Bubbling the res for autodrip

[LiaK]

When I switched from DWC to coco w/ autodrip I kept the airstones in the 20 gallon resevoiur. I love the setup but wonder if I need the air. I clean it every other weekend and it takes several days to get the pH to stabilize. My well water starts out at about 7.8, so it takes quite a bit of pH down before it maintains over time.

So I guess it is a dual question; are the airstones useful or just power suckers? And, does it help get to and maintain the pH at all?

Thanks,
Lia.

 

[Papageno]

Pictures would help but I think there is not enough info to comment on if the situation needs the stones. Are doing DTW or recirculating it?


As far as pH goes it really depends on how you are managing it and why you are constantly cleaning. It is not hard to go the whole grow without cleaning out the res just fine. Depending on the method used you can maintain pH naturally without much effort. So we would need a better understanding of your setup in my mind to diagnose what is so wrong and why you are laboring so hard and forcing the pH around.

In a good healthy hydro system the pH maintains itself. You need to understand the PPM requirements well and walk that up and down properly for that to happen. All of that is Hydro-101 ... So not sure where the question is ... which is why I responded.

Most questions get answered fast. I look for the ones not answered and this one just needs some rephrasing.

If your are doing like a recirculating Hempy bucket then you probably could do away with the airstones. Not sure though...

Good luck!

 

[LiaK]

Thanks for the response. It is drain to waste. A storage bin acts as res, (actually 10 gallons, that was a typo) with a pump on a timer to supply water thru 1/4" line to dripper stakes in the 3gal pots with coco coir.

I guess I am (was) cleaning it that often because I thought I was supposed to. I think I read it somewhere, and maybe I read that about DWC and it just stuck when I switched to coco. Just like leaving in the bubbler.

I was actually feeling little naughty for letting it go 3 weeks and just adding more water and nutes. It just didn't seem like it needed cleaning. The pH was easy to get right when I was just adding to the res.

Lia

 

[Papageno]

I am no DTW expert but have helped a few with it. There aren't too many DTW people hanging around here but the premise is similar enough. There is a guy on here goes by the handle FarEastBuds that runs DTW pretty well you might PM him.


You need to clean as often as you need to no more. I know that sounds stupid but some people can go the whole grow and some can't in any setup really. Some people choose not to try...there are many ways to grow.

I try to keep things as simple as possible becasue the more things you have to do the more things you can screw up.

So keeping it clean by running either a sterile solution or a living solution is a must especially in DTW ...IMO.


In DTW you have an opportunity for stuff like bacteria and spores to get into the root system from airflow that you don't get in DWC. Similar in Flood and Drain. Not a big deal just if you choose to do one way or the other (living /Sterile) correctly then you wont have to worry about the pH...so long as you feed correctly.

If you want to go all natural you introduce beneficial bacteria once every 2 weeks to keep the system clean and efficient. If you want to run sterile you basically add H2O2 constantly and keep the res cold cold cold.

Since you are running DTW and the roots and not floating in solution you wont need those stones. The Air stones are to keep the bacteria down and the prevent the roots from drowning. Without them the roots will drown and the plant will die.

So you should have one in your res and that will help your overall pH control when you don't have a bunch of bad anaerobic bacteria in there.


Best of luck!