Proper pressure to each dripper problems troubleshooting, help?

by "the siphon thing" presume you mean that your line is flow back to your reservoir after each feed... result in air trapped in the line. what is a probleme... here is my success key for any irrigation systeme.. here is how i setup... pump, flow valve, Y conector, purge valve, main line 1, air valve, main line 2, purge valve( conected to the other side of the Y connector) symetrie is the key... line 1 lenght = line 2 lenght all the dripper hose MUST have the same lenght, and evenly dispatch between the 2 line... hope its help

Anytime water is forced to make 90 degree bend or more it almost doubles the amount of force required to maintain flow levels. Don't use T bars try use 45 degree Y shapes, you will get far far more bang for your buck.

also, the size of the pipe leading to your 1/4" tubes matters too.. it can only feed so many tubes. or those 6-port manifolds can only give about 15gph per tube etc... you may have a bottleneck somewhere, too.

If it is inconsistent you probably need a pump with greater lift (more psi). Higher psi pumps also open up more options for drippers that you can use too. The little pumps RV's use are not so expensive and provide an adjustable psi up to 45-75. They generally comes in 2 sizes a 3.3gpm and a 5.5gpm. they are 70-120 USD. Aquarium pumps suck for this job. Only in the most basic setup do they work well. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-Industrial-Diaphragm-Irrigation-Sprinkler/dp/B0BB9M2TS8/ Not an endorsement. This is just the first AC power cord version i found wiith "rv water pump" as far as sizing which one you need... i used "Hydrolock" kits to guesstimate the size i needed. If i recall when you go up to 12 or more they jump to the 5gpm model.

The answer to your question really depends on the setup/equipment you're using. Your smaller pumps typically operate similar to an IV pump, where a little pressure wheel circulates to push fluids in the tube. These are the most finicky to set up as their simplicity leads to other factors influencing flow rates, like length of tubing and height of pots compared to your reservoir. Your larger/more expensive setups typically use a pump to pressurize a mainline or hub and smaller lines will branch off of it to supply individual plants. These systems are more expensive and a little more involved to set up but give fewer problems once it's running. With either system you can also adjust flow rates with your emitters. The stakes are color coded and allow different rates of flow. Size up or down depending upon your needs.