Airstones & Aerogarden

O.k so last night i modified my aerogarden setup with a aquarium air pump (120v 60 hz max 3w) attached to an airstone. My reasoning for this was to provide more oxygen and aeration to the roots. After hooking it up , I noticed a lot of bubbles and action happening in the AG tank.

I know all of this is normal with the bubbles and all but what excatly do you guyz believe the benefits will be ? Has anyone else had experience with an AG w/ airstones.

What role is this airstone assuming ?




p.s. - the plant is bagseed , my first grow i believe it's weeks from harvest

HH

the airstone adds oxygen to the water

HiddenHammer said:

O.k so last night i modified my aerogarden setup with a aquarium air pump (120v 60 hz max 3w) attached to an airstone. My reasoning for this was to provide more oxygen and aeration to the roots. After hooking it up , I noticed a lot of bubbles and action happening in the AG tank.

I know all of this is normal with the bubbles and all but what excatly do you guyz believe the benefits will be ? Has anyone else had experience with an AG w/ air stones.

What role is this air stone assuming ?






p.s. - the plant is bagseed , my first grow i believe it's weeks from harvest

HH

Click to expand...

O2 production and res agitation.
if your roots are in the res already you can shut off your AG pump and just run the air stone.

i have pics and some of my posts describe some experiences i have with the AG and air stones. i like the results of the four 1inch minis with a 4 bank regulator. small 10gph pump.

oh turning off you AG pump will: A) not get clogged by sucking in roots.
and B) reduce the temperature of your res which is good for your plants.

run air stone 24/7

bag seed for me too.


i turned my AG pump off 2-3 weeks ago. no issues.

massbaster said:

O2 production and res agitation.
if your roots are in the res already you can shut off your AG pump and just run the air stone.

i have pics and some of my posts describe some experiences i have with the AG and air stones. i like the results of the four 1inch minis with a 4 bank regulator. small 10gph pump.

oh turning off you AG pump will: A) not get clogged by sucking in roots.
and B) reduce the temperature of your res which is good for your plants.

run air stone 24/7

bag seed for me too.


i turned my AG pump off 2-3 weeks ago. no issues.

Click to expand...

I agree, but I let my pump run anyway .. It will not hurt the plants But it also helps with circulation when your feeding them . with the airstone and the pump running it will keep everything moving .. My pump is set on the tomatoe's setting and my lights are set to a timer.. so the pump is set to 18/6

How did you add the airstones? Pictures please.. Did you drill a hole and re-seal it for the tubing or did you run the tubing though the top?

Hidden hammer: These guys have some good ides and some not too good.
I'm not in favor of turning off the pump as it circulates the nutrients that your plants need and dribbles down and feeds the top of the root column that isn't under water.

You can carefully stretch and wrap your pump and tower in a short woman's nylon sock, like they wear with flat shoes, and that will help keep the roots out of your pump. You can get a woman's short nylon sock from Wal-Mart for about $2 or a pump sock from the hydro store for $10 to $15. The rubber filter is necessary, so don't toss it, but it would only keep out rocks and gravel.

Oxygenating your nutrient solution is called, "Supercharging your garden." It's important because a lot of your nutrients need oxygen for the roots to be able to uptake the nutes and there often isn't enough oxygen in the A/G. Not without a little help form an aquarium pump. Just make sure you use the one way check valve that comes with the pump. In case of a power failure it won't siphon back and fry your pump. A five to ten gallon pump, (The smallest, single out let pump they sell at Wal-Mart is plenty big for a single A/G), but it won't handle two gardens. The 99 cents store has the hose and air stones for about a third to a fourth of what you'll pay everywhere else.

Heat in the reservoir isn't usually a problem unless your ambient temperature is just too high. Keep your grow room comfortable and your reservoir full and you shouldn't have a problem. My A/G's grow happily where ever I feel comfortable.