Will too much air in DWC system hurt plants

[HappyGrower]

Hello All,

I got kind of a stupid question, but here we go. I am putting together a homemade DWC system. I have six dark blue 10 gallon rubbermade tubs with lids. I have 6 - 8" Net pots. General Hydro 3 part nutrients, and "3" active air 110 Liters per Minute air pumps. I want to use 1 pump for every 2 containers. So, each container will have 55 liters per Minute of air pumped into container.

Is this Over kill on the Airpumps? Is this amount of air harmfull to my plants? I had read years ago, that the more air you can get into the root, the better they grow. Any comments or suggestions?

Thank u, and take care, HappyGrower:rofl

 

[Kaiser Puff]

No you can't go too many air pumps, but you will hit the wall on how much O2 you can get in your nutrient solution. The plants can take alot of O2, that's why Aeroponics works so well. If you really wanted to get your dissolved oxygen concentration above its normal saturation point you'd something besides an airpump.

 

[audius]

ive read the same,more air the better

 

[altitudefarmer]

It needs to be quality air, but the more the better, as long as you're not breaking root tips. You definitely don't want to pump CO2 enriched air into your rez. Get as much oxygen as possible into the nutrient solution.

 

[DerErlkoenig]

You can't have too many bubbles. More bubbles=More Dissolved Oxygen. A roiling tub will make your plants more resistant to stress and will make them thrive in general. Altitude was right that you don't want to break the roots from too much movement, but I am yet to see a pump strong enough to do that. Definitely no issue with what you're running. Good luck. DWC Rules!!

 

[gudkarma]

having read it somewhere, i thought the rule of thumb was 1 watt of pump power to every gallon of water used.

i use a 20w pro pump for 6 buckets (3.5gal each) with micropore stones & my shit looks like it's boiling. plants are thriving by the way.

good thing the pump run it in the garage though. when i had it inside (and insulated) i could hear it through the entire house. my wife hated it.

pro pumps are great & powerful... the drawback is noise.

they make significantly quieter dual diaphram pumps (that are rebuildable too) with multiple outlets for fish tank & hydro applications.

whether you break some root tips or dislodge dead plant tissue, you still need to change out the water in the buckets on some kinda schedule so dont sweat that issue.

 

[altitudefarmer]

I talked to a grower who says he uses an oxygen bottle to pump pure O2 into his nutrient solution. It's actually one of those little oxygen isolators I believe- like the ones you see elderly folks use, or sometimes the sports teams who come from sea level to play in Denver. Not sure if that ends up being cost effective, but he does produce quality buds...

 

[gudkarma]

tell him to send me a sample & i'll do an IN DEPTH investigation & post the results on the Farm :-)