Replacing Aquarium Air Pumps in DWC?

GuerrillaRed · Apr 2, 2019

Hello Friends, :tiphat:

I'm really getting to a great place with my growing. I keep upgrading and trying to improve every aspect of my game. I'm wondering if there's a way I can improve the air flow into my DWCs? I've been using 5 gallon buckets for the last ten+ years with standard aquarium air pumps but I've always felt they put out so little air, there has to be a better way. I'm wondering what ideas you have?

I'm thinking of experimenting with bath tub spas which seem like they'd be perfect but they're expensive at $40+ per unit and they wouldn't reach all the way to the bottom of the bucket. Also trying to light proof and fit these things in the buckets would be a challenge. Still that air flow looks awesome.

[YOUTUBEIF]PAa3VodRNHo[/YOUTUBEIF]

What are you guys using for air flow in your DWC? How can I take it to the next level for air flow for my kids?

Thank you.

GuerrillaRed · Apr 2, 2019

Maybe I'll put rubber tubing on the nozzles and run them in through the lids. That way I could get two buckets per unit. :smoker:

AgentPothead · Apr 2, 2019

It looks like that thing draws water in from the bottom. If you do the tube out to separate buckets, you will need some way to drain the water out of the buckets back into the reservoir the spa pump is in. If not it will just drain the reservoir dry. I only use DWC for the cloning part, but I just use a https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008ILGHAU and it works great, but it's a tiny little rubbermaid type container. Hopefully somebody who actually does hydro will respond

Hydro8 · Apr 2, 2019

Most people upgrade to the larger/commercial style Air Pump, 6 Outlets, 20W, to-- 112Watt W/ 12 Outlets. The draw back with these is they can be noisy for a residential setting. They are easy to use and great for DWC. One airline with a 4" cylinder stone is a lot of air for a 5gal bucket. 2 air lines might be too much.

The possible draw back I see with spa pumps is they are designed to push water around in much bigger volumes/weight, they might be over kill in 5-15gallons and stress and damage the roots. Also the large cord looks like they would draw some extra electricity vs standard air pump.

kookied · Apr 3, 2019

try this idea; Flooming by a jet air lift pump.
Follow these links.
Basic info on Flooming
A post on another board explaining Floomin
Last how to build a simple jet airlift pump

The idea of using a water pump in hydro makes no sense to me they heat the nutes, gum up, ect. A airlift pump will work just as if not better because of the O2 diffusion used in the pumping action. Don't gunk up, cleaning only takes a bottle brush. They can be made as large or small as needed. Only the largest (bigger then a 55 gal drum) needs more air then a good aquarium air pump, the next step is a small airbrush compressor.
Last and the best there cheap, if you have a air pump the parts are less then 10$ us.

Just makes sense to me, but to each thier own.

Soon com, A DIY on setting up a DWC with flooming by a jet airlift pump....

f-e · Apr 3, 2019

If anything could beat an aquarium pump, they would sell them as aquarium pumps.

If that's really not enough, then fridge motors come next. Passing nail salon compressors on the way, as they don't last long enough.

You don't need to bust open a fridge. Paint compressors have used them for a while now. Offering a vibration free air flow, and catch vessels for any unwanted vapour.

kookied · Apr 3, 2019

UMMM, they do sell them for aquariums, usually for filtering. In hydro systems don't need the filter. Here is one on amazon ;

https://www.amazon.com/Lift-Tube-Water-Aquarium-Filter

A simple aquarium air pump, is all that is needed

Except when needing a large system, as in something over a 50gal drum

Let us drop this, it shows you won't
even try to do a simple google / youtube search. Please accept my humble regret in mentioning in your post.

To each their own. Everyone has their methods, and modes of knowledge.
To share knowledge is to learn as in to teach is also to learn. Only a fool who has not taken an idea into thought due to not being able to give the idea the time of study will disparage it before any other who might wish to take the time learn. :huggg:

GuerrillaRed · Apr 3, 2019

Ha, in my early days a young GuerrillaRed tried experimenting in 30 gallon and 55 gallon drums for DWC. It was then I learned about the weight of air versus water.

I've been trying to think outside the box on this. I'm in the middle of another grow where yet again the issue of air flow on plant size is readily apparent and something I wish to explore.

