Greenislands grow journal 09' #2

Hi Greenie- I always check out your journal and I have to say yours is the best here, hands down!!!
 
Thank you slosmokin! No I do not have airstones in my reservoir but I am currently in the process of purchasing one for my 5 gallon ebb and gro 100 gallon reservoir. Justr because with a 100 gallon reservoir there is a lot less turnover every time the buckets flood and I feal like an airstone would help. Generally speaking adding an airstone to the reservoir is never a bad idea and will almost always help you in some way. UNLESS you have nutes like H&G that specifically say "do not aerate your solution". There are several companies nutes that say this so make sure to check before you do add an airstone that its compatible with your nutrient regimen (I beleive they say this because it agitates the solution and makes some of the nutrients fall out of availability, not positive but pretty sure). Usually the 55 gallon reservoir does get aerated enough just from flooding the buckets and the hole thats drilled in the pump elbow that constantly sprays a jet of water into the reservoir when the pump is on. So in short no I dont aerate now but I will be soon in the 100 gallon res.:ganjamon: Hope that answers your question man!

Glad you stopped by slosmokin!:thanks::ganjamon::peace:
 
Ok, heres some pics for ya all.

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Hope everyone likes the pics!:ganjamon::peace::ganjamon:
 
greenisland said:
Thank you slosmokin! No I do not have airstones in my reservoir but I am currently in the process of purchasing one for my 5 gallon ebb and gro 100 gallon reservoir. Justr because with a 100 gallon reservoir there is a lot less turnover every time the buckets flood and I feal like an airstone would help. Generally speaking adding an airstone to the reservoir is never a bad idea and will almost always help you in some way. UNLESS you have nutes like H&G that specifically say "do not aerate your solution". There are several companies nutes that say this so make sure to check before you do add an airstone that its compatible with your nutrient regimen (I beleive they say this because it agitates the solution and makes some of the nutrients fall out of availability, not positive but pretty sure). Usually the 55 gallon reservoir does get aerated enough just from flooding the buckets and the hole thats drilled in the pump elbow that constantly sprays a jet of water into the reservoir when the pump is on. So in short no I dont aerate now but I will be soon in the 100 gallon res.:ganjamon: Hope that answers your question man!

Glad you stopped by slosmokin!:thanks::ganjamon::peace:
Click to expand...


I think airstones are not recommended in Ebb & Flow reservoirs because the roots will get their air when the water leaves the buckets or flood table. If you bubble air into the solution, you are exposing the water and nutrients to higher levels of dissolved gases that can react with the nutes and either destabilize them or make them less soluble. Carbon Dioxide can form carbonic acid when bubbled into water. So, instead of using an airstone, it would be preferable to use a decently strong water pump to continually mix the nute solution. I used to run an airstone and mixing pump in my rez but dropped both items on my current grow.
 
Your accomplishing the same thing with a pump running Munki. Your still oxygenating the nutrient solution. There ARE some nutes that will do as you say and lock themselves out but I feel comfortable saying most nute regimens do not have this "lockout" issue. Before I used the ebb and gro set I used a regular flood table/ebb and flow set. I ran into the same things being sayed back then from people that "they say its not recommended" but yet when I put the airstones in the rez it benefited the plants greatly....well it benefited them in a way you could tell atleast in a positive way. The issue with the CAP ebb and gro set is that the water in the buckets doesnt drain all the way and actually gets stagnate. This is a design flaw in the system. CAP says that they did this on purpose so the plants can get a drink when the buckets arent flooding. This is just a crock because I know that they have been looking into ways of changing the system so it doesnt have that stagnate water in there. Look at the new Sentinel modular ebb and flood system, they fixed many things on CAPs ebb and gro set and that stagnate water is one of them, including larger diameter lines and a leak sensor, as well as making everything digitally controlled. The stagnate water is bad for all kinds reasons, the airstone in the reservoir helps with the dissolved oxygen thats in the water left over from the flood cycle. It is even better if you put the airstones in the individual buckets, but for right now Im just gonna put it in the rez. Im not using it in the 55 gallon drum, just the 100 because I can tell just from the smell that its getting stagnant. I suppose well get a first hand look here in the upcoming weeks whether its better to use them or not but I can just about guarantee that it will work better. I am no chemist expert or anything so Im only speaking from experience and whats happened when Ive used the airstones. There very well may be some chemical reason as to why you shouldnt use airstones but every time Ive implemented them its been beneficial. I dont see how DWC systems with airstones in the buckets 24/7 would work if the airstones ruined your nutrient solution. Or even a aero set that is basically surrounded by oxygen. Maybe someone could explain why that still works better than I could. I guess well just have to see how things turn out in the 100 gallon rez. Thanks for all the great info and help though guys. Its always very much appreciated!
 
greenisland said:
Your accomplishing the same thing with a pump running Munki. Your still oxygenating the nutrient solution. There ARE some nutes that will do as you say and lock themselves out but I feel comfortable saying most nute regimens do not have this issue. Before I used the ebb and gro set I used a regular flood table ebb and flow set. I ran into the same things back then with people saying that they say its not recommended but yet when I put the airstones in it benefited the plants greatly....well it benefited them in a way you could tell atleast. The issue with the CAP ebb and gro set is that the water in the buckets doesnt drain all the way and actually gets stagnate. This is a design flaw in the system. CAP says that they did this on purpose so the plants can get a drink when the buckets arent flooding. This is just a crock because I know that they have been looking into ways of changing the system so it doesnt have that stagnate water in there. The stagnate water is bad for all kinds reasons so the airstone in the reservoir helps with the dissolved oxygen thats in water left over in the buckets from the flood cycle. It is even better if you put the airstones in the individual buckets and that works even better but for right now Im just gonna put it in the rez. Im not using it in the 55 gallon drum, just the 100 because I can tell just fro the smell that its getting stagnant. I suppose well get a first hand look here in the upcoming weeks whether its better to use them or not but I can just about gaurantee that it will work better. I am no chemist expert or anything so Im only speeking from experience and whats happened when Ive used the airstones. There very well may be some chemical reason as to why you shouldnt use airstones but every time ive implemented them its been beneficial. I dont see how DWC systems with airstones in the buckets 24/7 would work if the airstones ruined your nutrient solution. Or even a aero set that is basically surrounded by oxygen. Maybe someone could explain why that is better. I guess well just have to see how things turn out in the100 gallon rez. Thanks for all the great info and help though guys. Its always very much appreciated!
Click to expand...

Well experience from experimentation garners the best evidence and you have much more of that than I do.
 

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