I use hydroton on the bottom of my soil pots to aid in draining and to back feed my plants. I have the square pots in a large plastic drip tray. I pour water and nutrients into drip tray to a level that is just higher than the hydroton and let thee water and nutes get absorbed through the bottom of the pots. This causes the roots to dig deep for water, inducing a nice root ball, and It is easy to feed and not have to water around all the plants and possibly breaking branches or tips.