For $7 you can get a bottle oh liquid pH indicator drops, which is all a soil dude really needs for the rare times you have to mess around with your pH.

If it's super hot, spend the $$ on a good exhaust fan to add even more ventilation. Your plants will be okay up to about 85'F if they have lots and lots of fresh air.

You can get a GREAT effect with less work with a simple Sea of Green setup, but the trade-off is higher plant count. It's very popular though, and really easy to do especially if you have a mother plant who gives you clones every 2 months.