DWC Pump Volume Flow Question

My system consists of a 14 hole tray sitting on top of two reservoirs that hold, in total, about 25 gallons. The nutes are circulated continuously via a pump located in the bottom reservoir. The roots are always in solution. My question is whether the amount of solution the pump is pushing per hour makes a difference. I had been using a Rio600 which moves up to 200 gallons per hour. Unfortunately, something screwed up and it stopped pumping so I had to switch it out for the other pump that I had on hand - ViaAqua 302 which moves 130 gallons per hour. Does the difference in volume make a difference in terms of the oxygenation of the water? The water temperature?

I should add that I took the Rio apart and put it back together again. Unfortunately there was a little tiny rubber thing on the axel of the magnetic jobbie that vanished into thin air. Still, when I put it back together (without the rubber thingie) it worked fine. Beautifully. I'm not sure whether I should trust it, however, but I could use it temporarily while I got a replacement...IF, the flow volume makes a difference. If not...I'll just keep the slower pump going.

Thanks for your thoughts!

You should be fine, the oxygenation doesn't come from the pumps that circulate the water it would come from a separate air pump that pumps air not water.

Thanks, Doalude. Appreciated!

yes indeed a pump to circulate nute solution is a great idea, i never thought of that, i think i will add that to my setup.

make sure you have air stones, plenty plenty plenty of them, you want your water boiling with bubbles, you want so many bubbles its ridiculous. When you do, you can have you rooted rockwool cubes sitting in the water because all the air bubbles will hit the roots in the rockwool, therefore you will not get root rot. you must remember, you have to have LOTS AND LOTS of bubbles. You'll want an air pump that spits out approx 2-5psi.

I have four of these in my setup, they never get clogged, they don't break easily like regular air stones, and the air bubbles are much smaller than what normal air stones produce(smaller is better)

TheBigTomato Shopping Cart

of course if you have a lot of these(the double XL 4x10) you won't need a pump to circulate nutes

im using four of these, its like im boiling water

Are you talking about the air stone disks? Thanks. They look interesting...is it 1/2" intake? I got some other airstones without thinking...they took 3/4" - not good. I should add, however, that I've read that air stones can only oxygenate the water to a certain degree. I don't know what's true and what's not...the last time I grew (it was about 5 years ago) folks were great believers in air stones. At present, it seems as if the pendulum has swung in the other direction and folks are saying that bubbles only do a limited amount. Go figger!

mayan said:

Are you talking about the air stone disks? Thanks. They look interesting...is it 1/2" intake? I got some other airstones without thinking...they took 3/4" - not good. I should add, however, that I've read that air stones can only oxygenate the water to a certain degree. I don't know what's true and what's not...the last time I grew (it was about 5 years ago) folks were great believers in air stones. At present, it seems as if the pendulum has swung in the other direction and folks are saying that bubbles only do a limited amount. Go figger!

Click to expand...

NOOOOOO buddy, your roots need air, yes water has air but it is bound to the hydrogen molecule, you need fresh o2

the reason why others probably dont have good results with air stones is because the normal ones clog. These are new and its base material is glass, not ceramic crap that comes apart and gets weak.

These are not disks, they are two tube bound together by another tube forming and H, they are 4x10 inches so a few of these will have your water perfect for DWC

Im using bubbleponics and my roots as of yesterday are coming out of the bottom of the net pots. Now my main goal is to have enough air bubbles for those roots, this is why i bought these air stones because they are simply the best, well one of the best

The tubes i bought:
http://organic-hydroponicsupplies.t...ront/product_detail.asp?RowID=2350&CS=tbt&All=

the best cicular air discs using:
Disc Diffusers - Aeration for Ponds - Koi Enterprise

where the air comes from those discs is made of rubber, EDPM membrane which takes FOREVER to get dirty, it basically self cleans when the air runs through it

technology, its great

DO NOT BUY REGULAR AIR STONES, WASTE OF MONEY
but you can do what you want

Unless you are running an aero system (misting roots), it's not a good idea to keep a water pump running 24/7 in a batch of nutrients. Your nutrient temperature will get too high, roots don't agree with it, and heat dissolves the oxygen out of the water.

another words, get that pump out, and pump air into your system, but the key is to get great quality air stones or you will find yourself with clogged ones

get micro-fibre or EPDM membrane air diffuser

air diffuser, not air stone

I took your advice, bobbyboy34, on the H air stones. I ordered two. I look forward to seeing how they do.

Fitzno1 -> Thanks for the advice. As to the water pump, though, I don't think I have much choice...My system is based on the continued circulation of the nutes between the upper and lower reservoirs. This system has worked fine in the past. I'm trying to keep the res temps down and if my recollection serves me well (from five years ago), Mother Nature is about to give me a boost with a slip in temperatures. My grow is in the basement so things cool down.

Sorry, you must be running an NFT, i forgot to add that to the aero systems, i was wondering why you wanted such a big water pump. Do you know you can purchase inline pumps that dont have to be submerged, they are a bit more expensive, but you can't get much better than a basement to keep the temperature in check, nice one.

Hey fitzyno1...interesting but I don't think it would work in my tanks. The pump is attached to an internal fitting that conveys the water to the upper reservoir and no real place to insert an external hose into the upper chamber. I guess I could gerryrig something. Any particular brand you recommend?

Mayan i buy most of my gear on Ebay. If i see a deal, i'll buy it or stick in a bid. Im currently doing a DWC recirculating 8 x 5 gallon pods, I have my pump in the nutrients, that's why i commented about the nutrients temperature will rise. I have my pump on a timer every 15 min on 15 min off. Next system i will not have a water pump in the nutrient solution. But i will, if i do a flood and drain.
I just wanted to let you know what i thought of a water pump in the nute solution.

THanks, fitzyno1...I hear ya. I'm not wedded to this hydro system and occasionally think about other methods. If I can get it dialed in, though, it works pretty well. Getting there!