Not sure whether media is "whicking"

[Nanotyrannus]

Hello, fledgling orchid hobbyist here. I started off my hobby with a few miniatures I bought online, and I've just been forced to adopt some supermarket-bought Phals and Cymbidiums. I decided to try out S/H on a few of them.

The media I bought was Zoo Med Hydroballs. I didn't find much information on it in the context of S/H, except for the occasional mention that it was "just as good" for hydroponic purposes. 24 hours after planting, I'm not noticing any significant capillary action. The top pellets feel dry to the touch.

Are the pellets doing their job? I'm considering going to the hydroponics specialist store when it opens tomorrow to buy some purpose-made media.

Um... I'm having trouble with posting an image because of a filter. Remove the space to see the image:

imgur.com /ylbzEpy.jpg