Need some help from the environmental control experts

I'm about to try my first DWC and i'm a little stuck here.
I have spent hours reading articles about DWC and most of them all just say the same basic how too stuff.
I need a little more detail like what size Re-circ pump I need. Is there any benefit to cycling it or should I just run it full time. Does it have to drain by gravity or can I use a pump for that too so I can keep the reservoir and buckets on the same level. How deep should the fluid levels be in the buckets and so on.

- ATM it's an empty 10x10' room
- Humidity is 30-40%
- Average indoor temp year round is 65 -75 F. Hot summer days can get up too 85 F

I want to get the Humidity up around 60%, room temp 75 - 85 F, Reservoir and root zone temp below 68 and keep it stable year round (without having to throw ice in it )

I'm going to add a humidifier to crank up the humidity.

I'm looking at a 6 bucket system with 5 gallon buckets in a closed circuit system.

What sort of controllers and such do I need to automate the humidity, room temp, lights and air circulation on a setup like this ?

I'm thinking of digital Temp, PH and, PPM for the reservoir and a digital temp and humidity controller for the room that somehow connects to the humidifier and ventilation.

I will leave the humidifier running full time and a heater. Then set the system to vent when it gets to warm or humid... is that correct ?

What will 60% humidity do to a room as far as damage goes ? I'm only using about 3-4 400 watt bulbs.


The only Hydro shop in the area charges 150 + % markup. So i'm looking around for equipment.
I'm having trouble finding what I need here in Canada.

I would like a few recommendations for some good equipment that wont break the bank:

- room climate controller
- reservoir monitor Temp PH PPM
- set of digital hand held Temp PH and PPM meters
- a good light timer
- DWC pumps for a 6 bucket 5 gallon system (I will be adding more buckets eventually)
- a good humidifier (should I be using warm humidifier or cold)

I'm looking at some of the bionair humidifiers in the 100 dollar range.

One final question... I have two plants in soil that have well established roots but I would like to switch them to this system... is it possible and how would I set the root mass up in the bucket with the hydrocorn.

This BTW is all on a tight budget

Sorry about the quality of this post I just got off a work shift and i'm passing out as I type.

Thank you all for your help !

You have a lot of questions there, I will try and answer some for you.

1 - room climate controller - EVC-2 is what I use. There are tons of them out there, it really just depends on how much you want to spend and if you want digital or analog.
2 - reservoir monitor - They make hand held ones that are portable and they make ones you can mount on the wall and put a probe in the water.
3 - same as above
4 - A good light timer - I use a $10 digital timer i bought at lowes, been using it for over 2 years
5 - DWC pumps - I would personally buy an extra one for when one goes out on you.
6 - Humidifier... you might want to hold of on a humidifier. reason being is you are going to have a bunch of water in the room when you have your dwc set up. All the water in the room is going to drive up the humidity and you will probably end up needing a dehumidifier instead of a humidifier. just my 2 cents.

tight budget + hydroponics = not realistic also my 2 cents.