More air stones?

So from my research more air is better but at some point there is an oxygen saturation point and there are no more benefits. This is the bucket I bought https://indoorgrowingcanada.com/collections/dwc-deep-water-culture/products/alfred-dwc-1-plant-system-kit

The pump https://www.hydrotekhydroponics.com/alfred-horticulture/alfred-hydroponic-air-pump-1-outlet-108l-h-3w-145011

https://www.hydrotekhydroponics.com/alfred-airstone-cylinder-1-7-x-1-7-145550

I'm guessing the standard pump and stone is as cheap as it gets and it does not reach that saturation point. Do you recommend investing in a good pump with more than one outlet so I can have multiple stones running there? Any recommendations for good pumps and stones?

I'm also wrapping the thing in reflectix for insulation, is this the best option available?

I buy those GH 4 way pumps, and put all 4 stones into 1 bucket.

Beware, the more air you add to your plants at the root level, the bigger they will get. NO joke.

It's also a big benefit when temperatures are a bit higher in the root zone from HID lighting. More oxygen prevents root death when the water temps get a bit higher, obviously this has it's limitations and nothing beats a chiller, but still, I've never used a chiller in my whole life to grow anything.

SamRD said:

So from my research more air is better but at some point there is an oxygen saturation point and there are no more benefits. This is the bucket I bought https://indoorgrowingcanada.com/collections/dwc-deep-water-culture/products/alfred-dwc-1-plant-system-kit

The pump https://www.hydrotekhydroponics.com/alfred-horticulture/alfred-hydroponic-air-pump-1-outlet-108l-h-3w-145011

https://www.hydrotekhydroponics.com/alfred-airstone-cylinder-1-7-x-1-7-145550

I'm guessing the standard pump and stone is as cheap as it gets and it does not reach that saturation point. Do you recommend investing in a good pump with more than one outlet so I can have multiple stones running there? Any recommendations for good pumps and stones?

I'm also wrapping the thing in reflectix for insulation, is this the best option available?

Click to expand...

A chiller is the best option. The reflectix will only reflect some of the heat away, not all, and air pumps have a tendency to add heat to the res. The problem is, cooler water holds more d.o. than warmer water does, and everything we use to grow, i.e. lights, air and water pumps, add heat. Take some water bottles, remove the sticker(glue), and throw in the freezer until frozen. Then throw that frozen bottle into your res. Once it thaws, take it out, and throw it back into the freezer and add another frozen bottle to the res. Repeat. Lol
I've heard conflicting views on airstones. Some say they work like shit. I've used them with great results, but i feel using waterfalls, fluming, and venturi, in addition to the airstones, would probably be best.

SamRD said:

So from my research more air is better but at some point there is an oxygen saturation point and there are no more benefits. This is the bucket I bought https://indoorgrowingcanada.com/collections/dwc-deep-water-culture/products/alfred-dwc-1-plant-system-kit

The pump https://www.hydrotekhydroponics.com/alfred-horticulture/alfred-hydroponic-air-pump-1-outlet-108l-h-3w-145011

https://www.hydrotekhydroponics.com/alfred-airstone-cylinder-1-7-x-1-7-145550

I'm guessing the standard pump and stone is as cheap as it gets and it does not reach that saturation point. Do you recommend investing in a good pump with more than one outlet so I can have multiple stones running there? Any recommendations for good pumps and stones?

I'm also wrapping the thing in reflectix for insulation, is this the best option available?

Click to expand...

More aeration is not always better. You don't need much to saturate the water

You will have a much harder time controlling the roots moisture level with to much turbulence in the water.

Most common issue in DWC is rot at the root/stem core because it stays constantly wet. You only really need a waterfall at the return line going back to the reservoir.

No need for air stones if you design the system properly. Try keeping temps below 75F/24C when lights are on, it will save you from a lot of hassle regarding water temps.

Also look into running "sterile" with an oxidizer. I've always used regular bleach with 3ppm residual chlorine. Here's a dilution calculator: Chlorine dilution calculator

Wastei said:

More aeration is not always better. You don't need much to saturate the water

You will have a much harder time controlling the roots moisture level with to much turbulence in the water.

Most common issue in DWC is rot at the root/stem core because it stays constantly wet. You only really need a waterfall at the return line going back to the reservoir.

No need for air stones if you design the system properly. Try keeping temps below 75F/24C when lights are on, it will save you from a lot of hassle regarding water temps.

Also look into running "sterile" with an oxidizer. I've always used regular bleach with 3ppm residual chlorine. Here's a dilution calculator: Chlorine dilution calculator

Click to expand...

Wastei,

do you add bleach at a certain time interval or do you add it by measuring zero free chlorine with some test kit?

shortarker99 said:

Wastei,

do you add bleach at a certain time interval or do you add it by measuring zero free chlorine with some test kit?

Click to expand...

It's sort of impossible to measure the small amount of chlorine with strips. Dosing frequency really depends on your water temp and plant count but every third day is a good starting point.

If you have a smaller system with daily or every other day top offs you could get away with just adding 3ppm to everything going in the res. Top of res changes etc.

After much research I decided to try bennies first. I have a pack of bacillus amyloliquefaciens I'm going to use since the get go to colonize the roots. These have long been used in agriculture to fight root pathogens including pythium. Plus they offer a host of other benefits such as growth promotion and root tolerance to salt stress.

SamRD said:

After much research I decided to try bennies first. I have a pack of bacillus amyloliquefaciens I'm going to use since the get go to colonize the roots. These have long been used in agriculture to fight root pathogens including pythium. Plus they offer a host of other benefits such as growth promotion and root tolerance to salt stress.

Click to expand...

The don't really work that well at inoculating in hydro because there's no substrate to inoculate.

It's however good at fighting bad bacteria cultures by being higher in numbers and combating for the food source. All bennies die of in hydro and need to be replenish, there's no substrate for them to live in other than floating around in the water.

Wastei said:

The don't really work that well at inoculating in hydro because there's no substrate to inoculate.

It's however good at fighting bad bacteria cultures by being higher in numbers and combating for the food source. All bennies die of in hydro and need to be replenish, there's no substrate for them to live in other than floating around in the water.

Click to expand...

I saw a few before and afters and it did miracles, roots full of rot and one week later they are white. I found one with 20x higher concentration of bennies than Hydroguard, I think it also might help to have them there from the get go and not only when shit hits the fan. I'm thinking replenishing every week when I change the res