Indoor oxygen for roots?

[Afrikaaner]

Hey, i have been reading and following some of the things FD mentioned in the sticky atop this forum. i was wondering if anyone has come up with/tried this/thought of this and whether you guys thought it might be beneficial.

Since we know roots need o2, would it be a good idea to bury an airstone somewhere in the middle of each of your pots and cover with dirt, and then run tubing to an air pump, and let it pump air directly into the dirt?

discuss amongst yourselves...

cheers!

 

[lykaboss]

i don't think this would have any benefit at all, the o2 comes from the water, from what i understand. By aerating your water you are supplying the roots with plenty of O2. Putting an air stone in dirt .. well i think it would have no effect since the air could not penetrate the dirt for one... and if it could it would probably just blow the dirt right out of the pot haha.

Here is a picture of my res bubbling

 

[Afrikaaner]

hey, thanks for the feedback, but dirt is absolutely porous (unless it's mostly clay, but this is primo OH we're talking about here lol), and as such, i would think pumping air in couldn't hurt. the reason many places recommend you let the plants almost completely dry out before watering (or at least what i thought the reason was) was to allow oxygen to get to the roots, discouraging anaerobic bacteria from starting some form of root rot. bubbling the water (as i have been doing) brings more o2 to the roots, as i would think an airstone would as well. i don't know, i could be wrong. any other thoughts?

 

[lykaboss]

well i say... if you could put an airstone in a pot and it did push through the soil without blowing out dirt then do a side by side comparison it would be very intresting to see. Start plants side by side one with air stone one without. If there was a improved difference i bet people on here would start doing it :booya:

 

[Afrikaaner]

yeah, there's always that option, which involves effort. i was hoping someone could jump in and definitively say, "no, you're wrong, an airstone won't work because ______ and _____ show you can't" or preferably someone saying, "hey, that's a brilliant idea! i'm going to try it!" and then i'd be off the hook for trying it out lol. but perhaps you're right, i have the time to try it out, so perhaps i will give it a side by side comparison if my wallet is will to cooperate. cheers!

 

[JM]

wiz tried this once... i think he had good results... just make sure your roots dont dry out... watering will prob go up A LOT!!!

:smokebuds:

also... when i dont have time / or forget to start a new bubbler bucket... i will usually add about 1 tsp of h202 per gallon of water.... has same effect as bubbling..

 

[JM]

my concern would be drying the roots out... the pots are called "Airpots" they are a bit expensive... and I've yet to try them.... I certainly like the theory...

If I recall correctly, wiz did try one with an airstone but I cant remember the results... dont think they were any spectacular gain tho...

 

[blewjob]

I believe the cons outweighs the pros. I bet if you were to put a side by side test you probably might notice a difference, but not much. sounds like too much work for a simple plant, lights, nutes and water is all you need, I think...

try doing a test. I'll scribe to it, and if you prove me wrong, I'll eat my words

aloha

 

[JM]

I'll agree you'll get some gains most likely, provided you dont mistakenly dry your roots out... but I'll bet against bubbled water via Fd's method... you'll be hard pressed to see much difference... however, against aero... thats a dif story....
:smokebuds:

 

[JM]

like netpots? or different still and I smoke too much good weed? lol