You can build a superior system with either method. I think NFT is better for seedlings and small plants. But with big plants, it does not matter as much.

I like NFT better as there are no timers to be concerned with. Just turn on the pump and let it go. Conversely, there is more danger with a pump failure in NFT. I still prefer it though as I've had more timers fail than pumps.
Also, NFT is lighter and easier to move than EnF.(at least for me)

I certainly like both. I think we may need to build a ebb and flow system to grow this Bavarian lettuce to full size as it needs a firmer base than the net pots are providing. I have noticed that the plants that grow straight up are healthier and don't have an issue, but any sway in direction and they try to flip over.
We are planting the stalks in the ground after each picking. The plants don't seem to loose a beat.

I most certainly prefer ebb and flow to NFT for all but leafy green veggies. The leafy fellows seem to prefer NFT or DWC. I do DWC, flood and drain, and NFT and I seem to get the best results in the flood and drain (what you call ebb and flow). I might add, that my systems are aquaponic but we don't use timers for the beds, just good old fashioned loop siphons.

Thanks for posting on this we were just talking today. We are planning 4 large grow beds say 16 long x 4 wide. I want to be able to reach the middle of it comfortably for greens other than lettuce next year. We want to go aquaponics but our winters would require us to heat the water or the greenhouse around it. That sounds like dollars walking away which does turn us off.

I need to figure out how to build the beds. I am thinking plastic lined wooden boxes, but it might not take too much of that to justify manufactured ones.

I with running your water all the time do they ever really drain.

If it helps for ideas, I attached a picture of the building of a recirculating dwc bed I built last spring. I put pea gravel down over my gravel floor, then sand on top of that. The plastic is a pond liner. The boards are 2x10s I think. My lid is styrofoam with fiberglass paneling bolted to each side.

I did grow a few plants successfully, but had so much other greenhouse work to do that the hydro project got neglected. Next year, I am going to buy pelleted seed, because the tiny lettuce seeds were so difficult to handle. I think I need little dice-sized rockwool cubes to sprout them in, too.

Here is a pic of the mini-lettuce I was growing.

Good looking lettuce and cilantro!

What is your spacing on those holes? We are growing a bib variety now but they are not out of the nursery yet. Maybe next week. I am pulling the shade cloth off this week. We are still hitting highs in the 80s but only for a couple hours a day.
As for the coated pellets that is the only way to go in my opinion! All of our greens seeds are coated and it makes things easier. When we seed I do it 200 cubes at a time, I couldn't imagine seeding those trays without them being coated.
That is a good looking grow bed, similar to what we have in mind. I wanted to put a drain in it. I think that could be done. With a bulkhead fitting.
Cole is that a dwc or a flood and drain?
What is the comparison between dwc and flood and drain? Dwc seems much less to go wrong

Thanks. I made the lid with 6" spacing between plant sites, mostly for the mini-lettuce. Normal lettuce requires 12" spacing.

It's recirculating dwc. I pump the water into a manifold of 1/2" cpvc with 1/8" holes drilled in it. The water sprays down into itself to aerate.

The hot sun is my biggest enemy, which is why I'm a fan of dwc, although I much prefer moving water to aerate instead of blowing bubbles with an air pump. The mass of water regulates root zone temp. If it were F&D, it would be mostly air around the root zone, and air warms up much faster than water. Lettuce bolts from high temps, but it is root zone temp that is most important.