Aeration or circulation?

I have two standing reservoirs and was wondering if it is better to aerate the water or keep it circulating? When I say standing reservoirs I mean; I fill my res and continue to use that for a week or more depending. Just wondering what is better. I know air can feed unwanted things. With that said I was thinking maybe just keeping the water moving around would be better to avoid any issues. As of yet I really haven't had issues using an air pump other then pH going up and down a lot. Any input would be cool.

I use aeration. Buy a air pump and get a pill bottle. Fill the pill bottle with weights. Zip tie it to the airlines. Never have to buy airstones or worry about them clogging.

I don't grow hydro. I just want to point out that usually if you're circulating water you are necessarily aerating it as also. Perhaps less oxygenation than if using aquarium pump/air stones, but air is still mixing with the water. Also keep in mind that plant roots do breathe oxygen, that's the point of it.

Circulation, air stones can air borne bacteria to your system. The one down fall is it adds heat

I should have been more clear. The reservoirs don't contain plants. Its just so I can have water/food ready anytime I need to hand water. I am in coco. Thanks for the input thus far!!

Toss a powerhead in there and let it run

SnapsProvolone said:

Toss a powerhead in there and let it run

Click to expand...

Exactly what I have done in one...

Is it ebb n flow? If so there's no need for either. An airstone will help breed unwanted bacteria. A water pump would be good, but if the res is too big the pump will need to be a decent size and with that comes a rise in water temps, unless you have a chiller. I'm using nothing in my ebb n grow system and it's much better with out using either.

They are more-or-less just totes of premixed water/nutrients. I am in coco and hand water as needed. All my veg plants get fed from one tote and the other tote is for flowering plants. In the past I have always used air pumps to keep the water in them moving around as to not let it get stale. But I do have issues from time to time with the water smelling funky. I assumed this was due to the air feeding bacteria.

Oh, ok, then a water pump would do MUCH better than an air pump for your situation. I'd suggest just a small water pump. Keep the water chilled if you can, just throw a couple 2 liters of frozen water bottles in there once in a while to keep the temps down and avoid the bacteria and the pump will keep it from getting stagnant.