Oxygenating my reservoir

Jumfrey13

Jumfrey13

Active Member
Is this really necessary? I already use a watering wand for my bigger plants in 3 gal and 5 gal pots. I know that aerates the water quite a bit. Of course for my babies which are in 1 gallon or cloning trays, i just hand water with a cup. But are those pumps with bubble stones helpful? It seems like the air that gets pumped into the water just gets released right out of the surface of the water, but maybe some oxygen gets trapped in the water? If so, what are the recommended products to use? I'm tempted to purchase this product and get a bunch of stones: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-AAPA25L-Air-Pump-Outlets/dp/B002JPD76I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440711167&sr=8-1&keywords=8+outlet+hydroponics+pump&pebp=1440711170029&perid=1N7JBY1CG4QE59GXYS27
What do yall think?
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Alotta peeps aerate their tap water to bubble off chlorine. Actively aerating non chlorinated water can also stimulate growth of microbial life. Aerating your water does increase the amount of dissolved O2 in your water slightly but this is not the main benefit. You really do not need to bubble your water unless you are trying to stimulate growth of microbial life and/or make a microbial tea.
In that case you would need to add a sugar input like molasses and then innoculate with worm castings and maybe some kelp meal or guano to get things going. This is a HUGE benefit to your plants. I don't even use bottled nutrients anymore; my plants need only amended soil, organic tea, and good clean water.
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Oh wait if you are in a hydro system running an airstone in your res is only needed if there are roots dangling down into the water. Not sure if I misinterpreted the Q....
 
B

Budget Buds

Well-Known Member
Oxygenated water is a must have thing. Why skimp on a few bucks worth of equipment when it could make a world of difference in your results?
 
Jumfrey13

Jumfrey13

Active Member
Richard, Thanks for the info. My water is filtered by a new Hydrologic Triton, so no need to bubble off chlorine. I'm trying to stay away from bottled nutes myself. I'm growing in soil and desire to be as organic as possible. Using Roots 707 as my medium. I use these bottled nutes: floranova grow, with calmag, silica, roots accelerator and hygrozyme. I would rather not use all this chemical mess.When you say it's helpful when using teas, were you implying that you brew your own tea? If so, then i wouldn't need an aerator because i won't be brewing my own tea. I will talk to my hydro guy about his tea he makes. His shop is close by so i can quickly use it after i buy some, although I don't know how often i should use teas. And about making microbial life, i have a mix of beneficial micorhizhea. Should i be using that with every watering?
 
Last edited:
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Jumfrey13 said:
Richard, Thanks for the info. My water is filtered by a new Hydrologic Triton, so no need to bubble off chlorine. I'm trying to stay away from bottled nutes myself. I'm growing in soil and desire to be as organic as possible. Using Roots 707 as my medium. I use these bottled nutes: floranova grow, with calmag, silica, roots accelerator and hygrozyme. I would rather not use all this chemical mess.When you say it's helpful when using teas, were you implying that you brew your own tea? If so, then i wouldn't need an aerator because i won't be brewing my own tea. I will talk to my hydro guy about his tea he makes. His shop is close by so i can quickly use it after i buy some, although I don't know how often i should use teas. And about making microbial life, i have a mix of beneficial micorhizhea. Should i be using that with every watering?
Click to expand...
No that's kind of like overkill but you can use it in a fungal tea. It may be more beneficial to give your plants a fungal tea a week or so after a transplant or maybe after you flipped to flowering. I like to put dry endo myco directly in the hole where I'm gonna transplant a clone from my cloner to soil. You can use aloe Vera gel- squeeze a bit from an aloe plant leaf & ooze it into the roots then dip in mycorrizea & do your transplant. Ensures the myco attaches to the roots nicely which helps uptake nutrients and fights diseases.
 
Jumfrey13

Jumfrey13

Active Member
Thank you very much. I'm about to transplant some babies and will be using the aloe with my myco mix. And the fungal tea? Should i just put my dry powder into my small res (5 gal bucket) and just aerate that with no other additives for a few days? Will that be sufficient to get them to start reproducing?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top