Using Air Stones With Soil

TheGaussianMan

Active Member
I'm not the one who wrote on someone else's thread in a condescending manner. Patronizing people is not a form of help, its a form of wasting my time.
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
i for one think its a cool idea and have thought about it in the past but have never tried it cuz of posts like what your getting here.. i've always heard that the added air would dry out the soil too fast, which was the biggest downfall that people could come up with..
do you find that your watering them more often than you would be without the airstones m8??
and just remember, people laughed at the first guy who suggested that he could grow simply using only water and no soil.. but alas, years later, and look how big hydro has become.. don't let the nay sayers turn you off bro.. i would love to see the results of this.. a side by side test using one plant with the airstones and one without would be the only real way to tell the benefits really..
 

Serapis

Well-Known Member
What in hell are you talking about? The plant looks beautiful. There is no evidence of burned tips or claw leaves. Why do you go around and hand out this type of information, especially when he said his plant can take 'crazy amounts of water'.? Wouldn't that lead one to possibly conclude that he was making a noob mistake and overwatering?

2 + 2 = 4 != 5

:roll:

That plant has a bit too much N
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
What in hell are you talking about? The plant looks beautiful. There is no evidence of burned tips or claw leaves. Why do you go around and hand out this type of information, especially when he said his plant can take 'crazy amounts of water'.? Wouldn't that lead one to possibly conclude that he was making a noob mistake and overwatering?

2 + 2 = 4 != 5

:roll:
lol.. i didn't even look at the plant at first till you just posted that .. and it sure does look nice and healthy to me as well.. i surely don't see much if any claw going on..
 

Serapis

Well-Known Member
Gaus dude, your plant look mighty fine. Just be aware that the balancing act between dried out roots and over-watering is going to be a tough one, or at least i would think it would be. You may be in danger of setting up the roots for root rot. Your air stone is only going to dry out soil around it. Soil on the other side may remain wet, and never get a chance to dry out because of frequent watering to keep the roots from dying on the air side. That is the drawback I can imagine.

As of right now, your plant looks spot on A+
 

TheGaussianMan

Active Member
Wow, thanks everyone. I find that the plant does not dry out any faster, its not like I have a fan going below it, and it really doesn't force much air through unless there's a lot of pressure from water. I find that I can water much more often with little to no adverse effects while at the same time the plant seems to love the large amounts of available nutrients and water. Check out my grow if you like, the plant is really goin.
 
I've done this. It actually does have some sound ideas behind it. As a new grower it will help prevent over watering, the number one mistake. Also plants do need oxygen to metabolize foods. Plants absorb oxygen primarily in their roots, soil is hard to get air into. Keep doing it just make sure not to let it get dusty dry
 

Snow Crash

Well-Known Member
The curl that phyzix is referring to:
DSCN0130.jpg

Given that the plant is a few weeks into 12/12, flowers are forming, and the overall look of the plant is an extremely dark green... I would have to agree with the Hummingbird on this one.

Despite having a Nitrogen imbalance or not, this is naturally the time to begin reducing N levels and increasing PK levels. So even if the diagnosis is wrong the advice is still sound.

Personally, after having seen nitrogen excess myself, I am going to agree with the diagnosis. Nothing severe yet, but if the ratios are not altered there will be problems with flower development as you continue into budding.
 

TheGaussianMan

Active Member
That pic is about a week or so old now. The plant is looking really really healthy now, except for a few burn marks when it grew too much and hit the lamps.
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
That pic is about a week or so old now. The plant is looking really really healthy now, except for a few burn marks when it grew too much and hit the lamps.
i hate when that happens.. i just did the same thing with my current grow.. i am using a 4oo watter over the 250 i had been using, and wasn't familiar with how close i could get my plants to it without burning them.. i found out the hard way, lol..
 

TheGaussianMan

Active Member
CFLs are really good at getting really close to plants, the unfortunate thing is when they're in stretching for flowering mode, I had to move the chains a few times a day. If I wasn't around enough, they would get to big and burn.
 

TheLastWood

Well-Known Member
Yeah just keep using ur airstones with your soil and your cfls for flowering

But don't ask questions if your don't want to hear the answers. Nobody was rude to you until you were a total dick. You asked a question, got an answer you didn't like, lashed out, asked another question and surprisingly got another answer you didn't like. There's a slight chance your a genius on the edge of a horticultural breakthrough, but a much greater chance your a dumbass.

I'm here to learn more about growing and help who I can. Why are you here? You obviously know everything.

No point in flaming me back, I won't be checking in on this thread anymore.
 

phyzix

Well-Known Member
There is no evidence of...claw leaves.


That's a bit too much N. Which means that he should feed it slightly less N, and potentially boost P and K a small amount considering the stretch is almost over for her.

It's definitely not life threatening or severe, but it's legitimate and accurate advice nonetheless.

Take it or leave it, but no purpose in questioning the validity.
 

