HYDRO DWC airstone vs roots

[YYCannabis]

For those experienced DWC bucket growers out there, do you leave your airstone/bubbler in the middle of the root ball? Or keep it off to the side of the roots?

Since the oxygenation of h2o happens when the bubbles pop when they reach the water’s surface, plus the water being elevated and circulated in the bubble-wake, is having all the bubbles trapped in the small area of the root ball possibly causing the rest of the water volume to stagnate?

Cheers
YYC

[Formernuke]

Mine still bubble up fine with the roots wrapped around them

[YYCannabis]

My concern isn’t about the bubbler not working, but if the bubbler is better placed outside the rootball. 😁

[dphipps1020]

I never had an issue with it right in the middle. Matter of fact I have a theory about it. I know the point is to oxygenate the water so the roots get plenty of air. That being said, the air should in theory be able to go directly to the roots by bubbling under or inside them instead of going into the water first. That was always my way of thinking about it and I used to put mine there on purpose almost right in the middle of the roots cause I felt like it worked better.

[Toker1]

Roots absorb the dissolved oxygen in the water. Placing the bubbles under the root ball allows for the longest air to water exposure time and will lead to more dissolved oxygen in the water.
The effects are practically negligible though. Water temperature plays a much larger role on how much dissolved oxygen is allowed to be captured in the water.

[BakedMoose]

I use the flexible 48" air diffusers bent into a fairly even coverage to avoid that issue altogether. I also use a one way valve on my air line which I place at the bottom of the bucket so I can remove my plants without tearing up the roots if needs be without making a mess.