farmergiles

Soil is probably best first go.

Hydro tends to cost more for the initial set up and if things go wrong they tend to go wrong a lot quicker.

A wick system would be cheap to set up but a little trickier than soil maybe.

Don't use halogen lights- the spectrum of light they give off is of little or no use to plants. Likewise for incandescents.
I'd recommend fluorescent or HID lighting. Fluorescent is the cheapest and easiest to set up.

Just to clarify- hydroponics means growing plants (without soil) in water. Aeroponics is a particular hydroponic technique. Aquaponics just means hydroponics I guess- sometimes people say aqua culture.

Soil is good because-
It acts as a buffer between the plants and water so helps if there is any pH fluctuation.
Nutrients can be stored in it.
It gives the plant's roots something to hold onto.
It holds water.
A soil grow is cheap and easy to set up.

Also a lot of people claim to prefer the taste of soil grown weed to hydro.

I wouldn't add sand to your soil mix- it will just make it heavier. Perlite or vermiculite are cheap aggregates you can add which will aid drainage.

Hydroponics is good because-
It can give bigger yields and slightly faster maturation times.
You don't have to mess about with soil.

__________________
Cultivate a stoic calmness