what is the best way to run airstones with soil grow

cushmasternewbie

Active Member
For example I built a 5 gallon bucket self water systen that wicks the water up thru the dirt so I have bout a gallon of water that sits at bottom I might add airstones n bottom would that help my babies grow better any ideas or setups talk to me fam
 

Bugeye

Well-Known Member
I think it would be worth trying. I am not sure the added bubblers will do much to improve aeration given you are in soil, but they would not hurt anything.

I used a wicking system in some large dirt bays this past year and I do agree there could be issues with keeping the bottom layers too wet. I just don't know for sure.

What I saw were bottom leaves that had a slightly under-oxygenated look to them. The upper 2/3rd of fan leaves were perfectly healthy and flat. I did not have to do much top watering for weeks on end so it has advantages for growers that can't water frequently.

So try it and see what happens. If you are running clones, run one pot without the bubblers and see if you see a difference. Good luck, have fun.

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NorthernHize

Well-Known Member
I too am intrigued by the idea, I just can't wrap my head around the idea of the dirt wicking up the moisture without root rot. Is there anything separating the dirt from the gallon of water? If not you end up with mud. Do elaborate!
 

rob333

Well-Known Member
For example I built a 5 gallon bucket self water systen that wicks the water up thru the dirt so I have bout a gallon of water that sits at bottom I might add airstones n bottom would that help my babies grow better any ideas or setups talk to me fam
better to feed from the top then from the bottom shit can turn nasty pretty damn quick if that water gets somthing in also if it goes stagnet u are screwed also i would finds gnates a big issue with doing that aswell
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
Yeah its fairy new tech, imo if you want more air to a soil grow use more perlite. If you want the speed of growth as in hydro with the o2 levels, might as well go hydro, there's really no point in soil and adding airstones, that's what hydro is for :p I could definitely see the root rot happening fairly easily with the soil ait
 

AlphaPhase

Well-Known Member
The faster you're medium dries out the more o2 it has (most of the o2 your plant gets is during watering.) so the faster the medium dries out the more o2 it gets. Coco would be the better route if you want to grow in a dirty medium, imo. I use promix though, but I don't have many plants in a dirt based medium, just a few mother plants
 

cushmasternewbie

Active Member
[QUitsTE="NorthernHize, post: 11268586, member: 889224"]I too am intrigued by the idea, I just can't wrap my head around the idea of the dirt wicking up the moisture without root rot. Is there anything separating the dirt from the gallon of water? If not you end up with mud. Do elaborate![/QUOTE]
Ya I. Ya its two buckets put together with holes n bottom look it up self watering buckets
 

meetjoeblow

Well-Known Member
For example I built a 5 gallon bucket self water systen that wicks the water up thru the dirt so I have bout a gallon of water that sits at bottom I might add airstones n bottom would that help my babies grow better any ideas or setups talk to me fam
dude I think your have the right Idea but your trying to execute it the wrong way. instead of adding an airstone get fabric pots and go up like 5gals like if your in 5gallon buckets get 10s and amend your soil to drain faster like mix in 25% perilite and top feed them every time the soil drys as many times as you can you may have to automate the feedings but in doing so your creating the hyper oxygenated root zone that your looking for. everytime you feed from the top you create a vacuum that pulls air down as the water passes through. the fabric pot increases the amount of air you can pull in at one time. put the airstone mud is asking for a ph fuck up or bacterium imbalance
 

meetjoeblow

Well-Known Member
or you might need to look into rockwool. itll make the plants grow faster but soil gives a lot more taste t the end product
 
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