Sctratch that, I'm putting my tigger melon in a drip instead of the DWC...

Right on !! Lookin good. You should post some pictures if you can. FF is the way to go if you ask me! Works very well for me. Do you have the FF trio or just the Grow Big? Please tell me you have the hydro FF Grow Big

I wouldn't use verm/perlite in a drip system. you stand a good chance of oversaturating the roots in the region.
In A DWC system you never need anything larger than a 2" pot, especially with melons since they grow out and not up. But if the hole is already cut, just fill the whole thing with hydroton.
pH 5.0 sounds low for any plant, but I don't know squash about cukes (lol! I made a funny). Other than that it sounds good.

@ethnobotony Thanks! I will take pics because I'm doing a beginners blog so I can keep my dad in the loop (he's in Califonria). I DO have all three and they are the hydro formula...but i only need the grow right now, right?

the 5.0 PH was strictly for soaking the rockwool...nothing else. It's not in my system, only in a soaking bucket. My DWC is just a 5 gal bucket with a 10 inch net pot that just sits on top. I was originally going to put a couple tomato plants in it, but I read that melons need a lot of root growth for stability so I thought they would do better in the DWC bucket. And they DO grow up if you train them. I chose tigger melons because they only get as big as 1 lb, so they do well growing up. Love the joke about the cukes btw LOL Do you think the melon plant will do better in the DWC than the cukes? Or what if I use more verm than perlite?
Again, I'm totally open to suggestions. I'm going to morrow to buy it, so I can still change my mind!

I forgot to mention that Im not sure if I'm growing these outside in the sun or inside yet. I do have some grow lights and I cleaned out my laundry room, so it's still up in the air. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do my melons and cukes on my front porch where they can get full sun (and bees can polinate ;) lol) I have a small pond (out of commision right now) right there and there's a plug and my house faces where all the sun is, so it's perfect!

Always go with outside when you can. The sun is the gold standard of lighting.
I personally have never seen a free standing upright melon, but if you're talking about training them up a trellis or something, then they're not self supporting either. But then I'm sure there are a lot of melons I'll never see.
If you grow the melons outside, I would suggest covering the exposed medium in the net pot with a little aluminum foil. One of my worst problems I've hadwith squash and pumpkins is borer grubs. they actually hatch in the soil then crawl up onto the vine and bore into it. Not saying the mother moth would plant in a hydro medium, but it's an easy thing to prevent. Also beware of squash bugs. they hatch on the underside of the leaves and wreak havoc. a green thumb is the easiest way to get rid of them.

Cheri I'd be interested in seeing how those melons do in a DWC. I'm trying to grow cantaloupes and honey dews vertically (in rockwool slabs) and I think I'm going to have to support the melons individually, though I've heard the vines can take a lot of weight. I can't answer your question about whether cukes or melons do better in DWC though.

Grizzman: I have seen these melons grow up on nylon trellis, but not hydroponicly. I thought I would try it. And I thought the same thing about the sun too. BUt let me ask you this, I live in torndano alley in Oklahoma and I get some pretty intense winds and pretty wicked storms...will the melons and cukes do ok? I can bring the tomatos and smaller plants in, the vining ones obviously can't go anywhere LOL

@sethky the thing I'm concerned about in a dwc is overwatering them. They always specify not to overwater... does this still apply to hydroponics? lol

ok, here are some pics of my set ups...hope this works...

now...if I can just figure out what freakin mode to put my EC meter in...

Overwatering in hydroponics is not usually the same as in dirt. if your nutrient is aerated enough you're never going to actually "overwater" them. what happens in hydroponics, normally I've seen it with rockwool, is the medium holds too much water and basically rots the plant at the crown. In DWC, this shouldn't be a problem because the medium doesn't really need to be wet as the roots grow down into the nutrient.
Cheri, it looks like your 10" net pot fits right into your paint bucket. You might want to put a lid on the bucket and just cut a hole for a 2" or 3" net pot. Since you're talking about growing it on a trellis, the roots are not actually holding anything. the cucumbrits I've grown were not trellised so I can't say for sure but I have read about securing melons with cheap nylon stockings when trellised so they wouldn't break off the vine. I suppose it's relative to the weight of the fruit. I'm not sure the occasional heavy wind will dictate that.
BTE, you systems looks nice. I don't expect you'll have too much difficulty.

Thanks grizz! So you think I should scrap the 10 inchers and get a lid and get some 2 inchers huh? I'll have to give that a try. I've been calling around all day trying to find a place that has hydroton but the only place close to me is a hydro store in Tulsa, and that's an hour and a half away from me! So idk what I'm gonna do, but I can at least start these seeds in the mean time.

So...Grizzman, let me ask you... should I use my rockwool for my tomatoes and peppers, or scrap it and germ another way? They're going in the drip systems. or I could take the hydroton out of one of the drips and use it in a dwc. What do you think? I'd have to use the 10 inchers for now tho.

It just seems like that 10" pot will take a lot of hydroton. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just not needed is all.
If you're going to use that 10" pot, you could fill it with lava rock found in the outdoors section of the lowecal hardware store. I've used that before, but in 2" net pots, you have to smash it with a hammer which is a pain. not likely a problem with the 10" pot.
I don't personally use rockwool so I can't advocate its use. I just know I've seen a lot of problems posted here with rockwool and damping off a common denominator. In all fairness, I think people that like it love though.
I either germinate my plants on a napkin and directly transplant to my medium or I start them in soil cells then rinse off the dirt when I transplant them.

great tip about lava rock. Maybe I canput that at the bottom and then hydroton on top of that?? And I'm beginning to not like rockwool either LOL But I'll try it this once and see how it works and THEN make my decision. I too am worried about it getting sopping wet in my drip systems, but I remember reading someone say to keep it an inch away from the drip, so I'll make sure to do that.

Cheri good luck with your systems. I see your using leca stones(i think) I have been using them in all my dwc systems(even wick) and they have worked great for me. and another tip from a beginner I have just been using some party cups with holes saudered in the sides and they work great so far. Cant wait to see some pics of your melons(i made a funny too)

It was labled as 'hydroton', but maybe it's just a different brand as what you're using? and LOL about the melons! I'll be sure to post pictures ;) hahaha