Dude you are in LA hydro stores are all over. If you don't want to drive then buy from a store in LA and UPS ground is still next day shipping.

Better grow hydro just opened a new store in LA. I think the URL is BGHYDRO.com

Cheep is dirt growing, to grow hydro you need to monitor & control Ph. Have proper nutrients and maintain temperature control. Even with a cheep hydro setup like a DWC bucket. That is about as cheep as it gets to start hydro. But you must have a good way to monitor the Ph and measure the mixture PPM so you know what you feed them at the proper time in the plants life cycle. Mistakes are quick to kill plants if you don't monitor the plants closly.