Hydroponic Peppers Race - Kratky vs DWC - Do Air Pumps Help Hydroponic Plants Grow Faster?

We grow two pepper plants and have a race between two growing methods! We grow one plant with a simple Kratky set up, and our second plant has an air stone added to the reservoir. I document the differences between these plants and ask the question- do air pumps do anything to help grow hydroponic plants? This bucket and airstone combo is a simple hydroponics system design perfect for any beginning grower!

Let me know in the comments below if/why you use an air pump and the effects it has on your harvests! I love hearing from the community!

Check out my full Air Pump Races Playlist here:

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Hydroponic Peppers Race – Kratky vs DWC – Do Air Pumps Help Hydroponic Plants Grow Faster?

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20 Comments

  • Growing Answers

    As an aquarium keeper I am pretty sure that low oxygen levels is more favorable for algae than high oxygen levels. The higher the DO then less mold and algae can survive. Circulation also plays a part in that too. I have done this same experiment with vastly different results on my channel. The aeration needs to be more powerful. And once the stone becomes encased in a root mass, it looses its effectiveness drastically. The oxygen exchange happens at the surface with the agitation that the rising and popping bubbles create. The large bubbles themselves do not put O2 into the water column by simply being in the water. They need to rise to the surface and cause a lot of agitation. What happens mostly with aeration is the CO2 in the air reacts with carbonates in the water and creates carbonic acid, lowering the PH. The fluctuating PH and CO2 levels in the water is what drives algae growth. Not the oxygen.

  • MD. MAHFUZ ALAM

    Excellent…..!!!
    Can u tell me….
    How much litter's or gallon nutrients mixing water needs for one plant's, start to end of harvest….??? ( DWC or Kraky method )

  • Ken Lumley

    If it's not too late…..easier/cheaper than painting your buckets……either place the bucket into a black plastic bag or place the bag into the bucket…………….easy-peesee.

  • Gregory Winch

    So….the air stone caused the algae to grow much faster…..
    Now imagine that same setup but in a black light proof bucket….do you not think that air stone might cause rapid root growth instead??? I bet it does.
    You're doing a poor comparison under poor conditions. And honestly it really shows that you have absolutely zero experience and should not even be making this video. Honesty buddy…..as soon as I saw the white bucket I knew you would have massive algae
    Dumb ass!!!!

  • Philothei Phoenix

    Thank you for posting this. Many forget that Prof. Kratky didn't develop this system to compete with electrical systems, but to make it possible for people to grow low cost, low maintenance food when electricity wasn't available or was cost prohibitive. The lower costs, ease of use, low maintenance and low impact of the Kratky system make it perfect for many of us who don't have the mechanical talent or financial resources of others. Well done.

  • David Baldry

    I utilize an air pump during the final vegetation stage of the Kratky method.
    Reason being that once the roots reach the bottom of the reservoir you begin having to refill the water. I find you can fill the reservoir back up if you add an air stone.
    Of course this depends on what you're growing and how long you are keeping your plant around.

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