I have never actually tried "semi" hydroponics, the systems I have tried were ebb and flow, and just watering from above, of those two the ebb and flow worked the best, but needed a HUGE amount of water (i'm talking about 300 liters+), seeing as I have a 4'x8' tray. In both systems I was over feeding, leading to root burn.
I personally don't like pure sphag that much, its to easy to compact out all the air spaces.
I have found that hydroton tends to hold a lot of water by surface tension (the spaces between each little ball are filled with water), and then drys out kinda fast. So you don't get an even slow release of water, (this only applies to flooding the media).
I hope that helps a bit.
Have you ever tried coconut chips? They sell it for growing orchids, I have my noes potted in the "medium" size now, just moved them though, so in a few months I should know if that works.
I'm of the opinion that the media type is irrelevant so long as you water and feed according to the same media's requirements.
BTW, I'm so glad I found this topic, I love my little neo, but I thought it was all alone among its kind. To find out it has such a prestigious background is thrilling, and the color variants are stunning. I love the red and white color combination, good thing its one of the cheaper variants.
