Dwc is ok a few friends use it but the maint and learning curve is not worth it to me if you're used to soil wich u are i recomend coco coir and making an auto irigation and drainage like ive been using super easy and great results
Ive started writing date planted and started flower to compare yield vs time in veg ive found from seed 7 week veg and 5 from clone is ideal in 5gal but may be diff for you :)
You want to do a seed trade that oc x cd sounds pretty good i have a few useful seed strains i can trade plus some freebies ;) .oh And if anyone wants to trade im looking for bananas and oranges.
5 gal airpot coco but 5 gal fabric in soil will do the same should cut you watering to every otherday. I do 3 gal to have smaller more manageable plants like my last pic