Rdwc waterfall no air stones

[Bucketbuds1]

building a rdwc with a waterfall to each site. Do you guys think I can ditch the air stones because of the waterfall ? Air stones raise my ph like crazy cuz I don’t use purified water. The swings are far too crazy and for far too long for me to let it settle.

 

[amneziaHaze]

if the water fall is strong enough to make bubbles yes

 

[marzig]

I doubt that aeration is causing ph swings.

I have 1 air stone in each bucket and 2 in my res.

 

[Bucketbuds1]

I doubt that aeration is causing ph swings.

I have 1 air stone in each bucket and 2 in my res.

should do some research on that. Air pumps can definitely raise ph sadly

 

[Smokey0418]

I would think an in balance of nutrients or a root problem would have more affect on ph than the air blown in through you stones.

Ph can very stable when things are on point.

Good water flow with the surface water being disrupted well can definitely be all one needs.

Good luck with your set up.

 

[Bucketbuds1]

I would think an in balance of nutrients or a root problem would have more affect on ph than the air blown in through you stones.

Ph can very stable when things are on point.

Good water flow with the surface water being disrupted well can definitely be all one needs.

Good luck with your set up.

If you’re using R/o water you should be fine. I’m not though and the research I’ve seen I believe is that something about the air and the minerals in the water reacting and raising ph

 

[marzig]

If you’re using R/o water you should be fine. I’m not though and the research I’ve seen I believe is that something about the air and the minerals in the water reacting and raising ph

Any type of water will eventually reach ph equilibrium. Even if starting with ro you're still adding minerals as well as salts. Ph can't keep rising infinitely.

 

[amneziaHaze]

If you’re using R/o water you should be fine. I’m not though and the research I’ve seen I believe is that something about the air and the minerals in the water reacting and raising ph

but you put back all the minerals soo you can grow....

 

[Bucketbuds1]

but you put back all the minerals soo you can grow....

That is true I’ve just noticed when I have used purified water for a grow my ph didn’t rise with my airstones. Then when I wasn’t using purified water it was making it rise.
Its just from my experience so I was trying to do something where I could avoid airstones that’s all

 

[marzig]

Oxygenation only happens at the water surface. Bubbles from an air stone aren't under enough pressure to force oxygen into solution. Aeration only exposes a larger volume of water to the surface just as having a waterfall will.

 

[marzig]

Here is screenshot for 24 hours from the monitor I have in my res. The ph and ec spikes are from me calibrating earlier today.

This my system and works very well for me.
I aerate my water for 24 hours to maximize ph.
Then add nutes and aerate for 24 hours more.
Then start adjusting ph down while monitoring for 24 hours while always under aeration.
It is then ready for me to use.

I do this for total system replacement or add back. It's always under aeration until using. As I said I have air stones in my res and each bucket plus I feed into each bucket above the water line (water fall) and drain from the bottom.

Good luck!

 

[NairnM16]

I ram into a problem last week where the ph down I got was organic

I run synthetic nutes nd the organic stuff in the ph down was binding to my additive bacteria

It was just bubbling and floating to the top

No matter how much ph down I added
It Always returned to 7.2 (my tap ph)

might not be your problem but you never know

I got the hydroponic ph down with the red cap nd tht fixed everything sat a solid 5.8/6.2 since