So the last time (my first time) I did a
hydroponic system build, I did dutch buckets, and had a lot of extra parts left over - I bought a lot of things I didn't need, but now I'm trying to throw together something with what I have on hand for a friend to grow a tomato plant in her basement, and I wanted to run the idea by some experienced growers to see if my idea holds water (stop me if you've heard that one.)
So I have a couple 5 gallon buckets and lids, a spare pond
pump, a whole lot of tubing, and a 6" net pot bucket lid for a 5 gallon bucket. My first thought was just a standard DWC bucket, but I want to make it easier to get at the solution for keeping an eye on PH or draining it, whatever. So I'd like to add a second bucket, but then I just don't feel like having to keep two buckets that full all the time - the water source is really bad well water and the RO system is super slow so it can take ages just to fill my 5 gallon jug.
So I was thinking of connecting the two buckets at the base with 1/2" tubing and keeping the buckets about half full each (5 gallons total
nutrient solution) and using the pump to run 1/4" irrigation tubing up to the top of the net pot for top feeding. I may even put an air stone in the bucket with the plant, because I found an old aquarium pump in one of my boxes. I don't know if the air is really necessary if the solution isn't reaching all the way up to the base of the plant, but why not. I figure at some point the roots are going to get long enough to submerge in the solution like a normal DWC.
Any critiques on this idea? With a net pot, can I run the pump at a trickle 24/7 or should I have it on a timer? Should I just fill the plant's whole bucket with perlite or hydroton like a giant dutch bucket? It'll try to float, but with the net pot lid it won't be going anywhere.