Your favorite airpump and airstones? and why?

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
lol...I'm well aware O2 is not explosive, but it does support combustion. Have you ever been in a hospital were oxygen is in use?

Add some heat and fuel to an O2 enriched atmosphere and you got a dangerous situation. I believe O2 can become toxic to humans at concentrations much above atmosphere.
 

J Henry

Active Member
Yes, O2 certainly does support combustion, especially physiological combustion at the cellular level. The greater the cellular O2 saturation (aerobic plants and animals) the greater and more efficient the metabolism (the cellular fiire) which is a plus for healthy plants and the good microbes in nutrient solutions. On the other hand high oxygen saturations inhibit the growth of pathogenic fungi that are responsible for root rot. Fungi does poorly and fails to thrive in oxygen rich environments.

I have been in environments and used O2 myself and seen oxygen used safely in many times in many places; ie. hospitals, by EMT in emergency situations, jet aircraft, automotive repair shops, around welders and jewelers, plumbers, on the football field, in basketball courts, at NASA, on the space shuttle, used on US Submarines and battle ships, at municipal waste water facilities, in public aquariums and fish hatcheries and many other places without incident. I have never seen anyone blown up, burned up, gotten sick or died using O2. But, all these people have had O2 training too.

Know that oxygen is not air. Do not mess with it unless you are trained how to use it safely, you thoroughly understand the O2 delivery equipment and ***most important – if you are really afraid of this gas, do not use it or even be around it.

You have described the “fire triangle” pretty well. Replace heat source with ignition source and you have identified the requirements necessary to create the “fire triangle.”

Your right again about the toxic characteristics of oxygen in some situations. Here’s a situation- SCUBA divers never dive using pure 100% oxygen, that can be very deadly, very quickly. Most SCUBA divers have had classes and passed dive training school and know this about breathing pure O2 under water at pressures greater than 1 ATM.
J
 

wifey48

Active Member
Th
skip them both. build a waterfall with a water pump, some tubing and a few elbow fittings. waterfalls create way more DO (dissolved O2) than airstones. there's a reason lots of ponds, fountains all use waterfalls. not just cause they look pretty
skip them both. build a waterfall with a water pump, some tubing and a few elbow fittings. waterfalls create way more DO (dissolved O2) than airstones. there's a reason lots of ponds, fountains all use waterfalls. not just cause they look pretty
How
 

wifey48

Active Member
skip them both. build a waterfall with a water pump, some tubing and a few elbow fittings. waterfalls create way more DO (dissolved O2) than airstones. there's a reason lots of ponds, fountains all use waterfalls. not just cause they look pretty
How
 

LordRalh3

Well-Known Member
Oxygen injection is not a practical solution for our situation, water turbulence/surface agitation/ diffuser rings will get you what you need for our plants.
 

J Henry

Active Member
Oxygen injection is not a practical solution for our situation, water turbulence/surface agitation/ diffuser rings will get you what you need for our plants.
What is your actual DO saturation with air, water turbulence surface agitation and diffuser rings? Most people have no idea what their DO saturation really is unless they test it… very few have ever tested actually tested it and just hope it’s not low. No mistaking it when it’s low – stuff happens quickly.
What is the best way to clean an air stone?
Soaking is Muriatic Acid works well sometimes. If that doesn’t fix the bubble problems throw it away and buy another. They’re really cheap and basically disposable. Best bang for your buck buying them by the case 10-25 pc.
 

DarthBlazeAnthony

Well-Known Member
What is your actual DO saturation with air, water turbulence surface agitation and diffuser rings? Most people have no idea what their DO saturation really is unless they test it… very few have ever tested actually tested it and just hope it’s not low. No mistaking it when it’s low – stuff happens quickly.

Soaking is Muriatic Acid works well sometimes. If that doesn’t fix the bubble problems throw it away and buy another. They’re really cheap and basically disposable. Best bang for your buck buying them by the case 10-25 pc.
A 4 way pump went out completely. I need to be able to properly keep air stones clean to prevent this happening again. I know to not use peroxide as it will stay in the stones.
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
you all are missing the point of dwc. aeration via airstones keeps oxygen levels high enough to sustain submerged roots. this simply means you are keeping your nutrient solution from going stagnant (stagnant water kills everything, don't believe it, visit a cave).

benefits of airstones are:

aerated water necessary to keep roots alive and growing

bubbles to splash water on net pots, watering a soiless medium and promoting root growth

agitation to keep solution thoroughly mixed.



active aqua/hydrofarm make great commercial pumps for under a hundred dollars.

the best stones i've used are about 25$ each, but will pump for months without cleaning, making them perfect for indoor hydroponics. the brand is elemental solutions... they call it an ''o2 disc'' lol.

j henry, how much pot do you grow?
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
A 4 way pump went out completely. I need to be able to properly keep air stones clean to prevent this happening again. I know to not use peroxide as it will stay in the stones.
those stones suck. the best way to clean an airstone is with a wire brush while it is pumping and submerged. it will scrape the outer layer, and remove built up salts/slime
 

J Henry

Active Member
you all are missing the point of dwc. aeration via airstones keeps oxygen levels high enough to sustain submerged roots.
And I thought the main point of the cultivation exercise is keeping the plants and the microbial colonies healthy, preventing plant stress and Benny stress at all cost, keeping the DO saturation in the root zone and nutrient solution high enough to prevent hypoxic stress for plants and Bennies… selling the harvest for $500/oz and making big bucks on the sale, living the good life, living the American Dream and staying out of jail on a drug charge. Got to collect and pay the State taxes on every dope deal.

In your opinion, about the oxygen, what DO saturation do you think is “high enough” to prevent hypoxic stress and keep all the plants and all beneficial microbes healthy 24/7 for months?
j henry, how much pot do you grow?
Pot is a Schedule I Controlled Substance here.

Can you please link the best air stones and pump?
These are reliable, durable, dependable and keep on ticking 24/7. And the warranty is great.

Air pumps - http://pentairaes.com/aeration/air-pumps/brand/sweetwater?gclid=CPya-9CLqMwCFQ8kgQodE8EBIQ

Air diffusers - http://pentairaes.com/aeration/air-diffusers?gclid=CKWg4JeMqMwCFYwkgQodspkG7g

Of course there are many air pumps and diffusers of less quality and a lot cheaper if less than the best is OK for you. Sometimes less than the best can be much more expensive when the crop is depending on the air pump not to fail and it fails.
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
And I thought the main point of the cultivation exercise is keeping the plants and the microbial colonies healthy, preventing plant stress and Benny stress at all cost, keeping the DO saturation in the root zone and nutrient solution high enough to prevent hypoxic stress for plants and Bennies…
no bennies or microbial colonies to worry about with a chemical regimen. if i wanted to go organic, i'd use dirt, not dwc.

In your opinion, about the oxygen, what DO saturation do you think is “high enough” to prevent hypoxic stress and keep all the plants and all beneficial microbes healthy 24/7 for months?
DO is high enough at 70f with nothing more than an airline in the water to aerate and prevent hypoxic stress. diffusers may slightly increase dissolved gasses in the water, but agitation and popping bubble splashes are the main benefit. i'm not on the organic bandwagon. if i wanted to grow microbial bacteria or mycelium, i'd probably be going with psilicybe cubensis.
 
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