Yeah, I just ended up with constant feed,I believe it brings more air and it was less hassle and killed the worry of drying out. i tried any medium I could think of just to learn, straw,driveway gravel,wood chips,I even grew some in foam from a couch just to see and learn, I tossed them out for fear of toxins in the plant. When i got somewhat good at cloning I stressed my strains with light cycles, heavy nutes etc to weed out potential hermies etc and get keepers to breed with for preservation. If i was to grow hydro again,I plan on it this winter, ,I would pick drippers with mesh baskets over any style