Before I found out that my well won't support hydroponics, I did a lot of planning and building for a RDWC system. There were two key components to my setup, standardization, and redundancy. For standardization, the same make and model of air and water pumps were to be used throughout the system. For redundancy every place needing air was supplied from two air pumps, each with a separate set of airstones. The plan was to to also have a spare water pump and air pump on hand in case of a failure.
It's my understanding that you can go without water circulation for a day or two, but a few hours without air would severely damage the crop. You need the air to keep from drowning the plants. With this in mind I had also decided on a backup for the power to the air pumps, as power failures are not uncommon where I live. The backup power doesn't cost much. a car battery, charger, inverter, and a relay are all that would be required for a day's worth of protection. I do have an emergency generator for extended outages.
I'm hoping that your plants can recover.
It's my understanding that you can go without water circulation for a day or two, but a few hours without air would severely damage the crop. You need the air to keep from drowning the plants. With this in mind I had also decided on a backup for the power to the air pumps, as power failures are not uncommon where I live. The backup power doesn't cost much. a car battery, charger, inverter, and a relay are all that would be required for a day's worth of protection. I do have an emergency generator for extended outages.
I'm hoping that your plants can recover.
