O2 Injections to Roots......

So I have an extra aquarium bubbler air pump. Decided to run tubing into the bottom of a couple pots to inject some O2 directly into the soil. I've been wanting to try this for a while and decided to go ahead. I set the timer to run for 15 min every hour of light. On 18/6 right now. My thoughts on this are that roots love to be in an oxygen rich environment so by directly injecting O2 into the soil, it should promote growth. I'm going to keep an extra eye on them to see if it does make a difference.

Has anyone tried this?

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Originally Posted by CanGroIt

So I have an extra aquarium bubbler air pump. Decided to run tubing into the bottom of a couple pots to inject some O2 directly into the soil. I've been wanting to try this for a while and decided to go ahead. I set the timer to run for 15 min every hour of light. On 18/6 right now. My thoughts on this are that roots love to be in an oxygen rich environment so by directly injecting O2 into the soil, it should promote growth. I'm going to keep an extra eye on them to see if it does make a difference.

Has anyone tried this?

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I love it! Another experiment! So tell us more about the setup. Where are you at in the grow and are you running this against plants who do not have the oxygen drip as a control? I am curious what would happen if it was set up on a 24/7 cycle every 15 minutes too since many believe that the root systems grow more in the dark cycles, but that could be for a follow-up experiment if this one shows that there is an effect. I am going to pull up a chair and watch this!

Emmie

Cool, thanks for joining in Emmie.

As for my setup, veg cab is 36"w x 22"d x 24"h, 4 cfl's 9400 lumens total, two plants right now, Purple Cap, in Happy Frog soil. 4" inline exhaust fan 80 cfm, 4" passive intake on opposite side of cab. They are about to start day 11 of 18/6.

Nutes: Fish-Mix, Alga-Mic, Bio Bloom, Top Max, Kool Bloom, Bat Guano.

I was going to inject both pots but for experimentation sake I will only be injecting the smaller one of the two. Right now the smaller one is about half the size of the other so if it is beneficial, it should show.

Will post pics tomorrow.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the plants use O2 in the dark and co2 during the light? Why are you adding o2 during the light cycle? Shouldn't it be co2 during light and o2 during dark? I'm very interested in seeing if it does anything as your doing it...subbed!

I've messed with co2 a little, but have a grow bro that uses it extensively...we have been wondering about this 02 during dark, but keep in mind an o2 charged atmosphere is VERY dangerous...things that wouldn't normally burn, will burn very quickly in an o2 enriched environment! Be safe about it!!!

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Originally Posted by TANKJR

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the plants use O2 in the dark and co2 during the light? Why are you adding o2 during the light cycle? Shouldn't it be co2 during light and o2 during dark? I'm very interested in seeing if it does anything as your doing it...subbed!

I've messed with co2 a little, but have a grow bro that uses it extensively...we have been wondering about this 02 during dark, but keep in mind an o2 charged atmosphere is VERY dangerous...things that wouldn't normally burn, will burn very quickly in an o2 enriched environment! Be safe about it!!!

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oooo... i didnt catch that. Are you using O2 or just pumping regular air into the soil using the aquarium pump?

Emmie

Sorry, missed this...passive intake should be 1/3 larger than dynamic exhaust.

Dam sorry....I am too buzzed....just pumping "air"...DOH!...Thx Em! I thought you were using o2 out of a TANK>>>>LOL! Still....what I said applies...I think....wait....yea...maybe....aw, I'm just gonna go lie down for awhile now...BBL...:stoned:

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Originally Posted by TANKJR

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the plants use O2 in the dark and co2 during the light? Why are you adding o2 during the light cycle? Shouldn't it be co2 during light and o2 during dark? I'm very interested in seeing if it does anything as your doing it...subbed!

I've messed with co2 a little, but have a grow bro that uses it extensively...we have been wondering about this 02 during dark, but keep in mind an o2 charged atmosphere is VERY dangerous...things that wouldn't normally burn, will burn very quickly in an o2 enriched environment! Be safe about it!!!

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Yes plants use more o2 during dark cycle. No not injecting straight o2. Just a regular air pump getting regular air from inside the cab and injecting it into the soil. Right now my cab lacks the ability to do air exchanges in a fashion that would allow Co2 ppm's to stay at a constant. If i were to hook up my Co2 system, it would be a waste. Especially since i'm not using an HID for veg. I wouldn't mind making one of those DIY Co2 pumps with a 2 liter bottle and starch and what not, LOL........memories....... Yes I know the passive intake should be larger, i just like more air flow and my plants haven't complained so.......

Ok so the single biggest reason of wanting to try this is the mere fact that it can take 2-3 days between watering/feeding. I am doing this in an attempt to water/nute more often. I know that the moisture naturally dries when the plant roots absorb the moisture. With this pump pumping air into the soil, it should dry faster and allow me to water/nute more often.

I decided to set the timer for 30min on and 30min off 24/0. I think this would definately be enough to at least show signs of growth promotion. We shall see......

