grow cycle | air stones : don ' t starve your roots
“ It ’ s important to keep in mind the temperature of the air that is pumped through the air stones in your hydroponic setup . A colder system will be able to keep more dissolved oxygen in it than warmer water .”
TEMPERATURE & OXYGEN
It ’ s important to keep in mind the temperature of the air that is pumped through the air stones in your hydroponic set-up . A colder system will be able to retain more dissolved oxygen than a warmer one . You may stress the plant roots if they are subjected to higher temperatures . Typically , you want to have the temperature of your system lower than the ambient air temperature . As such , pumping warm air in your oxygenation system isn ’ t a good idea as it will increase the nutrient temperature . So , try to place your air pump away from lamps or other equipment that could warm the air you ’ ll end up using through your air stones .
NUTRIENTS AND OXYGEN
With adding oxygen using air stones , you may notice that your nutrients are being depleted quicker than they were before adding this oxygen . This is because your plants are better able to absorb the nutrients in your solution . It can be a good idea to start testing the amount of nutrients more often until you find a rhythm of what your plants need now .
At the end of the day , whether you decide to use air stones , rely on the dissolved oxygen from your nutrients , or use some other method , it ’ s vital that you make a change and get more oxygen to your plants ’ roots . There are a few things that you ’ ll need to keep in mind when increasing the levels of oxygen in your hydroponic system , such as the temperature and the level of nutrients . In exchange for your hard work in keeping your plants ’ roots happy , you ’ ll find that they will reward you with lush growth and better yields .
88 Maximum Yield USA | February 2017