides, propagation & cloning supplies, HVAC, dehumidifiers, and environmental controllers. Fastest shipping, lowest pricing...
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https://www.amazon.com/EcoPlus-Linear-Pump-2200-GPH-728378/dp/B01N4IG393
 
#5
If you haven’t tried these yet. They come apart for cleaning. Unaffected by any nutrient solution. Last forever
993FACB2 E892 4B44 B662 DE0D9C9C150A
 
#7
pdasterly said:
im using 8 gallon ezstor buckets, i run 1 ecoplus pro 100 pump for every 4 buckets

agron.io

EZ Stor™ Container/Buckets 8 & 13 Gallon

Shop Agron's wholesale grow equipment catalog featuring over 10000 products including grow lights, ballasts, soil & grow media, hydroponic nutrients, pesticides, insecticides, propagation & cloning supplies, HVAC, dehumidifiers, and environmental controllers. Fastest shipping, lowest pricing...
agron.io agron.io
Click to expand...
Are those easy store 13 gal buckets the same as the old 13 gal current culture? Im wanting to add to my old 4 site in veg room.
https://www.amazon.com/EcoPlus-Linear-Pump-2200-GPH-728378/dp/B01N4IG393
 
#10
Last edited:
#11
airedog said:
Have you considered EPDM air diffusers, as they are self cleaning?



https://easypro.com/products/rubber-membrane-air-diffuser-6-14-38-barb/

You might want to look at a couple of Matala air manifolds to connect the diffusers to the pump.

www.pondandgardendepot.com

Matala Heavy Duty Air Manifold | Pond Aerator & Air Pump Supplies

These Matala air manifolds are made from brass and offer 2-way and 4-way splitters in 3 sizes: 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" barbs. So there are 6 models available.
www.pondandgardendepot.com www.pondandgardendepot.com
Click to expand...

the stones are much more pocket friendly


Bubblemacairdiffusers.com
 
#13
pdasterly said:
the stones are much more pocket friendly


Bubblemacairdiffusers.com
Click to expand...

At 4 stones per bucket, your least costly alternative seems to be $49.80/bucket (or am i missing something); i paid $39.01 CAD per diffuser and only use one per bucket.

I've only run the EPDM for a few weeks now so it will be a while until i know if they perform as advertised. Self-cleaning though makes a big difference given that i run with bennies, all i need to do is run them for a few hours in an H202 solution or leave them in place when i sanitize at the end of a run, no need to use special products to break down mineral deposits every few runs.
 
#14
airedog said:
At 4 stones per bucket, your least costly alternative seems to be $49.80/bucket (or am i missing something); i paid $39.01 CAD per diffuser and only use one per bucket.

I've only run the EPDM for a few weeks now so it will be a while until i know if they perform as advertised. Self-cleaning though makes a big difference given that i run with bennies, all i need to do is run them for a few hours in an H202 solution or leave them in place when i sanitize at the end of a run, no need to use special products to break down mineral deposits every few runs.
Click to expand...
sorry for confusion, i was running 4 stones of the cheap ecoplus ones that are like $4, those pentair stones i would need only per bucket
 
#15
I know it's a bit old but I use ¼" soaker hose instead of stones.
Works well and you can get 50' for about $7 just throw it out and cut a new one. I've been doing this for 2 years and it has been working fine for me.
 
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