Oh sheesh I had a long sit-down yesterday with the guy from the shop to talk about possible setups.

My priorities, and the reasoning behind them, are as follows:

-MUST be a re-usable medium- that is why I am SET on hydroton.
The reason is to make this a good setup for an apartment-dweller who can't be disposing of soil, soilless, or rockwool slab every cycle, and doesn't feel like hauling a bale of promix on his bicycle or public transportation, lol!!!

-Should be under $200 for all parts, not including lights and climate control.
This is because I am trying to make this thread a tutorial for someone who already has the dirt experience I recommend for your first couple grows, so already HAS the basic equipment handy.

-Must be very low maintenance and also pretty fool-proof.
I want this to be easy to set-up and maintain for someone who has only limited DIY skills and can't afford a pre-fab hydro kit.

So a second option we discussed was what he calls a 'modular vertical containerized NFT', lol!!!! Or something like that- I was baked off my gourd at the time.

This is a BRILLIANT solution. It's a sort of hybrid NFT/recirculating drip. But rather than dripping, it emits a constant STREAM of highly aerated water over a pot of hydroton pellets.

A system like that has the following advantages over NFT:
-hydroton remains moist for a significant amount of time after pump failure
-hand-watering is possible in emergencies (power outage).
-Cleaning is very simple

And the following advantage, valuable to upper-story apartment dewllers, over flood and drain:
-Volume of reservoir can be much smaller!!!
This is why I am leaning towards this method. I wanted to be able to flood out of 5 gallon pails, but that would have meant multiple pumps on timers set to go on at different times, flooding the trays.
This delivery system's total volume is very small. I am not trying to haul more than 5 gallons of nute solution up my attic stairs, thanks!!!

So when I make up my mind, I'll let y'all know.