Maybe one trick--I use the Botanicare compressed bricks. Just expand with lightly nuted, cal-magged water. Some other types of coco may contain salt, presumably from the coconuts floating in sea water, and must be flushed. I've heard people complain about it, so I never stray...Jes' use da bricks--just add water for instant hydro, even in pots.

If you're doing DWC, it's like the coco's not even there. Just helps hold the plant, and coco's wicking properties make the transition easy when from a top watered pot to a bubble bucket.

I've run pH from 5.2 to 5.8 without problems. Like hydro. I've seen nutes "specially formulated for coco." Never even tried 'em. Using DynaGrow (for hydro) or Botanicare PBP. Regular hydro stuff, no additives. Just calmag cause I'm using distilled water. (OK, a little Cha-Ching at the end...)

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While the plant's in a pot, awaiting transplant into a bubblebucket:

I keep the pH of the pot contents at 5.2 to 5.5, as estimated by the runoff pH. Just treat it like hydro, except you don't have to battle the pH as with hydroton. With distilled water, I don't even need 'pH-down' much.

I water and feed alternately, with little or no runoff. (This is so easy...) You could do a real light nute solution every time (which is how life will be in the bucket) but that can require watering to significant runoff to prevent too much nute/salts buildup in the coco. Or just flush occasionally; just check the EC of your pot runoff to see when thatâ??s needed. I guess the point is, all these different things have worked for me. The medium is just very forgiving.

From now on, soil's just for moms, and anything else I might want to deliberately keep small and slow-growing.