Hey slippy,
I use a system veyr much like what you are not convinced about, and it works great. I have a tupperware bin as my reservoir (not clear, black if possible). In it I set my pots, each with many holes all over it (mesh is best). the pots have lava rocks in them with the clones in a rockwool cube. Just like transplanting in to soil, but use lava rocks (rinse them first). Then I fill the tub with nutrient solution up to a filling point (usually an inch or so below the top of the pots). I have a couple 12" long air stones in the bottom of the tub, hooked to an aquarium air pump. Then I cover the setup, to make sure no light hits the water, and turn on the bubbles! They provide more oxygen than the water can dissolve, so there isn't a lack of oxygen. Whenever the water level drops about 1.5-2" I top it off with 0.25-0.5 strength nutrient solution, to make sure I don't overfertilize. Then every 10 days or so, I pump out the water and replace with fresh nutrient solution, that way I don't run into pH problems, and get all the leftover salts out of there.
I find this system to work great, and be hardly any work, since I only have to fill the thing up and change the water. Good luck.
p.s. - how are things in the mountain time zone?