Well really it’s a matter of years so it’s no big deal. Replace when they look old…after a couple years if at all.
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In my old super sog I ran 100 plants on an 8 week cycle Every cycle was 130 clones. Allowing for casualties I kept 112. 100 +12 sacrificial donators.
I never kept mothers. I kept sacrificial donors. This was in a townhouse in the city. I ran that system for 8 years. You say you “will not use soil” and “thats for a house garden not an apartment” I must respectfully disagree. Once every 8 weeks I took my ten gallons of promix, put it in a hefty bag and threw it out in the trash. It really had no volume / no weight to it…super convenient. Its no different than your stalks and trim that you have to trash. I kept donors under a 400w MH but an led equivalent is probably more appropriate today. Under those lights I could leave them 7 days with no issues. Under LED I assume you could go a tad longer. Hope this helps
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@Bostonbud Thanks for your input. My statement was a bit controversial 
In my opinion the problem with soil is not throwing it away but that handling it is super messy. At least messier than dealing with rockwool or even coco. Rockwool can be dangerous but I wear protection when handling it and moisten it to prevent it from dusting as much.
Why did you rotate through the sacrificial donators instead of keeping the same 12 plants?
Probably I will increase my plant count and switch to flood & drain using rockwool as medium. I’m thinking 9 plants in 3.5 gal pots
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OK so I’m new to the site and still trying to figure out the sites functions. On the post above I was trying to quote your previous post asking for someone to chime in on people who do take that many clones that often and how they do it. That’s my system, the key for me was no moms. No stress, no training ,let em run wild, then kill em and replace them. Nothing to maintain. I’m sure you could adapt the no mother principle to hydro if you cant get your head around soil. hope this helps
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Haaa, much better. 
Changing nutrient solution was a walk in the park today. I will see how it goes for now but before summer kicks in I will need to have switched to flood & drain. Res water temperature was 22°C.
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I have each of my units connected individually to one tub that I just add nutrients to as needed. I have been doing it that way since '99 and have never used a meter myself, buy I maybe should. My plants suck so much nutes, because of their size that I’m adding 3-5 gallons to the controller tub every day.
And yes, a leak would really suck! But if its built correctly that shouldn’t be an issue. I always build my systems so that the feed hoses are out of the way of where I walk. So I guess your space would dictate if this would work for you.
But it’s so nice to be able to fill and dran from one point without having to move through the growing area that makes it worth it…
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how big is your space?
love a big grow room
thanks
Dequilo
you are my hero I wish for that much space
I will be up to 16 by 16 soon and than outside but back inside in the fall 
not legal here sadly and more than likely not ever
be safe and grow well
Dequilo
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I just got lucky with this setup. It’s an unused house back in the woods. That’s just one room. It’s got a big drying area in another part of the house.
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Decided to go the mapito route. Thanks @ifish for staying persistent with it and not letting me off the hook Flood and drain is the simplest method. Plus I get to move the pots how I like. In total I got 9 moms in 9 x 14L pots filled with 10L each.
Another benefit to the flood table is I can just add pots anytime. For example if I want to make a selection, I can just place cuts of the flowering plants on the table in small pots.
Very happy with this setup. I ordered a pH controller from china. When it arrives and is set up my work will be limited to topping up res once a week and keeping the girls in shape.
I get goosebumps when I think back to when I had to exchange water on every DWC crate separately and crawl through the jungle all itchy and I would always spill something and have wet socks
This is how it looks now.
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Hate wet socks lol especially 5.6 ph wet socks : )
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Quick update. This is how it looks now. Flood and drain was a great decision. I took cuts of some plants before I sent them into flower and can just store them along with my current moms on the table. No extra work. :))
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Great work ! Perfect : )
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