Newb needs advice

I am just completing a grow in an old areogarden modified via air stones to a crude DWC/Bubbler it worked fairly well considering . I am now in the process of building a bubbler similar to the stealth one and the one that Roseman shows how to build. I have two questions 1) would using a 18 gallon tub instead of a 8 gallon be better or worse (my reasoning is more water more root space and more air space ?) 2) Is there such a thing as to much air bubbling in the water (is it possible to over saturate the roots with oxygen). I am trying to learn and could use the advice as this is a much needed med . grow. Everyone on RIU says this is the place and people to see. Tanks and a+rep for any advice or wisdom.

fFIRSTY OF ALL THHERE IS NO SUCH THING OF 2 MUCH BUBBLES THE ONLY REASON U USE A 8 GALLON RES. IS AN18 GALLON WOULD KILL U ON NUTES HOW MANY PLANTS U GONNA GROW

18 gal is not providing any advantage and just creates more work and expense. If you are using a tote with a larger lid area for more plants then yeah, it will be more gallons. But usually the diff between a 10 gal and 18 gal is mostly depth. Don't worry about too many bubbles. If you are using a water pump and tubes then one 12 inch airstone is enough. But if you are using the bubbles to keep the netpots fed from seed (my pref) then you want about three or four of those, and a bigger air pump.

mista32 said:

fFIRSTY OF ALL THHERE IS NO SUCH THING OF 2 MUCH BUBBLES THE ONLY REASON U USE A 8 GALLON RES. IS AN18 GALLON WOULD KILL U ON NUTES HOW MANY PLANTS U GONNA GROW

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i second that!

Illegal Smile said:

18 gal is not providing any advantage and just creates more work and expense. If you are using a tote with a larger lid area for more plants then yeah, it will be more gallons. But usually the diff between a 10 gal and 18 gal is mostly depth. Don't worry about too many bubbles. If you are using a water pump and tubes then one 12 inch airstone is enough. But if you are using the bubbles to keep the netpots fed from seed (my pref) then you want about three or four of those, and a bigger air pump.

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The reason i was going to use the 18 gal. was i get them free, and i was thinking along the line of more root space. I was thinking of using a water pump for the first few weeks and then removing it and increasing from 2 14" airstones on a dual outlet air pump to 4 14" airstones and 2 dual outlet air pumps. so what do you think ? I guess i will shell out for a couple of 8-10 gallon totes. Thanks for the advice

mista32 said:

fFIRSTY OF ALL THHERE IS NO SUCH THING OF 2 MUCH BUBBLES THE ONLY REASON U USE A 8 GALLON RES. IS AN18 GALLON WOULD KILL U ON NUTES HOW MANY PLANTS U GONNA GROW

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A six pack is what im shooting for. Youre right the nutes aint cheap. So it seems so far the general opinion is 8 will work as well as 18 and cheaper and less hassle. so i gonna go with smaller tub and bigger bubbles. thanks for the advice.

GENERALLY SPEAKING (means this is my experience, others' may differ)

smaller tub = smaller roots = smaller plants

also

smaller res = more maintenance = adding water more often & more checking pH/ppm's

and

a smaller res absorbs heat faster making it more work to keep your solution's temp optimal.

hotboxhatchback said:

GENERALLY SPEAKING (means this is my experience, others' may differ)

smaller tub = smaller roots = smaller plants

also

smaller res = more maintenance = adding water more often & more checking pH/ppm's

and

a smaller res absorbs heat faster making it more work to keep your solution's temp optimal.

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so what size tub woul you use for (6) - 6" net pots

hotboxhatchback said:

GENERALLY SPEAKING (means this is my experience, others' may differ)

smaller tub = smaller roots = smaller plants

also

smaller res = more maintenance = adding water more often & more checking pH/ppm's

and

a smaller res absorbs heat faster making it more work to keep your solution's temp optimal.

