plastic buckets in a wicking bed?

I have very little money, and am building a large wicking bed. After my liner got a couple of holes in it, I had to take it apart and rethink. I was wondering about burying gravel filled buckets with a PVC pipe to each. Would these have the same effect as one larger layer of gravel, or one large container full of gravel? I am not including overflows, because I will put a float in the pipe to let me know when it is full, and if a little overflows, it will not be a disaster.

Any suggestions welcome.

How deep is your wicking bed? Have you had problems with anaerobic activity rotting the roots?

It is not built yet, so I can't say. Technically, the gravel layer is lined with landscape fabric to keep soil and roots out, so it shouldn't be a problem in a properly constructed wicking bed.