Hi Ambrosia,
I'm new here too, but so far this my story. I ended up buying a Gorilla tent, a 2ft by 2.5ft by like 70 inches. That size worked for me - it is small, I have 2 auto growing in it now. You might be able to grow three?? For now my needs are small and if I do a continuous grow and some Outdoor grows I should be alright, eventually, quantity wise.
But that's me.
My recommendations, (based on a lot of help from this forum).
Think of what you want to accomplish.
Buy the biggest tent you can afford.
Stay away from the Lite Versions of the tents.
As far as your budget goes: You will most likely need accessories for your tent:
Lights -- probably more important than the tent, and could be a big part of your budget.
You will need some type of gauge for humidity and temperature, I use a AcuRite 00613 Indoor Humidity Monitor -- amazon -- walmart like 10 bucks.
You will need a fan -- depending upon your size tent
Depending upon where you live - some type of humidifier.
Depending on your situation -- some sort of carbon filter.
So my story kind of goes like this -- After reading, I decided on LED light and mixed in some cfls, soil stuff, seeds, ph kits and so on and started my first plants.
Then had a bug up my ass about a tent -- I don't really need to hide anything but it puts everything in a convenient space and I believe in my case creates a controlled area for temp,humidity and light.
So bought the tent I wanted and then found out I needed the accessories.
Temperature was getting up to 85 during the day, the humidity was only %30. For a while I would raise and lower the lights to control the temp, but the humidity was off - so purchased a small humidifier, but the humidity stayed towards the top of the tent, so then a small fan to circulate the humidity throughout the tent.
But, now I am running from 77 to 81 degrees humidity about 52% and a gentle breeze on the girls to circulate the humidity and make the stems strong. Since doing all that - my two girls have take off and look great.
Sorry about the dissertation, just hope I gave you something to think about and you learn from my experience.
Good Luck!!! and Read!!!!!