Here are some of my past grows------> Cannabis Forums Message Boards - Medical Marijuana, Cannabis Club, Dispensary, News

And here are the pics of my current grow......nothing impressive.........yet:D

13 hours after starting the air pump and timer and watering each pot with 1cup of water, the amount of moisture in the pot with the smaller plant is less than the larger one. The effect of the air pump is working the way I thought it would which is good. What I don't know is if this will be, overall, beneficial.

I used a moisture meter to determine the amount of moisture, ranges from 1dry - 10wet. After 13 hours, at a depth of 3" into the soil, the big plant read a 7 and the smaller a 6.

At hour 17 I will recheck the moisture meter at same depth and see the difference......

CanGroIt::::

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Originally Posted by CanGroIt

13 hours after starting the air pump and timer and watering each pot with 1cup of water, the amount of moisture in the pot with the smaller plant is less than the larger one. The effect of the air pump is working the way I thought it would which is good. What I don't know is if this will be, overall, beneficial.

I used a moisture meter to determine the amount of moisture, ranges from 1dry - 10wet. After 13 hours, at a depth of 3" into the soil, the big plant read a 7 and the smaller a 6.

At hour 17 I will recheck the moisture meter at same depth and see the difference......

CanGroIt::::

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There has got to be more evaporation with the air flowing through too. How much of the water use is that and how much is the plants using more is the question. What I am worried about is that just like what happens when the roots come in contact with the air in drainage holes and it cuts them off, that you somehow will hurt the roots in the middle of the root ball with this air flowing in. I'm wondering if the "oxygen" has to be attached to the water molecules to be beneficial to the plant. We shall know soon I suspect.

Emmie

This time at hour 17 I stuck the meter as far as it would go into the soil ( about six inches ) and both plants were 10, wet. So even though the moisture level is less at 3 inches I probably will not be watering again until veg day 13. The pH in the soil is steady in both at 6.7, 6.8.

Emmie - As long as the soil doesn't over dry, the roots should be fine. I may be wasting my time with this or not but I like to experiment. I'm sure I can get clones from the bigger plant if the smaller one dies from my curiosity.... These two are just the beginning of an SOG I'm going to start:D

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Originally Posted by emilya

There has got to be more evaporation with the air flowing through too. How much of the water use is that and how much is the plants using more is the question.

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It's a gravity thing... water drains downwards.

After 41 hours of the air pump 30min on and 30min off and only one cup of water, the moisture meter is reading a 6 moist in the soil of the smaller plant. The meter read 7 moist in the soil of the larger plant. The smaller plant is growing at about the same rate still.......

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Originally Posted by CanGroIt

Ok so the single biggest reason of wanting to try this is the mere fact that it can take 2-3 days between watering/feeding. I am doing this in an attempt to water/nute more often. I know that the moisture naturally dries when the plant roots absorb the moisture. With this pump pumping air into the soil, it should dry faster and allow me to water/nute more often.

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Have you thought of using more perlite in the soil? When 'blow-drying' the medium, there is a fine line between drying the medium, and killing the roots. Likely best not to cross that line.

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Originally Posted by Rusty Trichome

Have you thought of using more perlite in the soil? When 'blow-drying' the medium, there is a fine line between drying the medium, and killing the roots. Likely best not to cross that line.

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No I didn't think of that and yes I will be trying that sometime soon.

This experiment is officially done. On Veg Day 20 I took cuttings and needed the air pump for my bubbler. Getting the cuttings to root has much more importance to me than killing the root zone. However now that these two are in my flower box, the smaller one seems to be growing better than the larger one. Now they are about the same size. Will post pics in a bit.

The first pics posted on this thread were of day 9 veg and not day 11 like they are named.

Here are some pics of the last week or so. On the pic of Day 2 Flwr, the plant on the right is the one that had the air blown into the soil during veg. I did take more cuttings from the one on the left so maybe that is why it doesn't look as great as the other. I would have let them veg longer to get the 24 cuttings i wanted but I want to get these budding as soon as possible. I am more than sure I can get the 24 in a couple weeks from the 14 cuttings I just took................

More to come, Late

CanGroIt

They just finished up their 11th day of 12 hour lighting. Coming out nice so far.....
The third pic is the one that had the air pumped roots during veg.


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Cool! Oh, well at least you tried, right? So did you conclude it's not worth it to do this, or are we waiting for further experiments? BTW, I love the scrog netting...that took some work! I will call you "Weaver" from now on! LOL!;)

your experiment has merit,HOWEVER,you need more control over it to precisely figure out whats happening....,if you try again,seperate the subjects(lol)totally(if you can)and try upping your lights to at least double what you have now(Y-connectors)i.e. 18,000+ lumins...if nothing else,your plants will explode with growth during veg

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Originally Posted by TANKJR

Cool! Oh, well at least you tried, right? So did you conclude it's not worth it to do this, or are we waiting for further experiments? BTW, I love the scrog netting...that took some work! I will call you "Weaver" from now on! LOL!;)

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I think it might be worth a try in the future. For now, its on hold. Working on an SOG for my next grow. Never done one before so this should be interesting. The netting I weaved is for my SOG. I weaved two of them. Didn't take that long either.

