Few questions before I start growing...

Well, summer is coming up, and I thought this would be a great time to start growing indoors for my first time. Ive done quite a lot of research lately on few things such as, where to go, HOW to grow, what to grow, and how much it would cost.
Ive covered pretty much all of my questions except for a few that i'm hoping you guys might be able to answer.

1.) Probably my biggest question is how to grow it. Hydroponics Vs. Organic/soil. I thought about doing hydroponics but it seems very confusing. Like all of the different types of hydro systems, which one should i use? ? Is it easier than soil in terms of attention i have to pay to it(this is a big one because i'm going to be out of town for a week this summer)? And would a hydro system be too big for my setup(I should mention that i'm growing in a 5'foot x 4'foot space)

2.) I'm growing in an attic, and it gets very hot in there. So i've been toying with the idea of spliting off one of my A/C ducts and attaching it to my grow box. But i'm worried it might make my whole hous stink up of fresh weed. Also do you think it might raise my power bill by a significant amount? :wtf:

I appreciate any response to my problems, thank you :thumbsup:

I recommend beginners use a soilless mix such as ProMix. Setting up a hydro system is more expensive and requires greater attention to detail. It's much easier to leave a soil grow for a week than a hydro grow.

As for growing in the attic in the summer, you are definitely going to need temp control. It would be much better in the basement, if at all possible.

Thanks for the advice!
buy yeah, we dont have basements in Texas...

for the smell thing, theres a trick that i was taught by some people that dealt with large amounts of weed, it includes you going to the store really the coffee section and buying about two pounds of the whole bean coffee the kind that you have to grind up, just leave it whole and spread it around your plants, on the floor around your planters, dont get me wrong two pounds of coffee beans might not be enough depending on how much your growing and how strong the smell is, you can also use vicks vipro rub

I've never grown hydrponically so I'm no "expert" but I'm getting ready to in a few weeks when I get my seeds. As far as going on vacation, based on the same research I've been doing as you probably, I would think you'll be alright if you have a timer set up just right. All you would have to do is fill up the resivior and off to your vacation you go. Personally I'm more worried about timing the flooding cycles correctly.
Growing in the attic with the temperature would be a problem I think. Maybe you could build a box and insulate the hell out of it with a high R value. Just a thought. Anyway...good luck.:thumbsup: