RDWC system bubbles

Hello everybody. I have almost finished my first grow in a DWC system and am planning to switch to an RDWC to be more comfortable reading the values and integrating water and nutrients into the system. I was wondering if it was necessary to have the porous stones under each netpot, so that the air bubbles reach the roots, or it is enough to oxygenate the solution in one point of the system and then circulate it in a way to keep the dissolved oxygen levels constant. Thank you so much for the answers, good growth!

Run a water fall then you don't need any airstone at all

Bucsfan80 said:

Run a water fall then you don't need any airstone at all

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So from what I understand there is no need for the bubbles to reach the root zone directly?

No. The turbulence on the surface of the water is enough to supply ample do to the root zone

I use a spray bar and it's more than enough

Pending on system,the more flow makes roots follow it.So could cause blockage.
Airstone kinda pushes roots away from drains and a smaller recirculating pump can be used.

Bucsfan80 said:

No. The turbulence on the surface of the water is enough to supply ample do to the root zone

Click to expand...

Sorry if I seem a little obsessed but before this I have seen many grows fail and I wouldn't want to repeat. The fact is that in my hypothetical RDWC the solution would be oxygenated in a bucket and then transported by the pump into the actual pot (where the plants are placed) and then obviously come back and repeat the cycle. In short, no cascade directly on the roots nor air bubbles, the actual pots would be more similar to a kratky system than to a dwc.
Thank you for your patience

You want the bubbles in every plant container, because when they pop at the surface, it mists the whole upper root ball and net pot section with ultra fine micro droplets, almost like an aeroponic system, if not better. Technically finer mist than a HP nozzle can put out to some extent..

Not only does it supercharge growth, but it keeps it roots from drying out, especially if the water level gets lower for any reason, and allows time for smaller plants to reach the water if its a bigger container\system to start with.

You don't have to run the water level higher, or top water the pots at all, because its like having spray bars at all times.

I use lead free soaker hose in all my systems now, 1/4, 3/8 and even up too half inch (with smaller sections/loops).

Small aquarium pumps are so cheap now, and virtually make no noise, so I'm using one or 2 of them per container, instead of big noisy commercial sized pumps with manifolds.

Drop That Sound said:

You want the bubbles in every plant container, because when they pop at the surface, it mists the whole upper root ball and net pot section with ultra fine micro droplets, almost like an aeroponic system, if not better. Technically finer mist than a HP nozzle can put out to some extent..

Not only does it supercharge growth, but it keeps it roots from drying out, especially if the water level gets lower for any reason, and allows time for smaller plants to reach the water if its a bigger container\system to start with.

You don't have to run the water level higher, or top water the pots at all, because its like having spray bars at all times.

I use lead free soaker hose in all my systems now, 1/4, 3/8 and even up too half inch (with smaller sections/loops).

Small aquarium pumps are so cheap now, and virtually make no noise, so I'm using one or 2 of them per container, instead of big noisy commercial sized pumps with manifolds.

Click to expand...

WHen i ran rdwc I used what was called" ThePump" 40 watts,12 airstones could barely here it.
I agree about the water droplets,even with low water it still worked.

Drop That Sound said:

You want the bubbles in every plant container, because when they pop at the surface, it mists the whole upper root ball and net pot section with ultra fine micro droplets, almost like an aeroponic system, if not better. Technically finer mist than a HP nozzle can put out to some extent..

Not only does it supercharge growth, but it keeps it roots from drying out, especially if the water level gets lower for any reason, and allows time for smaller plants to reach the water if its a bigger container\system to start with.

You don't have to run the water level higher, or top water the pots at all, because its like having spray bars at all times.

I use lead free soaker hose in all my systems now, 1/4, 3/8 and even up too half inch (with smaller sections/loops).

Small aquarium pumps are so cheap now, and virtually make no noise, so I'm using one or 2 of them per container, instead of big noisy commercial sized pumps with manifolds.

Click to expand...

I use spray bars no air stones or waterfalls and i have crazy root growth. That's a 6" netpot

That root ball ball looks like Ramen

Bucsfan80 said:

View attachment 5196490
I use spray bars no air stones or waterfalls and i have crazy root growth. That's a 6" netpot

Click to expand...

Spray bar is a waterfall isn't it?

Spray bars will do the trick

I've had great results using air stones in all of my buckets and reservoir. I use a high output pump along with an 8 output manifold. I'm running RDWC in a knock off Undercurrent system with 4-13 gallon buckets and 13 gallon reservoir. I'm doing a clean system using the complete Cultered Solutions line of nutrients. The system is fairly low maintenance and water changes are limited. My roots are always clean. The system is circulating about 45-50 gallons of water. I put a higher capacity circulator pump in place to turn over the water quicker. I've been running this set-up successfully for a while now. I've found that if I follow the nutrient calculator recommendations things go well. RDWC is an excellent way to grow. For me, I get the best results when I don't over think it.

I use smaller 3-4 inch netpots, so I can keep the water level higher, and have more overall solution/buffer. The difference between a 3 inch and 6 inch pot could literally be anywhere from + or - like 5-30 gallons in the whole system, depending on the size, just by allowing or taking up those few extra inches worth of water, while also keeping it just under the pot.

I still get massive roots, but sometimes split the small netpots in half when growing monsters, lol. I'll just double up next time, and still grow 2 lb plants in a cheap 3 inch cup, no big deal. Rather have more water in my system, to keep it more stable.

If I had more space though, I would run more shallow like Bucs ^, and have spray bars, water falls, and aerators too. Wider shallower totes, to get huge root mats. LPA\SWC hybrid, with a lot of redundancy, incase one kind of pump go's out. Make up for it with a bigger res off to the side, and more complex top off system too. I just don't have the space for an extra res or all that, and need the extra water level height in my situation, for my small flower room anyway.

I've hooked up one of those medical oxygen concentrator devices before, but its overkill IMO, lol.

I've also made hydrogen electrolyzer cells out of stainless steel light switch cover plates, and produced on demand "browns gas" directly in the solution (using electrolysis to split h20 back into hydrogen and oxygen), but you just don't get the effect of the bubbles\sprayers misting the roots, and the air/water ratio that is more ideal that way...