more bubbler bucket questions

When my plant was 3 inches tall I put her in a 3 gallon bubbler bucket with two large airstones. My medium in the basket is perlite. I have 4 strips of felt (6 inches long, 1 inch wide) going through the basket of perlite to almost all the way to the bottom of the bucket. I have the basket just barely touching the water. Well now my plant is about 9 inches tall and 14 inches wide. Her root system has really expanded. My question is:
Does the water level still need to be touching the basket or should the basket be a few inches above the water level?

Another member mentioned to adjust the pH to 6.5 then drop it to 5 then raise it to 7 then back down to 6.5 in order for the plant to receive all the required nutes. How long are you supposed to keep it at a each of pH levels?