The more I look at jacuzzis and water jets, I think there's something there. But there's got to be a way to dump more air into the DWC than what a 20-30 gallon aquarium air pump can offer.

GuerrillaRed · Apr 3, 2019

Would a heavy duty submersible water pump be the best bet here?

Getting a kick ass small pond water pump in a 55 gallon drum is giving me ideas.
:plant grow:

Guest · Apr 4, 2019

Take a look at Alita air pumps.

popta · Apr 4, 2019

If you've been to public aquariums or salt water reef stores you'll notice one thing real quick - not a single bubbler in the entire building.

If you have only one tank I guess you have no need to move water but if you have multiple tanks/buckets/whatever you need to circulate water between them anyways to keep things even so you can take take advantage of that flow to generate all the dissolved oxygen the water can hold for free. Lots of ways to do it. a vertical drop, a spray, a venturi... whatever. If you're pumping water it's easy to get all the oxygen you could need just from the existing flow.

overbudjet · Apr 13, 2019

Try fish filter they will do o2 by create a little waterfall and also have the place to hold beneficial plus mechanical filtering (maybe easier if you have a square bucket)

Pic of my old RDWC system using 75gal fishfilter and a water fall no air pump.

GuerrillaRed · Jul 19, 2019

Just to complete this thought. I did try water pumps. They didn't put out near enough air. I used "400gph" water pumps that couldn't even put out enough air to keep plants happy in about 4 gallons of water. After watching plants get noticeably worse as they were choking out from a lack of air over the first 24 hours, frantically swapped them out for the old air pumps.

Although, I just made the jump from DWCs to an RDWC and it's like advancing out of the dark age to the enlightenment age.

If spmeone else has a better experience, I would be interested to know but thought I'd put the info of this experimenting out there.

As of right now, my old beat up several year old aquarium air pumps are still the undisputed champion of aeration in the DWC realm. But I'm constantly looking for new challengers.

NoSativaction · Jul 19, 2019

The ultimate way is just inject oxygen from a tank on a regulator.

Other than that, agitate as much as possible. Try an aquarium powerhead.

An improvised swamp cooler type design could work. Bring water up to a tall height with a pump, discharge via a showerhead down a PVC tube into a tank. PVC wye fitting near base of PVC tube, mount fan blowing IN on 2nd wye hole. Air blows UP the tube if bottom of tube stays below water surface. This will evap some of the water, cooling it. Will also aerate the hell out of it. Just watch your tank levels, you are evaporating some water.

DJXX · Jul 19, 2019

i use Sunleaves 2 and 4 outlet pumps in my bubble bucket DWC...and they make a pump you can put a manifold on that will run 8 outlets...water pumps will just swirl the water you gotta have a pump with airstones...there are tons oof them on Ebay...new airstones alone will do wonders..DJXX

noreason · Jul 19, 2019

With electolysis you can get a lot of oxygen from the water without the need to pump air in it, I saw a machine doing it and it was working, with the O2 meter and everything. No plants were inside. It was called O2grow.

Never tried myself, so no feedback at all and I would like to hear someone else opinion on electolysis and dwc.

:wave:

NoSativaction · Jul 20, 2019

Electrolysis produces heat. Hydrogen is by product and will screw with your PH.

WelderDan · Jul 20, 2019

I always use dual outlet air pumps. I use one pump for each bucket, but instead of running both lines to one bucket, I run one line to one bucket, and the other line to another bucket. So I end up with two lines to each bucket, but each line comes from another pump. So if any one pump fails, I still have one line feeding any given bucket.

I also don't bother with air stones. They just clog up, and since you can only reach a certain level of dissolved O2 using an air pump, stones are pointless. You can get max dissolved O2 with an open line.

The waterfall effect will create more dissolved O2, but it has it's own drawbacks.

I've done side by side tests with and without stones and determined stones are a waste of money.

Frosty Nuggets · Jul 20, 2019

Have you seen my DWC mega bubbler test video thread?
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=364126 :biggrin:

bt420 · Aug 8, 2019

can young roots handle that?

Replacing Aquarium Air Pumps in DWC?

Member

Member

Just this guy, ya know?

Member

Member

Well-known member

Member

Member

Member

Guest

Member

Active member

Member

Member

Active member

Natural born Grower

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

New member