First, I have to echo Ross - why mess with success?
Keep in mind that "semi-hydroponics" describes part of your cultural regime, but not all of it.
Chances are, for example, that you'll want to grow your collection a little warmer than you might otherwise, as you can expect a greater evaporative cooling rate at the roots. Ross' example with the phal that didn't thrive may very well have been related to something like that. Maybe not temperature necessarily, but some other "twist" in the overall culture formula. (I focused on temperature, as that has been my experience with phals.)
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