Water depth in a DWC. Did I miss something?

I have been running a DWC system for about six weeks and have kept the water level so that it is about an inch from the top of the resevoir which submerged the basket into the water by about 3 inches. Last night I read a post that vaguely referred to the "1/4 inch rule" they made it sound like you are supposed to keep the water level 1/4 inch below the bottom of the basket and just let the roots hang in it.

Can anyone elaborate on this? Is the 1/4 inch rule correct?

its better to have a gap between the basket and the water couse the roots get more air like that

Thanks much, Panta. I appreciate the response!

truth, when the roots get huge you can run on even less water. But when the roots get huge they take up even more water. My sativa monsters will take up 2-3 gallons every couple days.