About to start first grow, need advice please!

I've browsed through this site for about the past year or so, and am finally ready to start my first grow, which will be for personal use ....... The only problem is I can't decide on a strain or lighting setup. I will be growing in a space about 3'x3'x6'.

I'm still undecided on the strain and whether to go with CFLs or get a 150W HPS, and was hoping yall could point me in the right direction.

SEEDS
- I think that an auto will be my best bet. I want something that will be relatively easy for a first time grow. I was thinking Auto AK or Flash Auto Santa.

LIGHTS
-I am either going to go with 8-10 26 watt CFLs, or a 150 watt HPS. I know that the HPS will give me better results, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much on a light for my first grow. I was hoping that yall could give me some idea of how many autos I could grow under CFLs vs the HPS, and a rough idea of the yield for each

I don't want to spend a ton of money, but at the same time don't really want to waste my time if it's going to be poor quality. I guess my main question is what setup would yall recommend for a first time grower looking to maximize their budget?


Thanks in advance!

You could easily use a 400W HPS in that grow area. I understand though for a first grow not going all out on equipment. Honestly though, if you think you are going to want to grow more than once, I would just do it right the first time and get the proper equipment. When I first wanted to grow, I was going to use CFL's. Then after a few weeks of forum reading I decided the benefits of having an HPS light was well worth it. So I was going to get a 250W HPS. Then another week goes by and Ive been convinced that Id be wasting my money getting the 250W because of its lower light intensity to lower branching than a 400W HPS.

So, for my first grow, instead of using CFL's and PC fans, I had a 400W HPS setup with cooltube, 400CFM centrifugal fan, carbon filter, Hortilux Bulb, etc for just 2 plants.

Spend a little more now, and save yourself the headache down the road. Anyways, thats just my opinion. By the way, a 150W HPS doesn't penetrate the canopy very far, so you will have little under growth buds.

purplehazin is right - I bought a 250w, used it to veg 6 plants for 2 months, then realized that it wouldn't suffice for the flowering stage, so I went out and bought a 600w. I could've saved 100 bucks if I had just bought it from the start.

Pay a lot now and invest well, and you won't regret it. You'll have mad bud and bread to break, trust me.

That's kinda what I figured..... I plan on doing this more than once, and knew that CFL's or 150W HPS wouldnt be enough. What strain do you guys suggest, and how many would you recommend under a 400w HPS?