Turtle, thanks a bunch for your advice. I've been browsing other threads more thoroughly and looking for components to a simple passive hydro system. I'm thinking of growing in rockwool cubes sitting in tray half full of nutrient solution (i'm hardly considering pumps of any kind at this point) and changing the water as needed. Also, as for stealth, i'd like to have something that can be quickly turned into an inconspicuous, mobile footlocker of sorts. Ideally i suppose there would be nothing but an extension cord sticking out on a day-to-day basis.
Quote Originally Posted by turtle420
... it's like choosing Gnome vs KDE....
You have no idea how much that makes me smile. Let's just say i can relate.

GrowinGreen, i've got some good news. Speaking with next year's roommate, we have decided to expand operations. In addition to the portable trunk, we'll be creating a 2'x2'x4' closet for flowering and convert the trunk into strictly a veg box. Hopefully we can get 2-3 plants at a time to bloom in the veg box and 4-6 flowering at any given time. Something like this would allow to constant fill both boxes (assuming roughly 30 days to veg and 60 to flower). Obviously i'm gonna double up on the lighting and run a cool set (4100K) in the veg box and warms (2700K) in the flowering closet.

In addition, i've spent the last two days idoizing (among other things) justaseed's scrog setup. I really think that something like this would be perfect for a limited-space endeavor. Any recommendations for ideal dimensions (closet height, screen height, light placement) to maximize this kind of growth? How about nutrients to stunt vertical growth and promote flowering? Again, anything you guys can throw at me would be greatly appreciated