Ok ok I will try and help you out the best I can. IMHO I would not use the rubbermaid bin for multiple plants in DWC. Why... simply because if one plant has a difficiency will have to remove one of them to treat the sick one. I know this doesn't sound so bad but what about in 6 weeks when their the roots of each plant tangle up, then what do you do. Again this is just my opinion. I have seen DWC roots fill up 7 gallon buckets, and I mean FILL. Another reason is just think of all the nute you will need for a 25 gallon tote, compared to 2-3 5g buckets.

As far as lights go I have better luck with high power CFL's. I have bought the 100w CFL's that say they equal a 200w incandescent, and for only 8 bucks at my local wally world. CFL's are cheap enough and plenty bright enough to grow plants, get three 100w bulbs for two plants. 1000bulbs.com has cheap ones as well and million to chose from so go and look there.

For your nutes I can personally attest that GH three part works GREAT in DWC and there is loads of info on those nutes. I am referring to nutrient tables and ratio amounts as well as GH boosters. If you are looking for something that works great and super easy to use look into DutchMaster ONE series. You will need 2 bottle... one for veggin and one for flowering and thats it.

I have always used Hydroton in my DWC systems and I never PH balanced anything. I don't think that I had any PH problems as the GH nutes are PH balanced and as long as your water is about 7PH then the nutes drop it to about 6.8 and that is about where it seemed to stay. I did eventually buy a cheap TDS and a cheap PH meter off eBay. They both work just fine but need to be calibrated about every 3-4 days so about twice as often as a good one.
As for the netpots just keep your eye open for anything that might work. Walk up and down the Walmart housewares department, and the hardware department as well. I know that I see things that I think I can use for something all the time.

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