Using DIY buckets/tanks? emptying and filling can be a hassle as well as heavy work. Here's a fix and, if you add an inexpensive pump ( you can get then for as little as $12.00 ), no more hauling buckets of water! I was lazy, I just bought a General Hydroponics Waterfarm kit, but you can buy the parts at a hardware store for half of what I spent. All you need is a length of 1/2" ID tubing, a 1/2" barbed elbow, a 1/2" Uniseal ( don't waste money on a bulkhead fitting ), and a tubing clip! Drill the appropriate size hole for the Uniseal pop it in, push the tubing onto the elbow, then push the elbow into the installed uniseal! Wet the barbs and the seal it make the parts push together easier. Drill a hole near the top of your res and mount the clip. Your Done! Takes 2 minutes. Now, if your bucket is raised from the floor, you can just drain onto a small bucket if need be. I connect the tubing to a pump, with I made up a fitting to connect a cheap garden hose to. I run the hose to the bathtub, connect the drain tube to the pump, and ZOOM! my tank empties in no time, with no work! Be sure to get a submersible pump that has both an inlet and outlet. My first one i didn't pay attention to and it only had and outlet that you could connect to. Now to fill, I just drop the pump into my fresh water res, and with different fitting ( the pump comes with most you'll need ) I connect a piece of vinyl tubing to the outlet and pump water in thru the top off a netpot. The drain kit gives you a sight level of you water level, so you don't need to remove the lid ever to check your water level! So, if your looking to try a DWC bucket, you can spend $49.95 for a kit, or spend about $12-$15 and build one! and a pump and your still at half price of a kit that doesn't have a pump!
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