My pump runs 24/7
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If I were pressed to give advice on setting up a hydro grow hereās the biggies IMO:
Get a large enough container to avoid using a rez. I have 18 gallon and have seen upwards of 40 gallon used (too much for me)
Buy a chiller
Larger net basket instead of smaller. I like 8"
Run R/O
Use a nutrient line optimized and buffered for R/O with cannabis. Donāt mix and match. In other words if you use GH donāt dump AN in with it or FF or something else. Stick with the published schedules.
Adequate light
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I donāt have any experience with hydro and chillers sorry
@repins12 could you help me my bro I have a few questions on one plant I think is starting to bud Looks exactly like your latest post, if your interested in helping I can attach some photos tell me what you think thanks 
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I have the ones like my little buddy @Myfriendis410 has. I have one for EACH tote running 4 airstones per tote. Same pump for my cloner with 2 airstones.
Grow BIG or go home
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Iām using 27gal totes
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I personally, would never attempt hydro without a chiller. I run 2 totes per system. Each system is comprised of a tote for plants, and one of same size for reservoir.
I run a separate air pump for each plant container, with 4 airstones in each.
I have 2 pumps in each reservoir. One for recirculating, one for chiller. Iām running 3 flower tables, each at a different stage of flower. If I can be of any help, just let me know
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You can do the 5gal buckets successfully. Iām too old and back too bad to be dumping buckets every week. With a larger system, you donāt have to change as often. @peachfuzz runs without a chiller, but I never had any luck. I will get link for the kind I have. I am very happy with them. @Myfriendis410 has one like it also
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Active Aqua AACH25HP Hydroponic Water Chiller Cooling System, 1/4 HP, Rated BTU per hour: 3,010, User-Friendly
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Your experiment will work just fine, Ive done it before. What I will say is, delivering air via a stone will increase plant growth big time! Its very noticeable. Grow two pots, 1 without a stone and 1 with a stone, youāll see. In a 5 gallon pail almost any stone will work. I used a 6" long aquarium stone, my plant grew like crazy! Trust me though, once they get about 2 feet tall the solution goes pretty fast. I had a 5 gallon pail pre mixed and an empty one ready for the transfusion on standby. Ph will drift so dont be surprised. The drift isnt really a bad thing because plants have access to different minerals that way but try to keep it within an acceptable range.
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ive mucked around and built all sorts, the big totes do just work wellā¦ , although I havenāt done single buckets, so I really shouldnāt commentā¦ (but im not mad) 
ā¦ they seem like suck a pain in the ass, for 100 extra you can have it all set up to pump it out for uā¦ then shop vac,
this is coming from aquariums a nano reef tank 3-20 gallons you need to be a near perfect managerā¦ I never got anywhere near that goodā¦ well I triedā¦ bigger volume more stable, temp ph nutesā¦ etcā¦
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The tube is in a rubber grommet, it doesnt leak! You can place the bucket 6 inches off the floor and rotate the tubing down to drain. Cheap and effective. Then to refill, you simply dump the new solution in from the top. The plant doesnt mind. There is no need for a pump other than for air. It works slick as snot on an eel. Butā¦ and heres the big buttā¦ it needs daily maintenance you cannot be away for 48 hours during the end game! Thats why a large reservoir is vastly superior in my books.
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thatās actually not a bad idea if you were to do the bucket way its pretty easy ā¦ 
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@repins12 Iām coming over to help
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Also wtf are you doing up at 4am?
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Iām more of a 5am kinda guy 
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I got the same issue, the problem is your at the office at that time now you got to figure out wtf to do with an extra hour in the morning.
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Adding solution to a single dwc is and will always be an issue, I like the side reservoir to be able to add nutrients/water as necessary
Also gives you the ability to test the solution in multiple areas to take an average
I use 13 gallon square in my new setups
5 gallon round in old
Round buckets donāt do well with bulkhead fittings, they stress and crack over time.
If I made a new setup Iād use 20 gallon totes and have a exterior reservoir for topping off.
Once foliage fills in its a pain in the ass to add 5 gals of solution to a container inside it.
I like to pre mix nutrients then add to system. Then ph whole solution, just recently started the phān entire system after.
Before I would ph the 5gallons then again fix that inside the set up after a 30-40min run
Air stones are a huge booster! Add to every tote/ bucket. Oxygen promotes root growth, nutrient uptake and keeps things healthy inside your totes. Also a little water movement while the pumps are off isnāt bad.
Hope this helps.
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1-1/2 or 2ā bulkhead fittings to allow the totes to connect to each other
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