My bad on that one - I had forgotten that @sc-steemit (who operates that faucet) recently changed the rules to only accept CPIDs and not wallet addresses to prevent abuse.
I definitely think solo mining is the way to go long term - it is how the system was designed to be used. You will be able to participate in community votes, stake interest on your whole balance as soon as you mine it, and improve the security of the network. You will also not be paying any pool fees.