I started with autos. Growing in a 3x3 gorilla tent, fox farm ocean forest soil and FF Trio of nutrients. Pretty typical for a beginner. The main light was a Kind K3 XL600. I quickly added 4 photo boost LED strips from Pacific Light Concepts (no longer in business). Combined, the set up drew 450 wats.
Always ran either 20/4 or 18/6 light schedule.
Nothing special re germinating. Water, a little hydrogen peroxide, paper towel and dark satellite receiver for warmth. Put sprouts in good seedling mix. Transplanted to 3 or 5 gallon fabric pots.
I grew white widow, amnesia haze, blueberry and jack herer autos. All is soil, most using FF trio. Searching for better bud, I switched to advanced nutrients - a lot of it.
After jack herer I switched to photos. Eventually, changed from soil to coco with one grow in HP Peat. When I changed to coco I also switched to Jacks. Because it is a blast growing I build a closet and added autopots to the mix. I run HLG 260 rspecs in the closet.
I’d suggest scanning through my journals. They are fairly detailed with lots of photos. Most recent is GDP to start the new year