Serapis

Well-Known Member
You can call that claw leaf if you want, but if it was, it wouldn't be localized. I see perfectly healthy leaves in that circle except for the lowest fan leaf which is beginning to lose the war with gravity. Think about it, if it had a nitrogen toxicity issue, the ENTIRE plant would be affected, not a couple of leaves. I've seen N claw several times, that ain't it. The dude is watering the hell out of the plant to prevent the roots from drying due to an air stone.

It's possible that it's getting too much Nitrogen, but your diagnosing that out of the blue based on that photo is rather a crap shoot.....

View attachment 1440247

The one below is an extreme example.

View attachment 1440262

That's a bit too much N. Which means that he should feed it slightly less N, and potentially boost P and K a small amount considering the stretch is almost over for her.

It's definitely not life threatening or severe, but it's legitimate and accurate advice nonetheless.

Take it or leave it, but no purpose in questioning the validity.
 

Snow Crash

Well-Known Member
You can call that claw leaf if you want, but if it was, it wouldn't be localized. I see perfectly healthy leaves in that circle except for the lowest fan leaf which is beginning to lose the war with gravity. Think about it, if it had a nitrogen toxicity issue, the ENTIRE plant would be affected, not a couple of leaves. I've seen N claw several times, that ain't it. The dude is watering the hell out of the plant to prevent the roots from drying due to an air stone.

It's possible that it's getting too much Nitrogen, but your diagnosing that out of the blue based on that photo is rather a crap shoot.....

View attachment 1440247

The one below is an extreme example.

View attachment 1440262
Toxicity has to start somewhere. The whole plant doesn't suddenly claw. It takes time for the entire plant to show symptoms. It always starts with just one leaf. If at a week later no more leaves resemble those circled in the picture then it may have been a temporary issue which has come and gone.

I agree that full blown, hard core, nitrogen toxicity is generally located at the top of the plant with the eagle clawing of those leaves.

Despite your argument against toxicity it really doesn't matter. At the end of the stretch period, and the beginning of flower swelling, it is a good time to reduce the nitrogen levels and increase PK.

So, problem or not, the advice is still sound. Cutting back on the nitrogen at this point is a good idea no matter how you want to carve it. Nothing crazy. We're not talking about flushing the media and cutting out N completely. Just a little less N, little more PK.
 

TheGaussianMan

Active Member
Yo guys, stop hi jacking the thread. A: The picture is old, and the plant is perfectly healthy without any noticeable curling or hanging. B: This thread is about trying to see if anyone else has tried this technique or if anyone else is willing to do an experiment with it.
 

jimbaker

Member
Gaus dude, your plant look mighty fine. Just be aware that the balancing act between dried out roots and over-watering is going to be a tough one, or at least i would think it would be. You may be in danger of setting up the roots for root rot. Your air stone is only going to dry out soil around it. Soil on the other side may remain wet, and never get a chance to dry out because of frequent watering to keep the roots from dying on the air side. That is the drawback I can imagine.

As of right now, your plant looks spot on A+

i actually put a plant in a sealed container with an airstone with the idea that it would be almost like hydro with the need to dry it out just a little longer so there is less chance of root rot. my plant is growing 3 times faster than the other plants. i would love to see it in an unsealed container with maybe a slightly better earorator, i think the plant would grow even faster. yes, there would be a need for more water, but you plant will start to look limp before the roots die out from dryness. soil doesnt dry out as fast as perlite so the plant wont die overnight. im at a point where im about to plant two plants the same way next to two plants in deep water culture to see the difference. so far, the one in soil with the air stone is growing faster than the plant in the dwc but i did plant the one in the soil with the air stone two weeks earlier so its too soon to tell for now. but i wanted to try this a very long time ago just have not due to nay sayers. adding more perlite is great too, but there is nothing wrong with trying out a technique that is almost hydro but with soil properties. so instead of making claims of how retarded an individual is for trying out new ideas, how about giving perspective that might make the system work better. there is enough negativity already out there, some good solid information and help is all that people on here are doing when asking questions.
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
i actually put a plant in a sealed container with an airstone with the idea that it would be almost like hydro with the need to dry it out just a little longer so there is less chance of root rot. my plant is growing 3 times faster than the other plants. i would love to see it in an unsealed container with maybe a slightly better earorator, i think the plant would grow even faster. yes, there would be a need for more water, but you plant will start to look limp before the roots die out from dryness. soil doesnt dry out as fast as perlite so the plant wont die overnight. im at a point where im about to plant two plants the same way next to two plants in deep water culture to see the difference. so far, the one in soil with the air stone is growing faster than the plant in the dwc but i did plant the one in the soil with the air stone two weeks earlier so its too soon to tell for now. but i wanted to try this a very long time ago just have not due to nay sayers. adding more perlite is great too, but there is nothing wrong with trying out a technique that is almost hydro but with soil properties. so instead of making claims of how retarded an individual is for trying out new ideas, how about giving perspective that might make the system work better. there is enough negativity already out there, some good solid information and help is all that people on here are doing when asking questions.
Dude - you're replying to a post that's almost 2 years old.
 
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