I have used pumps and reservoirs and timers for many, many years without failure, gravity feed return to reservoir so I find your aurgument pointless, there was no way I was going to hand water 88 plants 4 times a day. The idea of that much work tending the plants is rediculous and un-neccessary. I don't manually turn on and off my lights either or vent fans and a/c units either. I'm into automation as much as possible. Consitentcy is the whole point and crop after crop is how most people measure success in growing professionally. I am not your average home grower, I formulated my own hydroponic fertilizer solution over 30 years ago, all twelve dry salts, Calcium, Magnesium, Nitrogen, Sulfer, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron, Manganese, Boron, Zinc, Copper, Molybdenum, Hydrogen and Oxygen from the water of course, and that is all the essential elements any plant I know of that is needed to for any plant to go from seed to harvest, those who claim that Cannabor is needs Cobalt, or silicon in the trace elements is full of horse pucky. I am not going to get "married" to a watering can, or my plants. I'm planning on running up to 96 lights in four rooms, though with either
Gavita's or PL Lighting double ended lamps with their deep penitration reflectors I will likely use 85 lamps to cover an area that would have normally required 100 HID lamps. With four rooms, I can take down a crop every two weeks! In my State, we don't just allow for medical any more, and I am a card holder, we now have legal recreational too. Rock wool is good, but it is a hassle to get rid of it, it isn't recycleable, so I am back to useing hydrogroton stones, which can be reused again and again, with a purge and rake out of the stones to clean out the roots. I have used a stong acid solution during the flush to clean out the deposits that build up, and nuetralize the ph to 7 with an over night soak, then it's set up time again. In all my years of growing I have never had a pump fail, or a timer failure, the number one reason is attention to details and don't buy cheap timers or pumps, industrial products that are well known name brands are my choice, Grainger, Platt Electric, or McMaster Carr industrial suppliers, don't get cheap here, it's not worth it.
