I am also a newbie grower and my objective was to keep things as simple as possible, so I ended up with:
3-Gallon smart pots (fabric)
Super-soil built from ProMixHP, perlite, EWC and dolomite lime
Tap water (let sit 24 hours before using)
GO Box nutes
Did not test pH or PPMs, just followed the feeding schedule on the GO Box. Except during flowering I switched from CaMg to epsom salts. Only vegged for 3 weeks and ended up with roughly 80 grams off 2 small plants (although a good portion of that weight is seeds).
No health issues. Great growth. Perfect results (for a first grow).