Anyone build a bubbler yet?

[Jerome]

Man, I travel for work now and again and when I get back there is a ton of posts to catch up on reading. Informative anyway....

I want to thank Gary for helping out with my last post, but if there is someone else that can assist in the other topics I asked about, I would appreciate it. I feel like I am asking alot, but I don't have any horticulturally adept friends and it is difficult to get very specific info sometimes... anyway...

Anyone attempt a bubbler construction yet? If so, any questions I can help you with? I have been working on my web site when I can, but it is very slow going.

Jerome

[Twincreekfarm]

Hi Jerome, I found an old 5 gallon aquarium from years ago that I forgot I had (little airpump and bubbler wand too). Got it all set up but still haven't found any black paint to cover the glass with, any suggestions? Nothing seems to want to stick to it,it is sitting in a cardboard box right now to keep the light out. I took some cuttings of stevia to try it out-let you know how it turns out. Daryll in NW FLA

[Jerome]

I use black automotive undercoating. I think the instructions say that walmart has it, but not the one here. I picked some up for a couple bucks at NAPA.

Jerome

[sewfarsewgood]

Jerome,

My local Wally world has most of the needed parts for the bubbler and I think am going to build one this weekend, depending on your answer to the question below.

On EBAy I cam across something VERY INTERESTING. I came across a FOGGER (do an ebay search on fogger) and it puts out a very fine mist/fog when submerged in 2-4 inches of water. It does it ultrasonically and seems it would take the place of the pump and the bubble curtains. It would literally fill the air space in the 1 gallon container with an extremely fine mist. Cost of the one I saw is $21.00. Thats pretty darn cheap. What do you think??

BTW, what temperature do you try and keep the water??

Gary J

[Jerome]

I have read alot about different people using a fogger for aeroponics. Basically from what others have described, the results are very similar to that of the bubbler. Personally, I wouldnt mind trying one, but I think my wife would kill me if I built another style contraption. I have enough homemade do-hickeys to fill the grand canyon. It would probably work fine and I would be interested in hearing your results. It would also be neat to have it run side by side with a bubbler to see how they perform. If you try one, let me know how you make out. I could probably sneak one in undetected if I needed to. Does that mean I have a plant problem when I have to start hiding it from people? yikes.

Funny you mention temp. I was running mine in my basement (approx 62 degrees) with the bubbler on at all times. The roses were blooming (pun intended). I made a mistake and changed two variables at once and lost my cuttings. I put them on a non-variable heat mat (probably brought it to 75 degrees) and I also put the air pump on a 15 min on 45 min off cycle. I had to go out of town on business and when I got back they were past the point of saving. They looked wilted, and the base was slightly blackened and slimey. Oh, well. Live and learn. I am now going to leave the bubbler on all the time and put a towel (folded once) in between the container and heat mat until I get a regulator. It was working well and I messed with it. I guess half the fun is trying to get it to work better all the time.

Let me know if you try it,

Jerome