Professional Marijuana Grower March-April 2018 Issue | Page 6

COVERSTORY
O 2 Grow
by Eric Hopper
O 2 Grow Oxygen Generators
I
ndoor marijuana gardeners who use hydroponic systems
have, at the very least, heard of dissolved oxygen.
Dissolved oxygen is the molecular oxygen found in-be-
tween the water (H 2 O) molecules. It is the oxygen used
by aquatic creatures and the aerobic organisms living in and
around a plant’s rhizosphere. When evaluating aquatic life,
the water quality is rated by its dissolved oxygen content.
The more dissolved oxygen, the better the water quality for
living organisms to thrive.
These evaluations are done using a dissolved oxygen (DO)
meter; a device used to measure the actual dissolved oxygen
within a liquid. Many hydroponic growers don’t realize
that they can also use a dissolved oxygen meter to measure
and monitor the dissolved oxygen content of their nutrient
solutions. As with aquatic creatures, a higher amount of
dissolved oxygen equates to a better environment for accel-
erated plant growth. Plants need about of 6 parts per million
(ppm) dissolved oxygen to thrive, air stones or bubblers can
achieve about 8 ppm and the O2 Grow Oxygen Generators
will provide 12 ppm or higher. Dissolved oxygen levels over
10 ppm give the plants roots accelerated growth.
6 • Professional Marijuana Grower
The Dissolved Oxygen Dilemma
Although growers may not understand everything about
dissolved oxygen, they understand it is important for
their hydroponic systems. Growers understand that, as
plants grow, they use up the dissolved oxygen with-
in the nutrient solution and that oxygen needs to be
replenished. Perhaps the biggest dilemma concerning
dissolved oxygen is that growers use ineffi cient methods
to obtain or increase it in their hydroponic systems. In
some cases, unbeknownst to the grower, the equipment
he or she is using to increase the dissolved oxygen con-
tent may actually be working against him or her.
Mechanical air pumps and air stones are, by far, the most
common ways hydroponic growers aerate their systems.
The aquarium industry uses air pumps and air stones to help
raise fi sh byproducts out of the water and add a little dis-
solved oxygen back into the water. The hydroponic industry
adopted this as the standard for replacing the dissolved
oxygen plants use as they grow. Most growers believe that
the more air they pump through an air stone, the higher the
March/April 2018