GH Waterfarm questions

so i just got myself a couple of GH waterfarms to replace areogardens.

1st my biggest concern is that it seems that the airlift system and drip ring are working good, but there is a little bit of water splashing or blowing over the edge. it's a very very small amount. but over time i can see it being a mess. can i cut the 2 tubes down a little say .75 to 1 inch? i think that much lower would be just enough to keep that little spatter inside the pot. as long as i cut the same off both tubes will it still work the same?
(i turned off all my fans to make sure that wasn't it )

2nd how do you guys do anything like test the water or add ph up or down? the aerogarden has a little door... tada!? i can use the drain level tube to take out enough into a container to test the ppm and ph.
i could just add my ph up or down into the clay pebbels or into the test water then wash it down with some water but that seems pretty haphazard... i can lift the inner pot out for now but that won't work soon.

3rd i asked this in another thread but got no takers.... would it help the waterfarm to add another airline with a bubblestone? or is the airlift adding enough

1. Not sure as I don't know the Waterfarm enough to know what you mean.

2. That's one of the reasons I didn't go down the Waterfarm or similar route, was the difficulty in checking p.h levels and changing the water. I would have wanted to change the water every 3-4 days in a system that small, and doing 24 of those every few days would be a complete nightmare!

I would drain the system and refill with fresh p.h'd nutrient solution every 3-4 days rather than trying to adjust what you have in there, and if you test it as it comes out you'll see if you're getting any wild swings in your p.h levels. You may find you can leave it longer between changes by keeping an eye on it, but that will depend on your nutes, temps etc.

3. It wouldn't do any harm to add an airstone, so that's down to your own preference.

I have the waterfarm 8 pack and 4 individual waterfarms.

1. I haven't done it personally but yes I have heard of someone cutting down the tube to get the drip ring lower. I just angled mine down and buried it in hydroton.

2. I use the site glass (water level tube) to drain the system and check ph/ppm. If you don't have a drain on your floor, simply raise the waterfarm up a bit so you can fit a bowl/container under so you can completely drain it. Or get a cheap shop vac that's what I use. Like you mentioned I drain a bit of water into a Tupperware container to test it. If your worried about having to take the inner bucket out, have premixed nutes / ph'ed water and pour it through the hydroton. Just have it to where you want it that way you won't shock your plants.

3. Yes add an airstone. There's a small hole on the side of the brown bucket, I made that hole bigger and slid the airline through that into the bottom of the bucket. Than attached a 4" airstone. That way you don't add extra holes

cool thanks for the input.