Need some advice on my first dwc/waterfall grow

Aloha guys,

So this is my first time actually attempting to grow in full hydroponics. I will just ramble off my set up really quick and then list my questions.
My setup:

15 gal rubbermaid cooler
250 gph water pump
4-2' T 5 lights
1 occilating fan blowing on the res
8 placements for clones (this will be for vegging only)
.5 in tubing ( under 4 ft)

So currently, if you take a look at my picture, I have the water pump, pumping up up into a T- section tube and splitting, where the tubes then currently fall down (right down 3" ). I run the pump for a half hour of every hour.

So my questions are: 1) Should I be running the pump 24/7? I know this may heat up my res, but I will be investing in insulation soon and will have more of a steady control using 1L frozen bottles.
2) Will having 2 hoses, one on the opposite sides of the res; waterfalling down about 3" in for 30 min of every hour be enough to aeroate the res? I wanted to make sure I was getting enough o2/DO. While also making sure I did not suffer from oxygen toxicity.

I should note too that I am going for a flooming type of system, I want to get rid of the airstones.


Thanks much.

I just dont understand why u would complicate ur system just to have more work to counter act the changes. Running a pump 30min an hour or 24/7 puts a tone of heat into the res where as airstones can actually help keep temps down and are much less worries. Most with experience would go the opposite way, i would think.

I use a pump on a timer but only for vegging, I run it 8X for 20 min sessions spread over a 24 hour period, once the roots hot the rez a pump has no benefits, ran 2 grows till flower with pump and without no detectable difference. If your using water flow to replace an air pump? I do leave my pump in the entire grow however just to use for draining.

I am trying the waterfall effect ( flooming) instead of airstones because waterfalling/flooming provides more available DO( dissolved oxygen) to your plants than airstones do. Plus, I am able to recirculating the nutrients. Where as airstones just make tiny little bubbles providing DO, but nearly with the amount of agigtation and amount of DO available in my res.

Look up " No airstones" in search and there are a few guys who use this stuff (Why I was motivated to try it out for growing). That and I am sick of buying airstones.

In my larges aero systems i do the waterfall but in dwc i use airstones. Thats the whole purpose of dwc, the simplicity of it. As for buying stones, i have had the same aluminum silicate stones for 3-4 years.