Moving Catts to s/h. Clarification and Opinions Needed!

[Ray]

Part of the heating of a pot by a heat mat is by conduction. By placing a spacer between the mat and the pot, you are preventing that from happening, so the root zone will not be as warm as the air around it.

ES is right about the roots not doing well if they come into contact with dry LECA pellets, but there are several ways to prevent that: high ambient humidity, frequent watering (you cannot overwater in S/H), a temporary top cover to slow evaporation, or simply shorten the distance from the top of the reservoir to the top of the LECA by making the holes higher in the sidewall or using a shorter pot.