Right on friend. That's why I stick to soil nowadays. Coco, or any other hydro is too big of a chore for me anymore. Heck the way I have everything in the hoop house laid out I don't even have to water much. And that is cool by me. Some times I have waited over a week. And they're still fine. Every now and then I give them a tea or some other form of organic boost or a top dressing. But near the very end there's enough there (between the plants stores and the organic materials in the soil) to make it over the hump.
As to these ways of cat skinning you speak of ,,, there are plenty strays in my neighborhood, and anyone is welcome to use them for honing those different methods. Lol