how many times do i run the water pump?

satica

Well-Known Member
Theoritically u dont need to water your plants during the dark cycle but as u need to keep the roots from drying and because of limitation of almostall timers then U can use 15 min on 15 minutes off but again it depends in the bucket u are using
 

keeger123

Well-Known Member
my 2 cents. either get a simple timer with lots of tabs, or a simple timer with 15 min interval tabs already built in, or an expensive cycle timer.

my control unit runs on the second kind, fills/drains within 15 min, i fed them 6 times a day to start, then 5, then 4 during flower to end it. my unit has individual buckets, not a table, so everytime u fill for 15 min then drain, a 1/2" of water in the bottom of the pots can't drain back, so it gets sucked up eventually, acts like a buffer. if it didnt i'd feed them even more. during flower i did 1 fill soon after the lights are on, 1 more 2 h later, then again 2 h later, then 1 last fill/drain in the middle of the dark time, to make sure the roots didn't dry out

if u wanna use a cycle timer, i would go 15 min on, 1-3 h off. and have that timer plug into another cheap timer so it's only on when the lights are on for 18 h or 12 h. or don't. might not matter... trial and error
 

trichlone fiend

New Member
...how often you run your pump depends on what kind of medium your using, how often they're drying out. Running your pump while the lights are on is recommended because your medium needs to dry out a little before each flood. It's also recommended to run your pump one hour before lights are out, for the same reason as stated above.
 

satica

Well-Known Member
...how often you run your pump depends on what kind of medium your using, how often they're drying out. Running your pump while the lights are on is recommended because your medium needs to dry out a little before each flood. It's also recommended to run your pump one hour before lights are out, for the same reason as stated above.

nice explanation.

When the question is general and with little or no set up explanation, then I am too lazy to answer properly.U did it right.
tnx
 

satica

Well-Known Member
my 2 cents. either get a simple timer with lots of tabs, or a simple timer with 15 min interval tabs already built in, or an expensive cycle timer.

my control unit runs on the second kind, fills/drains within 15 min, i fed them 6 times a day to start, then 5, then 4 during flower to end it. my unit has individual buckets, not a table, so everytime u fill for 15 min then drain, a 1/2" of water in the bottom of the pots can't drain back, so it gets sucked up eventually, acts like a buffer. if it didnt i'd feed them even more. during flower i did 1 fill soon after the lights are on, 1 more 2 h later, then again 2 h later, then 1 last fill/drain in the middle of the dark time, to make sure the roots didn't dry out

if u wanna use a cycle timer, i would go 15 min on, 1-3 h off. and have that timer plug into another cheap timer so it's only on when the lights are on for 18 h or 12 h. or don't. might not matter... trial and error

My dear Canadian fellow
if he runs 15 min on 3 hours off then he does NOT need a cycle Timer!. he can just use a 15 min interval timer that he already has.

But your idea about paralleling two timers is good but dont forget that second timer stops its timer when the first one is off so you may need some consideration .its not a bad idea to check the system before tha real room set up.
 

GrowingfortheGold

New Member
It depends on you medium. I once grew in Coco Chips and I filled 30 min (many buckets) 4 times a day. Now I grow in Coco Peat and I fill 15 min (few buckets) 1 time a day.
 

keeger123

Well-Known Member
My dear Canadian fellow
if he runs 15 min on 3 hours off then he does NOT need a cycle Timer!. he can just use a 15 min interval timer that he already has.

But your idea about paralleling two timers is good but dont forget that second timer stops its timer when the first one is off so you may need some consideration .its not a bad idea to check the system before tha real room set up.
hence the 3 options. and any timing can be achieved with a little coordition and planning. never a bad idea to have a cycle timer tho, i've used mine on my cloner pump, exhaust and intake fans,
 

satica

Well-Known Member
hence the 3 options. and any timing can be achieved with a little coordition and planning. never a bad idea to have a cycle timer tho, i've used mine on my cloner pump, exhaust and intake fans,
u r right to have a cycle timer .I use mine in 1 min on 5 min off in my hydro setup.
 
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