Thanks doc, my pumps are actualy silent, its just the air coming through the stone thats a problem, thanks for the tip with the rubber bands, can see this working.
I purchased it from my local hydro shop, all the info on it is in chinese, i have just setup my dwc (without the presence of a plant) and got the whole system almost silent by puting my container on a piece of carpet, i asked the doc of how to keep noise down from my stone and he sugested rubber bands on my stone. works perfect. thanks doc
Excellent advice there my friend, thanks, i used a piece of old carpet which took most of the noise away from the stone. i haveto go and purchase more air stones today..Do 1 plant under the hps and 1 under the CFLs. I personally would do separate containers but the way Dr._D said to do it just as good. It's just a preference of mine. If you do it in cheap department store storage bins then get 2 of each one you get. I say this because the plastic is thin and can break a lot easier. By getting 2 of them you can put one inside the other and make the structure stronger so it will hold up better. As far as what size containers to get that all depends on how much space you have. The more space you give your plants to grow the better. Is 5' the overall height or the growing height? Is 3' by 3' overall width or growing width? For 2 plants to produce anything you are going to need to give them as much room as possible. Make up some plans to see how much growing room you have and then decide what would be the best approach(SOG, SCROG, 1 or 2 big plants, etc.).
I feel your pain about the airstones. Get airstones with suction cups so you can suction cup them to the inside of the container as a quick fix to your airstone problem. These can fail over time so what a technique I have found that works is make the hole in the lid a little smaller than the diameter of the air tube and kinda force the tube through the hole. After that pull it through and attach the airstone. Now move the tube back and forth in the hole until the stone is suspended in the water and makes no noise. What I usually do at this point is get some aquarium sealant(silicone) and smear it around the tube at the hole on the inside and outside of the lid so that the stone doesn't move. If you have more than one airstone then make multiple holes. This technique also allows your airstones to stay in the same spot. This is useful when changing the water out of the containers. When you put the lid back on the stone(s) are in the exact same spot as before. As far as making the bubbles quieter...yes there is a way. A 2" thick rubber mat on the floor under the bins will dampen any vibrations coming through the floor. As far as actually making the sounds of bubbles breaking the surface, other than covering the container with a lid...I got nothing.
If you have any questions feel free to ask away. If Dr._D can't get to them I will try and answer what I can for you.
