@DefNSmokn runs solid on jacks 321 and I think @Rhai88 follows suit since def is pretty much the synthetics mentor for him
Maybe @bobgrows might be able to help point u in the right direction too as I know in the past she has been sponsored by nutrient lines.
Those 3 I think would be a great place to start picking minds
Even amounts of each.
Coco/Organic container mix/Perlite, Easy Peezy.
Fabric smart pots
Mega Crop 2 part
Sweet Candy
Bud Explosion
Buffers itself.
Promix, jacks, a ph and ppm pen, fabric pots would probably run you around $200. The bulk of the cost is the Promix and jacks at around 180ish. You could always mix your own coco for a lot cheaper but I’m lazy so I get the premixed stuff. 
I grow in coco. I use Cana Coco professional with GH trio for nutes. I mix about 25% perlite into the coco prior to using. Bricks of coco is slightly cheaper but I prefer the bagged stuff. It saves me rinsing and buffering the coco. You definitely need something to test PH but don’t really need anything for ppm. I haven’t used my ppm meter for ages. I just recently purchased Jack’s but have not tried it yet…
If you want the cheapest way I would say get bricks of coco and PH drops to test PH. Can’t really give you prices without knowing how big a grow you are setting up. Also I would say to get a cheap shop vac. They are not expensive and make collecting runoff easy.
You might want to check out some of the articles about coco growing from CocoForCannabis.com, good info, great starting points.
@Gonzo have you thought about octopots/octopups?
I use straight coco/perlite with GH flora series nutes. It’s dead simple and works amazing.
If you’re willing to spend more time than money, top watering by hand is the way to go. However, this is a DAILY chore (sometimes even 2 or 3x per day) that can be mitigated with a drip system. Tons of options, FloraFlex is the one I’ve been eyeballing.
Nutrients: my opinion, for the money it doesn’t get any better than General Hydroponics. The trusty 3-part with a couple additives, like CaliMagic and Armor Si, and you’re golden. I recently switched to FloraNova series, simply to use a couple less bottles. You’ll waste more time trying to dissolve solids, than just using a nutrient line that dissolves and mixes easily like GH trio.
Coco itself: for the most part you get what you pay for, but, I’ve always opted for the cheapest I could find that wasn’t compressed bricks. Tupur Royal Gold 
hella cheap, hella nice stuff & I’ve had fantastic results with it.
Also check out Coco For Cannabis book and website for all the best info regarding coco growing.
I use Athena now. But yeah… if you want to get into salts @Gonzo it can be pretty cheap if you need it to.
If you got any questions seems like a shitload of us have answers lol
I have some pH up, pH down and the tester drops if you want them @Gonzo I don’t use them anymore since going with Dr earth
That stuff doesn’t expire does it?
For a pH meter I highly highly recommend the Apera PH20. The PH60 is a bit pricier and has a serviceable sensor, which most pH meters do not have, but the PH20 simply cannot be beat for the price. pH levels are GOSPEL as it applies to coco growing
Contrary to popular belief, pH drops can go bad or at least get cross contaminated ruining their efficacy, ask me how i know 
lol
If he can still use the up/down I’ll be happy
I love my Apera PH60 and bought it due to it having a replaceable probe. Been working great since I got in in Dec of 2021 with the same probe.
This is what I’ve recommended to several homies who’ve picked up the hobby. I bought my milwuakee mw102 meter for the same reason. I’d rather pay a little extra to be able to replace the probe than have to buy a whole other device if the probe breaks/loses calibration too quick.
Is it true you can basically never overwater with coco…that it will always hold 30%-40% oxygen?
I have always ran coco coir and have only recently completed my first soil grow.
Cococoir is the best! I think that you need to be careful of the fungal gnats which are in most coco coir you would buy.
I would recommend Botanicare Coco Fiber Bale which I have used in the past and was clean and had low salt content.
It has been unavailable so I bought the next stuff…
I have recently used this with great success. Really clean and impressive but not as much as botanicare.
Such low salt levels that it just requires a light soak in 5.8 ph water and then just squeeze the water out. Keep everything at 5.8 and you can experiment slightly based on cultivar. Some strains like 5.9 more.
I use this
This includes calibration and care kit also which is necessary once or twice a year depending on how you store it.
Oh I use hempy system so 2 " of perlite on the bottom of the buckets and then the rest is just pure coco coir. more calmag is applicable with coco. Everything shoots to the bottom and the nutrients are in the perlite area. It is passive hydro. The best i’ve found for me so far after a bunch of other shit.
The best thing about transplanting like this is you can do the solo cup hempy and just uppot into a 2-3-5 gallon by putting the solo cup hempy system into a hole in the shape of the solo cup and almost no transplant shock occurs.
I run bags of mother’s earth coco that I amend with fine perlite to a ~50/50 ratio.
Nutes are:
solution grade gypsum, a 10lb bag would last 2+yrs.
maxibloom, 2.2lb bag is around $20 and will last a year or so.
pH pen is handy, I like apera’s as has been stated in here already.
I have always used Cana Coco Professional Plus. Stuff works great and never had any critters come with it.
CANNA Coco substrate is a 100% organic product having a fine, uniform structure, free from viruses, chemical additives and soil diseases.
The fact that CANNA Coco is not steamed is not the only thing that distinguishes it from other substrates; this is also achieved by the use of pure, first class source materials. Which come from India, where CANNA’s production facilities use fresh water only to soak the coco. This to make sure no salts gets in contact with CANNA Coco, ensuring a clean product.
I like this one too. I’ve spent a lot of time on bricks and don’t like them as much. Tupur gold has been great for me.
I’d also thumbs up hempy buckets. I don’t use them personally, but I have an autofeed system based off of them.
One thing you want to be aware of with coco is that you never want to allow it to go completely dry. Hempy buckets work great because it adds a little nutrient buffer that helps prevent that from happening.
Ehhh, i dunno. I use pots that are often too small, and my coco can go dry within 24 hrs and I find it gives my plants a bit of watering stress, to a benefit. This is NOT advised, but it’s something I’ve been able to keep a handle on, and never have plants wilt even though the pot is as light as air sometimes.
Ok this was a great start, lot of great growers I respect pitching in their methods. I’ve got ph up/down & the drop test kit. But it sounds like I should pickup an Apera PH60.
The rest I’ll take into advisement, do more research for sure. I definitely don’t want anymore fungus gnats so I’ll spring for the good coco 
It would be nice to be able to leave the house for 48hrs for an emergency. What do you guys think of Autopots/Octopots etc?
Anyways I know I could pick any one of these replied lists & succeed. That’s why I love OG 
