Right, it's been a while so let me bring everyone up to date. I reconfigured the tent several times over last summer/fall to try and accommodate more grow sites for test grows. The bottom line was that I crashed and burned with problem after problem for the better part of a year while trying different configs. This was both humbling and frustrating, but ultimately a learning experience. I seriously pulled the plug and started over 3 or 4 times LOL.
My current set-up uses 9 buckets (8 sites + 1 control) in a drip fed DTW. I decided to run without the wick and just do straight DTW for this run because I needed a win. Last run used coco buckets and wicks made of "ShamWow" strips. Those things suck and I ended up with slimy roots and several divisions of fungus gnats. Never had that problem with microfiber wicks and smartpots. I like the ease of feeding/flushing with the drip sys, but I don't have the space for a big res, so that meant mixing & feeding every night (which sux). Also, 9 sites is really difficult to reach & prune in a tent.
FTR - The 4 sites set-up, wick-style, is waaaaayyy easier and less maintenance for the small tent grower. That said, I needed to be able to run more plants and you don't need a lot of veg. The DTW works pretty well and I pulled out the SCROG screen since that would make reaching the back plants nearly impossible.
All sites have four drip stakes for easy flushing, sticking thru a hydroton top layer into the coco. I experimented with a couple diff bucket configs - most hold the smartpot inside on a false shelf/raised bottom, and I tried a couple cut down buckets. Here are pics of both.
This second bucket is much easier and cheaper to build (doesn't require an inner bucket), but doesn't give you anchor points for tie downs or screen attachment. I like it, but I need a few more holes in the lid for better draining.
Here's a full shot of all 9 buckets
I feed from an outside 5 gal and use to one pictured here to hold & pump out runoff. An inline 4" pulls in air (and gnats) from the little clone/veg tent to scrub it along w/ the flowering plants. And that's the current setup.
