2 Responses to your question, Sir Master Ganji:
A) I used the
Aerogarden, and it worked great! The only downside is a somewhat small reservoir, but that can be managed with love and attention
There's also a huge AG community on this site, as you can see, and we're more than willing to help!
or
B) DIY - wait, don't click away yet! It's not REALLY DIY....more like "BIY", Buy it Yourself. All you need:
1) Big bucket/tub/whatever - this will be your reservoir, and chances are you already have one somewhere around the house.
2)
Lampshade - Put it upside-down in the bucket. The wire part on the inside will hold your grow sponge/medium, the whole thing is easy to move/adjust, and the lampshade wall acts as a weak-ass reflector, but you can improve that by putting mylar on the inside. MOST normal lampshades will have a much smaller hole than the one in the pic.
3)
Rockwool - The round shape fits perfectly into the lampshade hole, with a little squeeze to keep it in place. You can order this on Ebay for like 5-10 bucks, and you get a shit-ton for your money!
4)
Airstone + Pump - This will cost like $10-15 bucks at PetSmart/Petco/Walmart, or wherever you buy your groceries. Takes 2 minutes to open/setup
5)
Lights +
Timer - Just get a bunch of extension cords, and string it around. Costs like $8 for 4 lights, which last practically forever. I recommend a timer with a single setting, so your lights dont flicker every 2 hrs
...that's it. It really costs next to nothing, probably 50 bucks, and you're not confined to a single "system" that you can't adjust/expand/alter to your liking. Everything here is movable and adjustable, and you won't spend any time fucking around with saws and nails and shit
For an example, check out my thread in my sig. I got a lampshade setup right now, its stupid-easy