MIGrampaUSA
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I'm happy enough with my E720 without the controller in my 5 x 5. It would be nice but not at current pricing. I would consider it if I decide to purchase another E720.I'm finishing up my first grow using the middle child of this line-up, the ROI-E680 in a 4x4. I'm very happy with the results but I won't pretend to be able to compare my light to any other; its just the one I purchased based on a bunch of reviews, it seems to work well and it hasn't crapped out on me yet. I ended up buying the Grower's Choice Master Controller too, and while totally over priced I like the added functionality. You can fine-tune the lighting adjustments, use it as a timer, temp/humidity sensor, cover a second light, etc. But like I said, I bet you can do the same with other equipment for far less.
For what its worth I used living soil for my first grow and really enjoyed it. Maybe I was lucky, but compared to what I see most people going through my grow seemed easy as hell. I think I screwed up my top dressing schedule by doing my late top-dressings too early but it all seems to have worked out okay. The only pests I had to deal with this time around were some fungus gnats, but I added some yellow sticky pads and had really good airflow under the canopy and the issue never had a chance to spread.
I'm using "Recharge" and "Fish Sh!t" in FFOF that I also added a bit of worm castings to prior to up-potting into my 5 gallon fabric pots, although I've had to use a bit of Botanicare "Organic" nutes and some cal-mag from time to time. The results so far have been fantastic
I've got 6 bags of Roots Organic's "LUSH" lined up for my next few runs. That should be pretty close to "water only" with Fish Sh!t and Recharge added for beneficial microbes.