SH test appears to be failing with two phals?

[kvet]

Hi!

Several months ago I purchased two little phalawhatchamacallits with the intention of converting them to SH to be a learning experience. I've got background in a nearly-successful hydroponic tomato setup for mom many years ago (sadly went south when the rats raided the plant and ate the fruit), and this seemed like a fun experiment. Also, I had two nice looking glass containers I wanted to use, but boo, the glass was too thin and shattered as I tried drilling drain holes. Therefore, I stuck with mason jars.

The phalIcantspellits were infested with mealy bugs, which I caught early and took care of before they could spread to my other houseplants.

I left the phals alone until the blooms dropped. One had also just begun new leaf growth, and both looked very crowded for their little plastic-shot-glass-sized containers. Transplant began roughly three months ago, I followed basic steps, cleaned up the old media, roots, etc. One had a huge tangled mess, the other seemed okay. Sprayed with H2O2, a little diluted IPA, physan 20. Soaked, dried, planted into disinfected new hydroton.

Since then I've followed watering with very dilute orchid fertilizer and kelp goo weekly (fill to brim flush), full distilled water flush every 3-4 weeks. I tried one round with physan 20 flush. When the issue first showed up, I tried spraying any exposed roots and leaves with distilled water every couple days, being careful not to let any roll down into the center - this seemed to do nothing, so I stopped.

Now three months later, for about 2-3 weeks, the leaves have become wrinkly, and look like they are about to get droopy. Research suggests the problem is either too dry or too wet. HAH, this reminds me of sourdough and judging whether you over or underproofed the dough

Light-wise, they get filtered morning sun, and are in a bright room overall. My other, larger phal, is in a medium bark medium and doing quite well.

Temps have been moderate to warm here in coastal so cal until last night.

Does SHCS syndrome (SH Conversion Stress) usually last this long? Maybe something else? Should I just go back to bark, since it's working well (even my pineapples love the bark)?

Thank you for your time!