Thank you sirNot necessary. Save your $130 per copy.
I can't see if these have both air intake and exhaust duct flanges- do they? As long as you can make a closed air circuit with them, drawing air into the fixture from outside the room airmass and dumping it there as well, they'll do fine.
Yep, 3 points: a) There's no need for the inserts. b) If roots escape the pots, they'll knit and make the plants necessarily stationary until harvest. It's good to be able to move plants around since they generally don't grow identically in height- nice to be able to move the shorter ones closer to the light. c) The inserts will create a moisture trap; water will condense on the underside of the insert- you're thus likely to see mould/mildew growth on them. The peroxide-treated nute soln won't come in regular contact with the underside of the inserts, all but guaranteeing you'll see mould/mildew on them.
Use pellets, completely clean all root matter from them, sterilise them and reuse them if you like, but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that you get 100% sick of cleaning pellets by crop 3.
My only advice on cloning media is to avoid anything made of organic matter (coir, peat etc). It can be food for pathogens, mould, etc. and H2O2 will tend to make the stuff fragment. If you're using pellets, the bits can get loose, into the nute soln, possibly fouling pump impellers.
Rotsaruck.
Appreciate your input and think that you're correct about the mold - that being said, I think there's some advantages to the lids as well.
1) Less hydroton (then running 2 gallon pots) - the less I have to use/clean, the better
2) Large root masses then possible in similar-sized pots
3) The biggest for me, ease of rotation - instead of moving 24 plants individually, I can just rotate the tray 90 degrees every day - that's the biggest selling point to me right now.
And Al, for some reason I don't mind cleaning (a reasonable amount of) hydroton - soak it in a 1-9 parts bleach to water solution overnight, then pick out any dead leaves/roots for five or ten minutes the next morning.
Wash it off and I'm golden - takes about 20-30 minutes of work for more then a tray's worth of hydroton - I'd use rockwool, but 1) I have no good way of disposing of it, 2) I like to go to the hydro store as infrequently as possible, so the next time I go I'll buy two year's worth of nutes and that'll be that, and 3) I like being able to flood more often.
Long story short, methinks I'm gonna give the trays a try, but reserve the right to tell you that you were correct and I wasted $500 in a few months.
EDIT: Al, you ever used a mechanized trimming machine, or thought about getting one? If so, what were your thoughts? Planning on doing two tables every month instead of one table every two weeks (because it'd be more efficient to use a mechanized trimmer with a larger quantity of weed).
Thanks Al B your the best man.
yikes.....