they look nice... i use a net to hold mine up... so how do you keep your roots from drying out?
I start in rockwool and then place into the flood table filled with hydroton. The roots will leave the rockwool and move into the hydroten.
Hydroton does absorb moisture, and it stays moist in all the nooks and crannies. The rockwool also loads up on moisture but should not water log the roots as they have spread out of it.
You want to water the roots, but also give them oxygen. The damp hydroton is perfect.
You just need to learn what the plants need, and then adjust the flow times.
For me, my table fills and starts to drain in 2 min. I let it run for 5 min to allow the hydroten to soak it up. Some flood for 15 min but 5 works for me.
I flood at 9AM-9:05AM, 1PM-1:05 PM, 5PM-5:05PM and 9PM-9:05PM.
Ok, so its 4 times and not three, but it works. Lights on from 9AM to 9PM. I do not water during lights out other than for that last cycle time.
I use the same times during veg when my lights are on 24/0.
You just need to watch your plants to learn what they want. It is easy to over water and under water in Ebb & flow.
Pick 3-4 evenly spaced flood times. Figure out how long it takes for your table to fill and flood out and add a few min to that. Then watch the plants and if the show under watered, add more to the flood time. If they show over watered, cut back on the flow time or remove one complete cycle.
Ebb&Flow is more forgiving compared to bubble and NFT hydro in that if you have a pump or air stone failure, the Ebb&flow media holds a reserve of moisture and oxygen in it. In bubble and NFT, if a pump fails or your air stone fails, the plants can start to suffer pretty quickly.