1. I've had great success with anything in a media, without media some plants don't seem to do as well.

2. As long as you irrigate long enough that nutrient solution gets to both I don't think it will be an issue, ideally having each with it's own irrigation line would make it better.

3. I have done indoor and outdoor, both have been good, however, a heavy rain might overfill your reservoir if you don't protect against it, temperature can be an issue with the reservoir getting to warm, and foreign matter getting into your res.

I've got some youtube videos answering common questions for those just getting started. Still learning and experimenting myself, a great hobby that provides the family and myself with fresh vegetables.

Yes you can but it's spam to say.

Sorry, not my intention.

Dont use white buckets to make a hydro system :)

The color of the bucket only matters if your using an aerobic system with ph and mined nutrients. It doesn't anaerobically.

Algae I'm guessing? I didn't have a color option unfortunately, everything available locally was white.

Great advice, thanks.