Closet grow need help to grow the best

Hi all, I've been interested in turning my closet into a "grow-closet". Here's the thing - I don't know everything I need. I'm going the soil route as it's more affordable to me, once i get the hang of growing I'll switch to more advanced techniques.

I want to produce the biggest and most potent buds I could possibly produce. I already know to get a 400watt HPS light, maybe two. How about the veg stage, will a metal halide be smart or will some fluorescents be fine? Fox farm soil, right? Would type of nutrient supplements should I buy?

Now for smell, what are some cheap exhaust systems? Me and my roommates plan to knock the wall in between of our two closets to make it into a small room - so we should be able to fit 10 plants? I want this to be as professional, cheap, and big juicy buds as possible. Thanks ahead of time for all your help!

welcome to riu. here;s the thing, you've obviously done some reading but your questions show you could do more. try reading up on general mj growing, lighting and other areas of interest in the stickies and growfaq. if you ask general questions here you will get general answers that won't help you. some things you need to think about:

first you start with the size of the grow area
then you decide if you want separate veg and flower areas
then you decide the proper lighting for your area and ability to ventilate
then you decide the strain of weed you want to grow
then you decide the nutes and feeding schedule

etc.

you should definitely have separate veg and flower rooms. so instead of harvesting every 3 months u can harvest every 45 days or somethin. whats your grow room size??

It's 8 feet in height, 5 feet deep, and 4 feet wide. On the closet ceiling is the opening towards our attic - which would be perfect to put the co2 tank and help ventilate out the smell. I'll have to see if i can manage up a separate vegging room.

this just in, we have a budget of $2000 and are extremely serious about this. any advice and help would be greatly appreciated. tips on getting higher yield and more potent weed!