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Flooming (bubbleless) DWC?

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Now in technicolor
Veteran
Apparently there were some posts on hempcultivation.com about this but that site is down.

http://www.heatingkoi.com/faqs/floomingforaeration.html

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]Nothing comes close to "flooming" - This requires nothing more than a water-pump which can lay flat on the pond or tank bottom and force water upward to the surface of the vat.
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]It is not important, or even desirable for the water being "floomed" to break the surface - we DO NOT want a geyser.
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]Even better, a water pump forces large amounts of water to the surface for gas exchange, and it does so "simply" and very quietly. Flooming is ideal in retailers tanks because, unlike air bubbles, flooming causes less surface distortion so the consumer can still see and buy fish.

[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]A water pump lifts more water than an airstone could EVER lift to the surface for gas exchange.
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]Almost any brand of pump can work. You will find some pumps "stand up" better than others. It can be disastrous if the pump lays over and stops "flooming" the surface.
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]Also, if the pump DOES "geyser" the surface the risk is increased that the pond or vat could be pumped dry by the pump if it directed water over the edge and onto the ground.
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular][SIZE=-1]So, a gentle flooming in any tank or vat is superior aeration. And it's as simple as dropping in a submersible pump and aiming it at the heavens. [/SIZE][/FONT]
Click to expand...

Has anyone tried this in a DWC? I have a water pump but it's too powerful for my container and creates a geyser at the surface. I'm going to try splitting the output of the water pump across several points in the container to reduce the amount of pressure going out of each outlet.
 
Capn

Capn

Member
Very interested in this...I have a dwc with a pump in it just circulating the nutrients, it's pointed horizontally, not vertically. Wonder if doing the opposite would help...
 
Mountain_Monkey

Mountain_Monkey

Member
I can't imagine it would work very well simply because the roots submerged in the water wouldn't be getting very much oxygen which is where the bubbles in DWC do their work. I was thinking of something similar the other day as a quieter altenative to DWC as I want to put up a tent in my bedroom without the air pump for the DWC buckets keeping me up at night. I can't say for sure that it won't work but as I stated earlier I just can't see it being a more effective alternative than airstones other than from a noise standpoint. If it does work let us all know. Are you thinking of giving it a serious run?
 
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Now in technicolor
Veteran
The bubbles themselves don't oxygenate the water nor the roots of a plant. The air exchange happens at the surface of the water, and bubbles are just one way of breaking the surface and agitating the water to speed things up. The roots benefit from DO (dissolved oxygen) the same way fish benefit from DO, and for fish, flooming works.

There's more benefit in a deep res because a water pump can move most of the water on the bottom of the res to the surface (flooming is supposedly great for very deep ponds), but I'm not sure how much of a benefit there is in a shallow res where bubbles might be enough.. ? and I don't know what deep or shallow is in terms of specific length.

Yes I'm thinking about giving this a serious run but I'm concerned about the water pump heating my res. I initially got the pump to build an ebb/flow or aeroponic system to avoid issues with warmer res water temps.
 
Capn

Capn

Member
Thats the only thing stopping me from running more pumps in all my res's....the heat.

I don't use a chiller so thats a big concern.
 
B

Bahamut

Member
Its all about the DO. The smaller the bubbles the better. Bigger bubble's rise out of the solution faster. Airstones are cheap but arent nearly as efficent as micro-pore air diffusers. Dont know much about flooming but I know in DWC oxygen is a must and the more the better. Im not sure flooming is going to make enough DO in a short res. Give it a shot if you can im sure we would like to see the results in a hydro applaction.
 
SuperHemp

SuperHemp

Member
I don't know if it'll work well, but they work better than airpumps for fish, so they might work better than airpumps for plants too, esp. in a deep container. Just make sure the reservoir has some sort of vents so that the water surface always has fresh air. (Netpots should already have enough holes in them for oxygen to enter the reservoir).

I am currently in week 6 of an 8 week run with soil so I'll be testing this in two weeks or so, deep 18.5 gallon reservoir, 265gal/hr water pump. I also have a matching venturi, water pump + venturi is supposedly one of the most efficient ways to aerate water, but the venturi needs an air hose stuck thru the lid which makes things more complex when it's time to lift the lid off, so I'll be trying both and see if there's a difference in growth rate (or root problems). The water pump and venturi is rock solid quality (Eheim) and together cost half of what I'd need to shell out for an airpump sufficient for the reservoir.
 
J

JefersonAirplan

Member
I grew plants in my aquarium with a waterfall type setup. I may try setting up DWC with this

p-29158-39520-aquarium.jpg
 
jm420

jm420

Active member
Veteran
the heat will cause problems running a submersible pump24/7 got my 11 gallons up to 90f
 
H

Haps

stone fool
Veteran
It willl work, but the heat issue is a real problem, if you have a large res in a cool room, it could be a good solution. This solution does not add the kinesis to the equation that bubbles do, the roots like the bubble dance.
 
turbolaser4528

turbolaser4528

Active member
Veteran
rarrrr i need a giant venturi. i have ran submersible pumps in my dwc on a timer and that worked well, not as much heat build up while still mixing the solution. can always go external:woohoo:
 
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