Thanks, great to hear that. The problem with the roots stretching toward the drain and then compounding with the ones from the next plant down the tube is:
1) they mat (forming solid areas with poor air/water circulation) and
2) the thickness of this mat exceeds the depth of the running/draining water (which is only about an inch). So the clump isn??t submerged and in some spots not even getting sprayed on. Pathogens?.
When I started , a 6? tube seemed huge (I??ve seen the photos of aero systems with only 4?), but now I??m seeing the limitations of a 6? tube with the way the roots develop.

Zandor btw, I was really interested when you mentioned using 5 gal buckets of rocks to provide space for the rootball. What??s the difference between filling the bucket with rocks as opposed to water (dwc). If the water is mega-oxygenated, wouldn??t that be the same to the plant roots as wet rocks?? I??m assuming there must be a difference (or you??d be using dwc), but could you explain what the difference is??

thanks much