This is pic of my set up

It's a run-to-waste drip system, right? What's the grow media inside the buckets? Whether or not to use a timer depends upon how much moisture you hold in the media and how long it lasts. I would think the benefit to the timer would be saving money on nutrient costs.

The old nutrients are probably ok if they will still dissolve in water. You can get by without a TDS meter, but it takes practice with the particular nutrients that you use. Powdered nutes tend to be cheaper due to lower shipping weight and costs. I use liquid nutes from General Hydroponics, and by now I am able to estimate the TDS of a solution by looking at it. That's only from a lot of practice with a meter, though.

Hi cole

Thanks for that, its not a run to waste, it flows back into a tank and gets recycled, and yes iv used pea gravel as a grow medium, might just keave it running 24/7.

Cheers

oh, ok. I see now. The green bucket holds the rocks and the square black bucket is for drain plumbing. I like it.

The recirculating drip system you have now is very similar to recirculating deep water culture. If you put a lid on each bucket and put the plant in a net pot with just a little gravel, it would be RDWC. The water fills the bucket to just under the net basket; you'd have to raise yours to the level of the buckets. You'd also have to use a slightly larger pump to move more nutrient solution, but the principles are all the same. I don't know if RDWC would work better for you, but it might be fun to play around with.