AZ - I'm going to be adding four CFL's. But I don't want to pay for something I already have. I'm just too lazy to drive the 3 hrs for something I forgot. So for now, these will do.

BTW What you're doing with the netting is called a SCROG....or SCReen Of Green... you will be weaving the branches in and out of your netting to fill it up, right? A sog is sea of green and does not use nets. SOG is lot's of tiny one bud plants that cover a floor or table, each bud being the apical bud or "best bud"...TOPS...that's the word! LOL! brainfart! Your going to fool one or two plants into thinking they have lots of apical buds all at the same level. How do ya figure those dang plants know which bud is highest? LOL! Both good techniques but there's a difference! Still, I'll be ckin the grow log as it develops! Good Luck!

"...just too lazy to drive 3 hours for something I forgot"??? Me too! LOL!...spoken like a true stoner! Love it! LMAO!

Yes right now with the two in flower I'm doing a scrog. But I made these screens to add support to the main trunks of the lollipops that will make up the sea of green once in place. So instead of having the screen holding the foliage at the same height like SCROG, the screen will be below the foliage and the colas will do their thang!!!

Man I CANNOT WAIT!!!! But I have too..... I haven't grown my own for a little over three years now and man am I ready to have my own supply again!!!!

I like the way they are coming out so far. Just gave them some Ph'd water. Not sure if I mentioned that my nute water regimen is nute nute water.

This is my nute recipe for flwr days 14-21. Measurements are per 40 oz of water: (who said you had to measure by the liter?)

2ml Fish Mix
2ml Alg a mic
7ml Bio Bloom
5ml Top Max
2ml Floralicious Bloom
2ml Liquid Karma
1.5ml Cal Mag
2ml Vitamin B-1
ppm's are between 1100-1200
Ph it to 5.0 to offset the Ph in the soil

Soil Ph tends to rise a little so I lower the Ph in the water before adding to the soil.

Here are a couple pics...... The first is of Day 11 FL and the second is of Day 16 FL, just to see the difference 5 days can make..... Can't wait to see what they look in 38 days when I plan to chop for first harvest........

Forgot to mention that I also foliar spray each day right before the light goes on. Will stop after the 28th day of flower. Using 1ml of Floralicious Bloom in 18oz of water, Ph'd of course.

Also the soil of the plant that had the air blown in does dry sooner than the other. I think the proof will be in the root zone once the plant completes it's life cycle. I am so glad this plant decided to give me it's life cycle for my personal benefit......

Happy Growing......

They're still flowering!!

Need a second opinion. Going to start a thread in Plant Problems...... Ah, Oooh!!

22 days til flush for first harvest....Man, they smell delicious!!!!

Last week I was advised to get my plants closer to my light, since my light is in a fixed location. ( Thank You Rusty Trichome!:thumbsup: ) I built this stand out of 2x4's and it fit like a glove! It really improved my grow area. Now I have space under the pots. This will make it waaaaaay easier to flush the pots properly.

They were flushed on Flwr Day 28 and will get only RO water until Flwr Day 34. I will be taking a sample branch from each plant, a small to medium size, before I feed nutes again. I do this because I cannot have the cab open for very long while the light is on and it is really hard to examen your plants when you are in the dark. With the sample, I can take my time looking at each leaf, looking at each budsite and I check for any type of bug or unwanted growth. And the last exam is the smoke and taste test. It is really early on so I'm sure it will be a "head high". So after it is dried and cured, I'll find out......

Happy Growing!!!!

CanGroIt::::::

If you add more perlite to your soil mix, the roots get more oxygen everytime you water. I really don't see air injection being helpful enough to make a difference.

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Originally Posted by Smallville

If you add more perlite to your soil mix, the roots get more oxygen everytime you water. Thank you for being the second person to mention this......:thumbsup:

I really don't see air injection being helpful enough to make a difference. You obviously didn't read the part where I said that this was done just for the heck of it.......

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Thank you for following my grow log:D!!!

CanGroIt::::::

Yeah, so, I harvested half of the two plants on Flwr Day 34. The buds have since dried and are now in mason jars curing away. From what I have used so far, the effects have been great :thumbsup:!! The taste is getting there and it is smoothe. I know, I know, that I harvested at half the time I should have. I just can't seem to bring myself to pay for something that is growing in my cab, regardless of maturity. Like I said before, I haven't had my own steady supply for a little over 3 years now and I am sooooo liking the idea of having it again. Now I can buy what's needed for growing, instead of buying my meds......btw, I haven't had any meds for about the last month sooo, yeah......really glad I don't have to buy them anymore......

I've never grown a true purple strain before and I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. Look at the purple on the bottom sides. I can't wait to see just how purple they get. I have more of this strain flowering and I am NOT going to harvest ANY of that until at the very least, week 8 of flower.....I imagine it will be purpley:rasta:

Happy Growing......

CanGroIt::::::

I had root rot so I shoved the air pump hose to the bottom of the planter and half the plant survived but was very strange to see half a dead plant and half a live one. I almost threw it out but now it's going to yeild a nice little sack.