Quick question! Do i really need water stones for my hydroponic 5 gallon bucket, they keep breaking so, can i just put the air hose in the bucket and pump air into water through hose? Does it have to go through an air stone??
Just putting hose into water won’t dissolve enough oxygen into the water. How do the stones keep breaking? They should just be sitting in the bottom of your buckets. Maybe just need a different type or size?
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I’d like to know this as well. In all the time I’ve been running a hydro system, I’ve had 3 air stones break on me, and they were all the same flat disc style - eventually blew a hole in them from getting clogged up with nutrient goop.
Different type - the cylinders or round stones seem to work best for me. Discs worked best quickly but as stated above, seem prone to clogging and imploding eventually.
If stones are really just not cutting it, there’s aeration tubing - it takes a much larger air pump to create the air flow you need to get oxygen to your root zone.
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Okay yeaa its a 5 inch disk! It keeps like stopping has no bubles coming from it… so maby its just the disc.
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Yeah, I’d suggest a small (2” max) cylinder or two. A couple smaller stones have an easier time than one large one.
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I don’t think you really have to have air stones. I have a DWC system that requires me to plug my air hose into the water level tube.
Active Aqua RS5GALSYS Root Spa 5 Gallon Hydroponic Bucket Deep Water Culture Grow Kit System with Multi-Purpose Air Hose and Air Pump, Black, 2 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N37MSCB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_02W4CXR1STRWH1SM17YD
But I added an air stone on a separate air pump for redundancy. These stones have worked well over four grows. Just flush them out between runs.
Pawfly 2 inch Air Stone Ball Shape Bubbler for Fish Tank Aquarium https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQ559S9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JC7N94NHH5RXJYDBPASZ
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It’s definitely a much better result with air stones. I have the same buckets and have done a grow where the big tube was the only air delivery system and done numerous where air stones were the delivery system - the stones far and away are superior for root development. The micro bubbles are able to disperse oxygen better.
Those airstone balls are exactly the ones I use too - they’re great. 
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