can imagine the water running back through the pump
 

i don't get it, yet...

i am new to this site and i have a question: first of all, please don't mind my bad english. i am from holland, you know. if i build, let's say the 11 bottle hydroponic system, and i turn on the pump and fill the system with water/nutrients, then what happens? does the water drain off just like an ebb & flow system, or does the waterlevel drop because the plants absorb it? i can imagine the water running back through the pump after it is switshed off. anybody! please answer my question! if i can figure out how this thing exactly works, i might even try to build this system myself. greetings, reynold

Yes the pump shuts off and the water drains back through the pump. It is an ebb and flow garden.