Oxygenating hydro

[DabberDog]

I'm considering a Solo cup grow in perlite.
Instead of keeping the reservoir air stoned 24/7, can it be run every other day, or can the solution be swapped out every other day with fresh air stoned?
I understand oxygen is the key to hydro, but does there come a point when the solution hits some maximum saturation level?

[Ckbrew]

Are you talking about a DWC type setup? I think it would be best to be stoned 24/7. Yes there will be a max saturation level.

[dirtymike]

I'm there now, stoned 24/7 it is.

[DabberDog]

No help from the nohelprichaun.

[DabberDog]

DWC type... sure... if it needs a name. Solo cup with holes, in a container, in nutrient solution, sans constant air stone. Maybe day on/day off or replacing the solution.
If there is a maximum, there has to be a minimum and a half-life, yeah? 24/7 is bestest, but how much difference does 48 or 24 hours make? I'm sure the bigger the root ball, the faster the O2 will deplete.

[Gator]

Wouldn't the perlite just float to the top,I was thinking about doing the same thing, beverage cup with a lid,and a tiny net pot

[Allenpro]

Why not just buy a basket and some hydrotron.

[Gator]

I already have both

[Allenpro]

I tried using those little baskets in a 5 gallon DWC and the tap root consumed the basket, lol

[DabberDog]

Think of perlite like ice. One ice cube will float. Put several ice cubes on top of each other and the bottom-most will be submerged. A cup full of perlite will float, but there is plenty in the solution to keep the low planted roots wet.

Why not buy baskets and beads?
1. I have a seedling in coco I need to do something with that does not involve killing it and it needs to happen soon.
2. I have large perlite, a Solo cup, and coffee container on hand.
3. Buying something would mean spending money and waiting for delivery (See reason 1.)
4. I have nothing better to do than ghetto something together. My ghetto looks way cooler than [your] store bought.

[Allenpro]

I get that, I hate tossing cuttings much less seedlings, There is a good tutorial on here about keeping small mothers that works pretty well if you have room

[DabberDog]

455 square feet doesn't leave much room for such things. About the size of a large motorhome. Not the largest motorhome, just a large one.

[Gator]

Is this for the solo cup challenge,or do you just want to do it for fun

[DabberDog]

If it works, it's for fun and the SCC.
If it doesn't work, it's just for fun.

[Gator]

I think it's going to work, drilling all the holes will suck, and would this be allowed in the scc,if it is I'm in

[DabberDog]

It will only work for the SCC if I can keep all the roots in the cup. May could be some cheating going on with me trimming the wayward.

[Allenpro]

Have you looked into passive systems like the Kratky method? No air pump needed and I used it on some Peppers and they came out fine

[DabberDog]

Floating plants in water is a method? I thought it was just called floating plants in water.
All kinds of alarm bells go off when I think about growing like that. But it's a thing so I'm falsely alarmed.

[ductwizard]

so if the plants float in water and are o.k. how is it poss. to over-water my plants in soil?

[Gator]

I'm trying to figure out how to keep the water at the right temperature, probably going to have to change the water daily I guess

[Allenpro]

That can be a a problem, first use HydroGuard or something with CBacillus amyloliquefaciens, Southern Ag Garden Friendly Biological Fungicide actually works better in my opinion. I did so e testin and grew plants with water at 90F° and they did well, no root rot, For DWC I used to keep a couple of 16oz frozen soda bottles of water in the freezer and swap them out twice a day. Be carful they dont raise the water level too much, if the tap root doenst get air it will kill the whole plant and once you see things are drooping its too late. Lesson learned the hard way

[DabberDog]

What's the deal with water temperature, then? My bucket is sitting among coco bags. Why would the temperature of my bucket be different than my bags, which I have never worried about the temperature of the coco?

[Bigpapa]

Speaking form experience, I run my air pump 24/7 and swap out my nutrient solution once a week. I start my seedling in a rapid rooter in a slotted cup which allows root growth into the nutrient solution. The cup is surrounded by activated clay pellets. I run 1 plant with 3.5 gallons of nutrient solution in a 5 gallon container.

[Ckbrew]

I think the difference is that a bag of coco has some natural aeration vs water which has very little with out it being prodded.

[DabberDog]

I was thinking more about evaporation.
My bags and coco are 68°-70°. My bucket is 74° outside and the water is 76°, prodded. Plenty of fan action throughout. The bags evaporate from every square inch, but the bucket is pretty well closed save a few errant holes.
A commonality between all the hydro-type, lidded bucket setups is that it is all light absorbing black plastic. I wonder... what are thoughts on white plastic? Maybe even a double chamber?
Allenpro's Kratky method might be the answer to my original question about how long to keep a pump on: It doesn't need to be 24/7. It might even be a thing when it comes to temperature.
Today's experiment will be checking water temperature when the lights are off. Tomorrow's experiment will be temperature when lights are off and the bubbles are turned off.

[Allenpro]

Keep us posted