Aeration in Ebb and Flood Systems
Aeration of an ebb and flood system is an important aspect of its operation. Automatic displacement eliminates air which has been de-oxygenated by the roots as the water rises to its highest flood stage. When the pump turns off, gravity pulls the water downwards, which re-exposes the space around the roots to the air.
The film of water left around the roots during ebb has a high surface-to-mass ratio, which means that even as the roots absorb oxygen, its high surface area facilitates re-oxygenation, which can sustain the roots as long as their surfaces remain damp. The high oxygen content of water filmed in this way suppresses most harmful lifeforms, keeping the root zones disease free. In other types of hydroponics this function must be performed by cooling the solution to protect it from pythium, a form of water mold responsible for a condition called 'root rot', in which the outer cells of the roots die, turn brown and slough off when handled. Need for supplementary oxygenation using air pumps is also eliminated, which increases reliability and reduces complexity.
Ebb and flow hydroponic systems are also quiet, while using less power than other hydroponic systems, which means that they can be used in environments where acoustic signature and excessive plumbing is objectionable, such as residential or classroom applications where space is at a premium.
Read more about this topic: Ebb And Flow
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“I feel staled,
Stupefied, by inaction and, as light
Begins to ebb outside, by fear; I set
So much on this Assumption. Now it’s failed.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
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With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“The skylines lit up at dead of night, the air- conditioning systems cooling empty hotels in the desert and artificial light in the middle of the day all have something both demented and admirable about them. The mindless luxury of a rich civilization, and yet of a civilization perhaps as scared to see the lights go out as was the hunter in his primitive night.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)