Oxygenated Water

newGrows

Active Member
Why do people only oxygenate water in bubbleponics or a regular hydro setup?

Even if I'm growing in soil couldn't i just get an airstone and pump a bunch of air into the water i use?
Why wouldn't I?
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
I grow in soilless with 20% soil added (Pro-Mix HP and Kellogg potting soil). I aerate my RO water for a few hours. Sometimes 24 hours. Depends on when I add nutrients to the water. I start bubbling then.

I thought everyone did.
 

Milovan

Well-Known Member
Some do some don't but I used to now I use an airator on my faucet.
I'm hoping that helps and
a side by side comparison of 2 like plants with and without pumped air
would be the way to go. Yet to see this here at RIU.
 

newGrows

Active Member
I grow in soilless with 20% soil added (Pro-Mix HP and Kellogg potting soil). I aerate my RO water for a few hours. Sometimes 24 hours. Depends on when I add nutrients to the water. I start bubbling then.

I thought everyone did.
Do you do that into a closed container? Is it possible to pump in so much oxygen the container pops?
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
Oxygen saturation levels drop very quickly when aeration is turned off so it won't do a lot for delivering oxygen to a plant in soil. I aerate my rain water storage to prevent algae from growing and it is done to remove chlorine from tap water more quickly. When you water your plants, oxygen is sucked in behind the water as it goes into your soil. So it won't hurt anything to bubble it but you probably won't get improved results. Making sure you have a good soil structure for both drainage/aeration and water retention is far more important imo.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Do you do that into a closed container? Is it possible to pump in so much oxygen the container pops?
I mix nutes in a 1 or 5 gal bucket. I cover it so the fizz of the air bubbles is contained, but it's not sealed tight.

An alternative would be to use small amounts of hydrogen peroxide in water to oxygenate your water. H2O2.
I use h2o2 (0.5% which is 5 parts water to 1 part ordinary 3%) for germinating seeds. I'd be afraid to pour it into nute water or soil because it is a disinfectant. Don't think it would be good for beneficial microbes.

If I were trying to treat root rot or something serious, it might be a good trade-off. But, just to oxygenate the soil I wouldn't.

It would be interesting to do a side-by-side with an untreated plant and one that receives regular doses of h202. The benefits of the o2 might outweigh whatever downside (if any) to the microbes.
 

DemonTrich

Well-Known Member
h202 kills benies in organic soil. fyi

I have a 35 gal h2o res I bubble 24/7. mainly to keep water fresh, dissipate chlorine faster when using. I use 15 gals of water per feeding.
 
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