dude go hps, i think you can find one of the 400w in ballast systems for right about what you want to spend. some more info would be helpful too like do you already have seeds, soil and nuetrients? either way hydro is gunna take money away from everything else so with the budget you have i would say to go with soil. what i have going seems to work really well and i probably spent around what you did.
my lighting situation is one 150w hps in-ballast unit that cost me 75$, 7 cfl reflectors 4 @ 7.50 each and three i found in the basement, BTW the reflectors are already wired and can be found at walmart and lowes, 7 y sockets at 1.50 a piece, 7 - 26w 2700K cfl's and 7 - 26w 6500K cfl's at like 1.50 each, 4 - 2.5 gallon pots 2$ each, cosco bag of sta-organic soil 8 bucks and FF big bloom and peace of mind at 15 and 10 dollars each. my setup is in a colder already veltilated area so depending on the room costs could be higher
