thanks ngos yeah im a newb.........*sighs* what can i say. the reason i asked about the natural light is because i dont want to run the electric bill up that high i was thinking of about 10 hours of natural light that would be supplimented with some artificial light and then at the end of the 10 hours moving the plant(s) into my closet where i would have a little grow setup where i would have lights as well. for my first grow i was only thinking of growing about 2-4 plants.
as for the hydro deal i wanted to do hydro over soil cause i know in the end hydro pays for itself in spades ;) cause the pebles are reuseable and washable as for the soil once it is used its done and plus it is a mess which i am trying to avoid. i found some cheaper hydro setups that i am pretty sure have everything i need to start and finish a grow.
i wont be getting a light setup like you described any time soon ;) i am on sort of a budget just not a really tight one. i will prolly start with alot of flouros especially the energy efficient high output flouros.
thanks for the useful links and info. i am still looking into this stuff further.