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NFT is designed and is traditionally used with the pump running constantly.  A constant flow of water is ideal but most growers find that a constant flow of water is to much for young plants that do not have a established root system in a 3” Rockwool Cube.  The answer to this problem is quite simple all you need to do is run your pump on a segment timer or a DP Recycling Timer.  With a segment time you can quite simple set the pump to run ever hour for 15 minutes and increase this as the root system develops, a DP Recycling Timer gives the grower more control over how often the pump runs and for how long the pump runs.  Most growers who run a NFT system with a timer eventually run their system constantly, however some growers find that best results are achieved using a timer thought the whole crop.

Remember that are a few variables in an NFT system and the plants you are using and this affects how often you need to water.  If you slope on the NFT run is not enough the water will not run of the bed as quick therefore a timer is the best option.  Different strains of plants require different amounts of water, if you have a slow growing plant, using a timer is also probably the best option.