1st Grow Ever, Hydro, AN, advice please

So this is my first attempt at growing, whichive been intending to do for a while cause i spend way too much on weed. Way too much. So needless to say im on a pretty tight budget, but I wanna try to grow hydro cause i think i can. Ive already dropped the money for the light, grow tent, nutes, and a cheap ph meter, so im all in.

The grow tent is pretty small, but I wanna make a hydro system out of a large plastic bin with spots for 4 plants. I was thinking a 3 gallon net pot for each, filled with either rockwool, hydroton, or maybe a mix (see pic.) like described in this book i have, Closet Cultivator.

Im hoping that i can get by without a ppm meter (?), and strictly following the AN 2 part sensi schedule (hobbyist) using only sensi and big bud. Tap water here is excellent.

I also have questions about the frequency of watering for my system... Should it be 24/7, a few times a day, or should i just keep the medium from drying out as needed?
I was also thinking about adding a wick to each pot also that would hang in the water as a backup... any thoughts on that?

I have a mh and hps bulbs, so i was thinking of switching to hps after 2 weeks veg because ive heard mixed reviews about which is better during this time anyway. Im shooting for shorter, denser plants that fit in the tent so advice achieving this (pruning the top maybe?) is also appreciated. Also I want a cheap way to get CO2 in there cause i heard its like steroids, and i saw a video of someone who put sugar water and yeast in a bottle and apparently co2 vapor comes out. Does this work?? any other bad chemicals from this method? Any other advice is also appreciated. Ill check frequently. Thanks.

Putting the cart before the horse eh? YOU can answer all your ?'s with 3 words. SEARCH AND READ! You got quite a few ?'s in there.....lets see what i can spoon feed you for now...
Hydroton-good and re-usable
PPM meter-worth the money
watering-depends on grow medium
wick-shouldn't be necessary
mh/hps- most common is MH veg HPS flower
Short and dense-genetics of strain and topping will acheive this
CO2-benificial with higher temps but most the time not cost efficient
HOW DO I KNOW ALL THIS U ASK??????I SEARCHED AND READ! Good luck!

just to add m8 if you have limited space try a scrog and make the most of your tent. oh and you really dnt need to co2 regulate with such a small space. use the money for better nutes or something. best of luck m8.

Would the wick hurt? and thanks for the advice, imma check out the hydro store monday and get the rest of the materials... What do you think about ten inch net pots? big enough? and ill check out prices and stuff and get back to you guys. Im gonna document this whole thing to be professional and ill come back for advice.

If you are new to growing and this is your first time can I please suggest you try this hydroponics method first. Its a passive hydro sysytem that REALLY works well, check it

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/13543-easiest-hydro-system-ever-w.html.

You can find better articles if you search, but with these Hempy Buckets you get the rapid growth of hydro with some of the space for mistakes you get in soil. Good luck bradda

This a cheap, but reliable tds meter for DWC. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-TDS-Digital-Meter-PPM-Tester-Water-Quality-Pen-Screwdriver-Free-/260872493370?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cbd36593a Buy one . If you just plan to veg for a month or two, get 4" net pots

thanks for the posts guys..
I got a cheap tds meter like the one you suggested, and are you sure that 4" (diameter) net pots will be big enough? That seems a little small and i wanna use as much of the tent as i can.
I also picked up a bin to hold the containers from walmart, it holds 20 gallons so i hope its big enough, i couldn't find net pots at walmart so im goin somewhere else tomorrow.And I also like the idea from you unclebobbyb, and im thinking about also getting a bucket as it would fit next to the bin in my tent and ill probably be with my plant everyday anyway.
Im still curious what more people think about the best hydro medium for this setup, im totally down for hydroton, but if you think a mix or something would be better im all ears. Ill be buying the medium this next week also at the garden store.

also ive heard mixed reviews about the roots growing down into the resevoir, is it really bad? the book i have says it shouldn't be a problem if you have good air circulation in the water...

The hydro store was actually open, so i got the net pots, hydroton, water pump + tubing, and rockwool cubes. The lady in the store thought my net pots were small, even with 6''ers, and reffered to them as for starters so i hope that they are big enough. I hooked up all the water tubing and put some water in my res and made it go and it looks great.. So excited to start. Im just waiting on the stuff i ordered offline, than ill pick up some clones and be off. ill put up pictures when i have all the stuff.
Thanks guys.