If you're going to use the HD buckets for DWC, just buy two of them, put holes in one, fill it up with hydroton/hygromyte, slip an air line and air stone down into the bucket without holes, slip the bucket with holes into the other bucket (after a proper rinsing) and fill with about 2.5 gallons of your desired strength nute solution.

Essentially, your top bucket is your basket. Air bubbles will rise from the bottom bucket/res and aerate the root mass above, with the hydroton/hygromyte helping to further break up the bubbles and provide better oxygenation.

Be wary of pumping too much air, or else you will get spillage from between the buckets.

This is called the Krusty Bucket and you can get mad plants from this sort of setup.