
Increasing
the amount of nutrient available for each plant will minimize pH and
conductivity changes. In hot weather, insufficient nutrient volume
could result in conductivity soaring to toxic levels which could seriously
damage your plants. Nutrient volume should be large enough so that no
more than ~10-20%* of its volume is used prior to the next water top-up.
Water losses
through plant leaves in hot weather (above 30 deg C / 86 deg F) can be
around 5 litres (1.2 gal) per day for each mature tomato plant and 1 litre
(1 qrt) for mature lettuce. Therefore, as a guide, allocate at least 10 litres (2.5 gal)
of nutrient solution per tomato plant or around 2 litres (2 qrt) per
lettuce and other similar size plants.
Larger
nutrient volumes will also reduce how frequently top-up water is added.
However, this task can be avoided by connecting the reservoir to the water
supply via a “float valve”. This will ensure the water level remains
constant.