So I wanna add an extra air pump and could use some help with the best way to route the air lines. I believe you remove the cover plate on the rear at the bottom, then fish up the back and under the lid? If so do the air lines keep the lid raised to much allowing to much light into the reservoir? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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The back off the unit has a sliding metal piece. If you funnel a cord under your lid and behind the black reservoir you can thread it through the back. Dont get a big one as it can affect sensors if it touches your guards. Mine are all half the size of my palm or smaller
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So just to be clear I have a small aquarium pump(rated for 5-10 gallons) with 2 air lines, I run the 2 air lines from the pump through the access panel in the back, up and over the black res tank and under the lid into the res tank correct? Then what do I need to avoid with the airstones? And do the air lines hold the lid up to high allowing light in or not an issue? Sorry I know it’s not a complicated upgrade just wanna get it right- Thanks
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Yes you have the install process correct. When snaking the air lines into the DWC I would leave the air stones off. Wait until you have the air lines in place and then add the air stones. Keep the lines/air stones in the main area of the DWC tank - do not put them inside the clear plastic guard area where the sensors are.
Having the small air lines drape over the DWC tank and under the lid is not an issue. It barely raises the lid. I have a line running now and I cannot even notice the lid is higher. Earlier in my other grows I had 1/2" chiller tubing lines under the lid and did not experience any issues.
Good luck!
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Awesome! Thanks
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Hope you don’t mind, but why do you need extra air lines?
I’m personally adding one because I’ve noticed the bubbles from the original airstone aren’t as strong as when I started the grow, also numerous people on here have had issues with either the pump quiting or the airstone becoming clogged, so it’s some reassurance for me that if anything were to go wrong I’m covered and I can’t imagine some extra air could be bad. For 12 bucks I can sleep better knowing my girl is safe!
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Exact one I bought, just installed seems to work fine so far
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I like that it has 2 lines one at each end of the res
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@miami5th do you use extra air stones in your grobo? Which one do you use ? Do you see that it makes a big difference if you are using the extra air stones?
What is the right size to get? Can i possible see your setup? Thanks @miami5th , i just keep seeing things to add to grobo but dont know if its a must or will be fine without it? Your grows are awesome so just looking for some advice since this is my first grow ? thank you
Hey @Manny ,
For my first 2 grows I did not add extra air pumps or stones. I have 2 units.
On the 3rd grow (Purple Haze) I noticed some major droopiness and started to monitor the CO2 levels and added another air pump + stone. To be honest I don’t think it really made much difference.
I have 3 different air pumps:
This one is the weakest and I would never buy it again. Maybe it will work out alright in the Grobo Start though.
Mid-grade pump: Still too weak it seemed
Best Quality Pump:
I use this style of stone:
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Thanks @miami5th much appreciated so your saying not a must but it helps a lil bit with the grow? and question would you invest in a water chiller with your experience with the grobo?
@Manny - Definitely have a spare air pump + stone handy. If it’s your first grow I wouldn’t add another air pump/stone just yet. See how the results are so you have some sort of benchmark. Given there has been a history of the air pumps failing it is a very good idea to have one just in case.
I have 2 chillers and used them for my first set of grows but not the 2nd set. Reason being the first grows were in the hot summertime and I lived on the top floor of the building so excess heat was an issue.
The second round of grows I did not use the chillers because it is much colder now being winter time.
I always added Hydroguard to each drain/fill, chiller or not.
The gold standard for chillers is the Active Aqua 1/10hp model. Most of the guys running chillers use that model. I have that with external inline pumps. Was able to just drape the chiller tubes over the DWC tank and put the white lid on-top. The added height to the lid probably helped stave off damping tbh.
I may have overdone it a bit on the first grow - humidifier, dehumidifier, chiller, keef green leaf’s odor mod + 4" carbon fan, tent with 6" fan + carbon filter, Air conditioning unit not shown
I wanted total control over the plant’s environment!
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Wow 
@miami5th you got a nice setup there … thanks for the excellent advice …I’m trying to go natural with my first grow to see how it goes? I live in Illinois so it’s pretty cold here in the winter so my temps have been steady from 67 to 74 and humidity this winter in my house and grobo been between 40 and 54 Rh … I keep her in a extra bedroom and she seems fine … but thank you so much for the advice …it does tend to get warmer in summer so I was wondering if I was gonna need that chiller? Or if I move her to the basement for summer…cause its about 5 degrees cooler down there…but I Thank you so much for helping me out…
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