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In hydro you can do that..they can get rootbound otherways.You can prune the roots also.But i pulled 6 5ft, plants out of an aerogarden.And that is a small ass rez.

cantoke said:

The reason i was going to use the 18 gal. was i get them free, and i was thinking along the line of more root space. I was thinking of using a water pump for the first few weeks and then removing it and increasing from 2 14" airstones on a dual outlet air pump to 4 14" airstones and 2 dual outlet air pumps. so what do you think ? I guess i will shell out for a couple of 8-10 gallon totes. Thanks for the advice

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I wouldn't go smaller than 10gal with about 7 gal of water. 2 gal per plant is plenty. And it isn't just the gallons of the tote it's the other dimensions. Look for one that is still only 12 - 13 inches deep but gets the extra gallons from being longer and wider. That means the top is larger and you can spread plants out more. Also when it is not so deep it is easier to get plenty of bubble action in the space between the water surface and the netpots. Enough splashing and mist that your germinated seedlings get all they need with no pumps or tubes, and the roots will be in water quickly. My new tote (that I had a hard time finding) is 15 gal capacity but only 12 1/2 inches deep. I'll use 4 12 inch airstones with a larger than aquarium size airpump and grow 5 plants in there.

cantoke said:

so what size tub woul you use for (6) - 6" net pots

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I've experimented with DWC in everything from a 2 gal res with 6 3" netpots to the 18 gal with 6 6" netpots. My favorite by far was a 14 gal tote with 4 6" pots. It held 10 gal of solution nicely with plenty of space between the pots for the roots to spread out. PPM and pH were pretty constant as well. But as far as your question goes, I personally would use the 18 gallon tote for 6 6"netpots. It does use more nutes/water, and requires a little more work come time for res change, but having used the 14 gal with 4 pots, I wouldn't try for 6. It just seems like roots compete for oxygen and space when slammed together too tightly. Keep in mind, I'm no professional grower and this is only my opinion, but hey.....you asked. Hope you get it all sorted out and good luck with the next grow. Happy tokin.

I got free 18gal totes as well and then used (3) 6" net pots. Its my first grow so I am no expert but currently my plants are about 30" big 1 week into flowering and the roots are filling up the totes. I would think that this is one of those things that given the room to grow they will use it.

the size of your res/tub is obviously one of those variables that gives you plenty of room to choose where you want to be, which is why i tried to offer a simple perspective. if you want to grow smaller plants with a shorter veg time then you can use a pretty small res and be fine, i think you'll work harder to maintain the solution but you can see plenty of guys make it work.

i plan on growing 5 or 6 plants at a time in a 27gallon superbox tote with a 5gallon bucket hanging off the side as part of my custom rdwc setup. it will end up providing about 16-18 gallons of solution giving 6 plants almost 3 gallons each. also, i'm doing rdwc so that i can easily drain & fill with the added bonus of being able to top feed each site directly while the clones are young and keeping DO more consistent throughout the solution. i plan on using lst and scrog to increase the efficiency of my garden and i'll veg only as much as i find i need to in order to meet my relatively high demands.

dude 18 gallons would be a pain to dump if theres no plug at the bottom

CHR0N1C K1NG said:

dude 18 gallons would be a pain to dump if theres no plug at the bottom

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You got that right. I did it once a week for 3 1/2 months.

i dumped my stuff by hand till i got smart enough to leave a valve at the bottom of each container.

after that, its as simple as slipping a hose onto the valve, open valve, plug in the inline pump and smoke a bowl while you wait.

Illegal Smile said:

I wouldn't go smaller than 10gal with about 7 gal of water. 2 gal per plant is plenty. And it isn't just the gallons of the tote it's the other dimensions. Look for one that is still only 12 - 13 inches deep but gets the extra gallons from being longer and wider. That means the top is larger and you can spread plants out more. Also when it is not so deep it is easier to get plenty of bubble action in the space between the water surface and the netpots. Enough splashing and mist that your germinated seedlings get all they need with no pumps or tubes, and the roots will be in water quickly. My new tote (that I had a hard time finding) is 15 gal capacity but only 12 1/2 inches deep. I'll use 4 12 inch airstones with a larger than aquarium size airpump and grow 5 plants in there.

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After listening to various opinions i think youre opinion is closest to what i think would work for me. I found a good tote its 14 gallon 24"x16" 12" deep. I am going to use (4) 14" airstones on a high output air pump. but i cant decide if to go with 5 - 6" pots or 6. It would be nice to cram that sixth one ,in i have only a small grow area to use. I guess you would go with 5. Thanks again for the advice and wisdom.