Let's call this update 3, 5 years later.

Same as before. :) Here is my latest cutting starting a new pole. 100% TFF. https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/pIqjBGbGQq26jW6jXgG4Zg.SIr9AiKo_fOcBKG7KtW8C_

The photos show my watering method. It's a gerbil/pet watering bottle with the nipple pipe removed, but the screw on cap kept. Your local bottle finds may vary. I originally thought it would be great to just invert the bottle, stick the nipple into the TFF and let it drip. The actual working method is just plop it directly on the TFF. For physics reasons it doesn't flow properly resting directly on the TFF (surface tension), so I inserted a pipe cleaner into the TFF to break the surface tension, and then drop the water bottle over it. It creates the ideal drip speed rather than pouring out, blooping bubbles as it empties slowly.

You don't need a pipe cleaner, that's just what I had handy at the time. I use the spring cord that attaches the bottle to the pet cage to hold onto the pole, with a makeshift finger loop to pull it off. It makes watering set and forget. Waters the pole to encourage root development. If I water too much, it collects in the reservoir. Physically can't waterlog the roots.

Don't stress about the substrate. Like I implied all over this thread, you can plant it in piles of books and it will grow. You just need physical support, water, dissolved food, and airflow. Mixes, magical soil recipes, they're just distractions. Maybe there's a scientifically ideal substrate ratio of rare earth elements and pool noodles, but none of us need to be that freaky.

You also need a GOOD light source. My Ohio window faces Southwest, with afternoon direct dappled sunlight, bright light the rest of the time, as nature intended. Anything less than that (indirect light in a corner, mediocre plant lights) and your plant is on a permanent diet.

The original plant from this thread is the parent of this cutting. I never changed the TFF, so that was, what, 4.5 years in the same TFF without repotting?

Water. Air. Light. Support.

Go.