Flood or Drip?

I'm finally getting my hydro situation started, but I'm torn between flood and drain or a drip system. I will have 6 to 12 plants in 1 gallon soil containers, in 40mm rockwool cubes surrounded by hydroton. I know rockwool likes to hold moisture, but i don't know how long the small cubes do. I'm going to be keeping the plants in these pots and cubes their entire lives, so I wanna get it right the first time.

For these containers and sizes, would flood and drain or drip be more efficient? What sort of time intervals would be recommended for a 40mm cub in either case?

I'm using the Technaflora Recipe for Success starter kit for nutrients, just to get a feel for hydro. I understand changing the res every 2 weeks, and keeping the ppms under control, its just the actual details of getting plants started and going that I'm shaky with even after reading and watching for years.

Ebb & Flow (flood & drain) is one of the simplest hydro setups. No drippers or thin tubes to possibly clog up. I have heard of sprayers, drippers and sometimes spaghetti tubes getting clogged with buildup.

I have a 196gph pump i'll be running for supply, ithas a 1/2inch output and 52" lift, how high should I let the res get with sclose sided pots, or should I switch to mesh? I'm only using pots possibly until sexing, so I can make an attempt at keeping the roots separated. Flood once or twice a day, or every few hours ?

I like tables when flooding and draining, not pots.