How high should I turn my airpump for DWC?

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timothygoeats

Member
I'm new to DWC, and my set up is just a 5 gallon bucket filled all the way, with 5 plants on top in a circle around the lid. I got this 4W airpump, that has a intensity switch... like how much air gets pumped. So my question is how high should I set it? On full it's noisy as hell and makes a really loud buzz, but a shit load of bubbles get made, but on minimum it's relatively quiet, but only a few bubbles float to the top. probaly like 20-25 bubbles per second on min. kinda hard to describe.
 
zem

zem

Well-Known Member
turn it on max. hang it with bungee cord or something to lessen the noise. don't put it in closed box as it will overheat
 
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blackstoneinstitute

Member
Like said above the more the more air the better. That being said I dial mine down to about 3/4 or that happy medium between lots of surface popping bubbles and acceptable noise. On full blast most of the small pumps sound like an overworked generator.

Are you going to try and grow out 5 plants in one bucket?
 
Malevolence

Malevolence

New Member
I have one of those standard commercial air pumps but I use the two small ones for the cloner because they are a lot quieter.
 
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Newbyduby24

Active Member
What did you mean you filled the bucket to the top? I would make each plant their own 5 gallon bucket set up. More room for them to grow and way better of a yield.
 
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twistedwords

Well-Known Member
Well for starters, the air does absolutely nothing to water. All the air does is cause a turbulence on the surface of the water and therefore causes oxygen to mix with the water due to the turbulence. The only way you can inject air into water is to create a jet by combining the air intake with water and you will mix it with the pump. So if the surface is turbulent, then you are fine. No amount of air pump no matter how large will not increase oxygen into the water though a bubbler.
 
waterdawg

waterdawg

Well-Known Member
With that many plants in a 5 gallon pail your going to have a lot of issues other than air when plants start to mature IMO.
 
jpbeach28

jpbeach28

Active Member
Plz try and grow all five in one 5gal bucket as this will be great to watch. Oh and by the way your gonna need more air. If your seriously trying to get somewhere this should be what your 5gal dwc should look like. Also rule of thumb with water level is the bottom of the net pot, never more, sometimes less, but not at first. Oh and disregard that the bucket is camo, that won't last. Gotta wrap it up in silver.
 
bass1014

bass1014

Well-Known Member
and you will get no where listening to this guy.. even if you take a stick and stir it back n forth to make bubbles in the water it add oxygen to the water.. this is why they make OXYGEN bubblers and stones to increase the oxygen levels in the water.. basic science .. twistedterds..
twistedwords said:
Well for starters, the air does absolutely nothing to water. All the air does is cause a turbulence on the surface of the water and therefore causes oxygen to mix with the water due to the turbulence. The only way you can inject air into water is to create a jet by combining the air intake with water and you will mix it with the pump. So if the surface is turbulent, then you are fine. No amount of air pump no matter how large will not increase oxygen into the water though a bubbler.
Click to expand...
 
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timothygoeats

Member
twisted words is right actually, air bubbles don't combine chemically with the H20 in any significant way. Nor do air stones increase the dissolved O2 concentrations in the water. By creating turbulence, there's a decrease in surface tension and increase in surface area, which just expedites the natural process of oxygen saturation.
 
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twistedwords

Well-Known Member
bass1014 said:
and you will get no where listening to this guy.. even if you take a stick and stir it back n forth to make bubbles in the water it add oxygen to the water.. this is why they make OXYGEN bubblers and stones to increase the oxygen levels in the water.. basic science .. twistedterds..
Click to expand...

Here you go this will explain to you on a chemical and scientific fact that bubblers do not create oxygen in water, they only create a agitation or otherwise known as surface agitation to help with the natural process of oxygenating water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_aeration

Here is the venturi effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi_effect

Now you can use a venturi jet that can combine oxygen with water instantly like they use in sewer treatment plants. Here is a video that shows how to use a venturi in an aquarium to oxygenate the water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4czczYnuM_w
 
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