Can I make the system flood slowly enough?
 

Dear Ron,
I'm the guy who wrote from Argentina a while back. I know you recommended that I forget the whole prospect of the 11 plant garden, but I was able to build it successfuly. It turned out great with 1 1/2" PVC (which in Argentina I think is similar in internal diameter to US 1"). I got the bottle caps to fit and seal in each PVC opening perfectly and I installed a flow control valve at the entry point into the system. My question is this: is a 200-300 gph pump (the smallest I could find) still too powerful, even with the flow control valve? Can I make the system flood slowly enough? Or do I really have to wait until my next trip to the states to get a smaller pump?
Ideally, I need to get these Amsterdam babies germinated before Christmas... I'm anxious. I don't want to wait until that next trip to the US.
Please help. Thanks a million.

You could try what a member said a few questions back. Use a tee at the pump with one hose going to the garden and a flow control valve on the other end that flows back to the tank. That will release most of pump pressure back to the nutrient tank with the added benefit of creating air bubbles in your nutrient tank. Open or close the valve to determine how much water to pump to the garden. Ron