I like hygrohybrids garden. 1 plant dwc, one light , 1 pound+ harvest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw8ZItc1FUk
When I grow in DWC I get 2x the growth rate than soil.
Stop using 5 gallon dwc buckets for flowering. That's for noobs.
Use a Brute trashcan 28 or 40 gallons. Use strong airpumps with many airstones. Use great white.
I agree everyone's growing style is different.
What I look for is.
1)low plant count 2)fastest growth. 3)clean 4)heavy yield
Edit:
dannyboy you can easily set up a battery backup for your airpump. It's 6 watts. I can't remember the last time my power went out for an extended amount of time.
5 gallon bucket $11 air pump one 6" air stone, tap water. That's great for a noobie dwc. You will get noobie dwc results. Noobies usually don't use mycorrhizae/beneficials cal/mg in dwc.
Now try flowering in a dwc in a 28 gallon brute trashcan with a strong air pump(15L+) with 4 large airstones. I brew my own tea and add a few cups with every time I change the reservoir.(foliar spray in veg up to first week in flower.
I don't see how people can be serious dwc grower using 5 gallon buckets. During flowering my plants drink 2 gallons of water per day.
Back in the day I connected 5 gallon buckets to a controller bucket. But that was too much work.
If soil is your preferred growing medium no one is telling you to stop.
If you have never tried DWC winter is a great time to start.