Ok, I've had the buckets, ebb and flow and now to drip. Been doing drip for quite a while. I have 2 4'x4' trays on top of each other with a couple of 2 by 4s separating them. 1000w hps light . The bottom one is the reservoir, the top one is where the girls sit. I have square pots about 7" x 7" at the top and are about 10" high.
there is a 3" hole for drainage in the top tray.

Using a 500 gph pump I have connected to a 1/2" pvc pipe that goes around the perimeter of the top tray, in other words its also 4' by 4'. I then drilled some holes in that ring of pipe and stuck the 1/4" tubing in there which then goes into each pot. The pot is hydroton, and there is no dripper involved. I just let the water rip thru and the girls love it. No more problems with dripping, no leaks, and the temperature is a lot easier to keep cool in the summer time than 5 gallon buckets being run around all over the place.
Above all its simple. I usually turn the pump off when lights are out. If i'm not home pumps are running 24/7 ...no difference. I find that as long as the plant doesn't have a big rockwool cube attached to it, works fine. Small starter cubes are ok, but I recommend nothing bigger, as a big cube sitting inside the hydroton is too much for the girls and they don't get enuf oxygen.

SpaceNeedle