How to decide air pump size?

I'm thinking of doing a 5 gallon x6 set up. Ideally, I'd like to run one air pump. How do you calculate pump size? Thanks.

1wt per gallon will ensure plenty of oxygen. It's possible to use less, and better to use more.

I just bought the one on the shelf at the pet store and it works great with a circle air stone for the round bucket.

Some air stones are rated as ~ 4-8 lpm so just multiply the rating by how many air stones are needed (I have one in every 15ltr tub) and you will get the minimum lph rating of the air pump ie. 4 tubs x 5 lpm air stones = 20lpm pump. Remember to have an air stone in your res/brain too. Like Heisenberg said, more is definatly better so if you need about 20lpm go for 25-30.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm still trying to figure out how to design this thing.

norcal im a nor cal transplant too lol, just go to one of the few hundred hydro shops we have here lol, if ur in my area i can give ya a heads up on where i go to. feel free to message me

NorCalTransplant said:

I'm thinking of doing a 5 gallon x6 set up. Ideally, I'd like to run one air pump. How do you calculate pump size? Thanks.

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I run the same set up. You can never have too many bubbles dude my reservoirs have waves in them but that means the roots are getting a lot of oxygen so they love it!

Thanks for the info peeps, question for ya if you are still around. Is the best design to have a large reservoir feeding into a control bucket and then the buckets the plants are in or can you just run the control bucket as the main reservoir? Im reaching the end of my budget so Im trying to figure out what is necessary and what isn't. Thanks guys.

All that is necessary is a bucket and an air stone/pump. They are each their own res, which allows for different feeding schedules, isolation in case of disease, ect. The way you are thinking (brain bucket) is more for ebb and flow set ups. It could be incorporated into a recirculating DWC set up IF that set up somehow suits your grow space, but I don't see any real advantage. Keep it simple especially if money is an issue.

What is your grow space and lighting situation? Looks like you want to run 6 5gal buckets. Is that one plant per bucket? How long do you plan to veg? All this makes a big difference when deciding how to grow.

I'm getting a 1000 watt set up, haven't built the room yet, but thinking around 6 by 8 to have room to move around the perimeter. Maybe 6 buckets is too many, I ll have to set up the buckets before I build the room.

I dont see how the "brain bucket" is anything like ebb and flow. Everything would be kept at a continuous level with a float valve and a main reservoir. Ebb and flow is flood and drain, water drains out for air to seep in. How is that anything like continuous aerated water?. The advantage to having a reservoir or brain bucket (recirculating) I can see right away is only having to deal with nutes once instead at 6 different grow sites. Dealing with one large res Ive grown before (10 years ago, NTFs, Ebb and flow as well as soil). DWC looks like something I could get into. I can veg for as long or as short as I want to. This is a medical grow for me. Budget isnt blown, while I dont want to spend on excess, a necessity is just that.

What about these pumps? BTW I'm in the states...

http://www.petco.com/product/4469/Aquarium-Pharmaceuticals-Rena-Air-Aquarium-Air-Pumps.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

That pump looks okay if stealth is important to you. You might wanna look at this one. It's big enough for everything but it is a bit loud. Not too bad, but def not stealth.

I only meant that control buckets are more common in ebb and flow set ups, not that having one makes it an ebb and flow. IMO having multiple res instead of one big one offers more versatility. It can be difficult to grow multiple strains in the same res if they like different PH/PPM levels, and it's a lot harder to have a staggering harvest; every two weeks or similar. You can also move and rotate the buckets to give the plants more rounded light. But each grower has his own goals and situation.

Of course Im not exactly sure what you have in mind, but it doesn't sound to me like 6 buckets would be too many. I have a 3.5x4.5 area with a 600wt hps and can easily do 4 buckets.

Quiet is key, my bedroom is above the garage where Im building my room. Don't see how it would be hard to have a rotating harvest either. Have two different bucket systems, one for veg one for flower. Pop it off the bucket in the veg room and pop it on a flower bucket. Every two weeks more a plant or two, easy. Won't be starting out that way but it will be a goal.

From what I understand, you are planning to connect multiple grow sites to a master res, using a brain bucket to control water level. This means all the grow sites share the same res.

If it is a situation where, every two weeks you take a plant from the veg room to the bud room, my concern would be that you are moving a new plant to essentially the same res as old plants. Plants that are near finish will demand a high ppm that the new ones are not likely to tolerate. You would also not be able to do a final flush that way, since only a fraction of the plants in your res would be ready for it at any given time. You would pretty much be limited to filling all the grow sites up at the same time, so that all the plants are on the same feeding schedule, and all the plants would need to be the same strain, or strains that feed very similar. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just that you should be aware of the limitations. You would be building an elaborate system with more parts to get clogged and need cleaned which has inherit limitations the simpler design doesn't have. But again, im not you and I don't know your situation.

You are right. I didn't think of that, I would be limiting my control of the plants feeding schedule. And may even screw them up. How about three sets of two that are connected? I won't have a perpetual any time soon so I may just run the res/brain bucket to start with. I may pull enough every three or four months I won't need to go perpetual. Well see I guess. Thanks for all your shared knowledge.

The pet store pumps are poo poo go with a commercial air pump or dual diaphragm.

look into a , ecoplus commercial air pump part # 728450 or 728455. i just got one of each of these for my next grow..these pumps are baddazz in my opinion. peace

How noisy are those pumps? I don't want any unneeded noise. How are aquarium pumps poo poo? I'd rather go through two quiet pumps than have some stupid Jack hammer pump that I get grief about from the wife. Quiet is key.

NorCalTransplant said:

How noisy are those pumps? I don't want any unneeded noise. How are aquarium pumps poo poo? I'd rather go through two quiet pumps than have some stupid Jack hammer pump that I get grief about from the wife. Quiet is key.

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Not too noisy they come with rubber shoes. I grow in a room so with the door shut you cant hear them. The dual diaphragm are the way to go thats why they are expensive but they are quiet too. You wont get any loud annoying noises from the air pumps.. I have a pet store air pump I used at first it had 4 ports but it produced weak bubbles I keep it now as a back up. Its good to have a back up pump something cheap to get you by. You can have a successful grow with the aquarium pumps for sure just saying " the more bubbles the better, you can never have too many bubbles my res has bubbles and waves splashing around but the plants couldnt be happier.

Word. Thanks for the tips...