Seriously dont understand hydroponics...HELP!!!
 

I have very small plants growing in the top half of a gatorade bottle.
I want to grow them hydroponically though using the wick method or the
hand water bucket method (http://www.simplyhydro.com/free3.htm), but I
dont understand how either of these would work for small seedlings.
The setup needs to be for plants that are going to get very large. For
the wick method, would I need to make the wick longer for shorter
roots, or is it okay to grow seedlings in a 5 gallon bucket with the
wick sticking one inch up into the bucket? Or do I need to do it
different? And whats the best medium that I can just find around the
house?