Should I bubble my water before giving to plants?

[JoeRocket2]

I have an air pump & stones from a DIY cloner I made and I'm wondering if it's beneficial to bubble my PH corrected tapwater w/nutes before giving to my plants in soil?

If so, how long should I bubble it....constantly, 30-60 minutes??

 

[BudLove]

Nope - wouldnt really help out much. When growing in soil the key is to have a good soil mix (plenty of perlite/verm) so that the soil does not compact too much when watered (creating mud). The root zone will get its air in between waterings as the soil dries out...

So the bubbler would basically not do much in the way of improving yield.

BL

 

[Sammet]

It depends on what type of nutes you're using. If you're using organics then bubbling is good.

 

[JoeRocket2]

It depends on what type of nutes you're using. If you're using organics then bubbling is good.

Do you just bubble for a while before feeding or what?

 

[Sammet]

I add my Earth Juice nutes with some seaweed extract and molasses and then bubble with an airstone for 48 hours before feeding.

When I mix up all my nutes the pH is a little low around 6, after 2 days bubbling it's closer to 7.

 

[Guest]

If you have quality tap water, mine comes from the city but is not treated in anyway so more like spring or well water, then bubbling is not necessary as the dissolved oxygen content is very high and very hard to reproduce those levels using an air pump. Using an open line is better than one with an airstone for enhancing DO levels. Only reason to bubble water is to remove chlorine but this will not get rid of chloramines which are bad news when dealing with soil and organics. Bubbling teas is a different story as the purpose is to promote a high level of biological activity.

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Although I have never tried it, I think there may be some actual benefit to using water than has been super oxygenated using electrolysis. I'm not sure that air stoning will introduce much more oxygen that will remain longer than after the pour.

Those little watering cans that do this go for about $100 a pop and claim to enrich the water with 3-5 times normal oxygen content. And some of them let you return it for full refund in 30 days if you don't see the benefit.
Be easy to do a side by side.

 

[Guest]

Although I have never tried it, I think there may be some actual benefit to using water than has been super oxygenated using electrolysis. I'm not sure that air stoning will introduce much more oxygen that will remain longer than after the pour.

Have you ever done any dissolved oxygen tests? DO is DO and no matter how you introduce it and will dissipate at the same rate whether introduced by an airstone or electrolysis.

 

[JoeRocket2]

Although I have never tried it, I think there may be some actual benefit to using water than has been super oxygenated using electrolysis. I'm not sure that air stoning will introduce much more oxygen that will remain longer than after the pour.

Those little watering cans that do this go for about $100 a pop and claim to enrich the water with 3-5 times normal oxygen content. And some of them let you return it for full refund in 30 days if you don't see the benefit.
Be easy to do a side by side.

hoosierdaddy, this poster was in a bathroom in Mexico this winter when I was on vacation. I thought you might like it!!

 

[Haps]

I did not add air my first year in soil growing. Started it, and was impressed with visible results, no question about it. For me, it absolutely helped, but all grows are different, and I can believe in some it would not.
H

 

[hoosierdaddy]

LOL...JoeRocket2, I have that very same pic on my refrigerator at home.
You didn't think I was that clever did ya?

You may possibly be right nondual, but how ever it is introduced, increased oxygen, in theory, should be an advantage. And just like Haps is seeing a difference, I think it easy to do a side by side and check out results.
If an air stone will effect the dissolved o2 content the same as electrolysis does, then those $100 watering cans are gimmicks that should be exposed.

This is intriguing to me, and I will research it further.

 

[Guest]

You may possibly be right nondual, but how ever it is introduced, increased oxygen, in theory, should be an advantage. And just like Haps is seeing a difference, I think it easy to do a side by side and check out results.

Just saying DO levels for water right out of the tap, at least when I tested it, approach 12 PPM. Let it sit for 3 days and it will drop to about 7 PPM. It will take a lot of effort to raise the DO from 7 to 12 with an air pump with or without an airstone. I'm not familiar with electrolysis so can't provide any feedback on that point.

I have no doubt highly oxygenated water will help in soil grows and in general trust Haps input on things. For me as I've grown in soil I've ended up with a very 'loose' mix with high drainage thus helping aeration in the medium. If someone wants to play with soil oxygenation they should try working with calcium peroxide. It's difficult to obtain but works great. Problems are it's active for only about 2-3 weeks max and the byproduct is calcium so you need to adjust your nute program. One company does make a slow release CaO2 (acts twice as long). Another option might be to experiment with H2O2 but using ORP, with a meter to test it), as a guideline. Ozone treatment may be another one to play with. Over doing H2O2 or ozone could probably end up totally frying your microlife if you over do it.

 

[Climbinghigh]

I've been using tapwater for a couple years, and I always bubble it overnight to get the chlorine out, or to raise the PH of EJ solutions. I now live in area with many aquifers though, and now that I know about the issue with chloramines and DO, I may be switching to spring water permanently.
Nondual- Does all spring water contain more DO than tapwater? And how much does a DO tester cost?

 

[Guest]

Nondual- Does all spring water contain more DO than tapwater? And how much does a DO tester cost?

Only thing I can say is I tested water straight out of the tap and it was about 12 PPM. Don't know if you're talking about bottled spring water here. There's some springs around here and should test it for shits and giggles. I know it comes out cooooold.

I think testers start at about $250 with decent ones going for a bit higher, like maybe around $400. I keep on jumping into these DO questions because I messed around a little. I used the visual test kit from CHEMetrics. They're about $50 delivered, very professional, foolproof and results are close enough to count. It's difficult to test solution with nutes due to the nutes clouding the water throwing off the results a bit. That kit was one of he better investments I ever made and has helped me understand the dynamics of water and DO in general.

My tap water does not have chlorine and I'm not on a well

 

[Climbinghigh]

^^Thanks for response. Yeah, I'm talking about the frigid groundwater bubbling up from below. People around here believe its better for them- maybe its the minerals and lack of chlorine and flouride? I'm just thinking it might be better for plants as well. I guess the thing to do is get a test kit for dissolved minerals and that $50 DO test, and compare the tapwater vs. springwater. I honestly don't know if there is chlorine in my tapwater, I just assumed that there was. Thanks again, this thread has inspired me to do some research

 

[C21H30O2]

water is bubbled in organics for the aerobic micro life which breaks down nutrients making them easily absorbed by the plant. the more air, the larger the bacteria orgy and the greater benefit to the plant.

 

[Guest]

People around here believe its better for them- maybe its the minerals and lack of chlorine and flouride? I'm just thinking it might be better for plants as well.

Only thing I can say is some believe that water naturally forced out of the ground is best and has the highest energetic properties but we're getting into things that most likely can't be tested. It's subtle energy stuff along the lines of something like Ormus but even more esoteric.

Just ask your city what treatments they do to their water. Get a story ready just in case. For example "I have immune system problems and wondering if I should purify my water and need to know what you guys do to it."

One thing to keep in mind about DO and water. When I tested tap it was 12 PPM which dropped to 9 in 24 hours then 7 after 48 more hours without bubbling. 7 is pretty much the bottom unless, I'm guessing, you get some type of bacteria that uses up the oxygen over time.