i need some advice/help on choosing one system -- i can only start one type this year and i am in a dilemma.

1. water farm 8 controller kit

2. bato/dutch bucket

-- primarily growing: tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs, strawberries.

i figger that with a water farm -- i have the additional cost of grorox. hafta clean the drip rings and etc (they get real nasty after use due to residue buildup) but they have bigger buckets and i'd buy a pre-made system so i can just grow!

but with a bato bucket system, it'd prolly be 50% cheaper, but since the parts will be built and not manufactured to fit perfectly -- might have maintenance problems. it will use coco bricks and perlite -- no cleaning of rocks or drip rings just replacing growing medium -- just buckets. sprayers will be cheaper to replace than drip rings. smaller buckets, mabbe smaller plants then. the lower cost is a big draw right now. my other concern is the degradation of PVC pipe and the fact that i have always had problems with algae growing in my rubbermaid nutrient tank.

i'm interested in replies from people who have either bought waterfarms or built and used either system and their thoughts and feelings abt it. and what is good for a novice. this is my 2nd year doing hydroponics -- my first was done with bubbler system.