HOW MUCH ROOTS GO INTO THE WATER? (with pic)

I'm trying bubble for the first time. I have two 4" stones bubble stones in each 5 gallon buckets filled with 3 gallons of water and the regular net pot top (600w hps). The water goes up to within 1" of the net pots so the roots are pretty much all in the water (normal amount of roots for this size planet). I'm finding that the tops of the plants are wilting like overwatering is the problem. Do most people let some of the roots hang above the water, or do most keep them all in the water with a lot of bubbles (24/7)?

Well lower your water level .. I dont have that problem I use 5 gal sport coolers and I fill up to 4 gallons . Now that I use 4 gallons and the plants are drinking there is a good 2 inch gap where the roots arent in the water but thats about it.. Actually your plants dont look that bad .. i'm noticing a lot of bubbleponics growers having trouble with rock wool.

Those plants look fine dude .

They just moved to this setup so the full effect is not that apparent. I am mainly concerned with the top part wilting which I just didn't take good enough pics of just those parts.

I realized I should just call a hydro shop and ask. They suggested only about 3" of water (about a gallon) and let the bubbles pop causing splatter to hit the roots. I comprimised and cut the water back to only 2 gallon to see if that clears it or if I have to go lower.

Thanks for the replies Beaverhunter! I'll use every suggest I get and find the one that works!

I'd lower the water but looks like you had some nutrient burn so issues may be elsewhere. Plants take a day to bounce back it is probably in shock over the reservoir change. Roots develop differently depending upon the container so if you change it they will pause for a day before bouncing back. I agree your plants look okay. What are the temps & humidity? Are you foliar feeding?

I do 1.5-2 gals per 5 gallon bucket

The nute burn look was from them being too close to the T5 lights awhile back (sorry for the misdirection).

I also noticed that even though I set it up just yesterday the ph went to 7 in one of them for some reason (new bubble stones or something?). So I tried a bit of that squeeze bottle lemon juice and it looks like about 1 tsp per gallon drops it by 1 ph, is that about right?

Temps/hum are kind of out of my control because it's outside in a storage shed. It won't be the perfect grow by a long shot, just would like to get a pound out of it (shouldn't be hard with sativa strains). I'll get some fish tank heaters when it starts to get too cold out there.

T5's should not burn your plants at all unless they touch them...

Get some PH Down if you can, I have never used lemon juice so can not provide any assistance there.

Your going to have to heat your grow area during lights off because the night / day temperature fluctuation should not be more than 10-15 degrees, I'd say a small electric space heater would work but you know the dangers you face with them.

Fish tank heaters will keep your reservoirs at a nice 65 degrees during a cold winter.