I use solid lids too, but either way, it still dries out very quickly once you get it in the bottle. after 2 or 3 days, half a bottle will start to go bad and the settling on the bottom is the worst part. I like siphon feed too because I like to shake it now and then and I'm always turning it at angles. I would make such a mess with gravity feed that I've never tried it. Either way, it seems to me that there is just as much clean up required, right ?