PH meter suggestions?

Howdy folks.

I'm planning to start a grow in the near future and have been doing some research into what all I'll need. Budget is fairly tight, one of the reasons I'm planning to start my own little grow. Dealers around here are just too expensive and I think overall a home grow for personal use will be my safest bet.

I'm looking for a PH tester but really have no idea what to look for when it comes to them. Can anyone here point me towards some good, AFFORDABLE PH meters? I've seen them ranging from around $60 USD to upwards of $180 USD. The goal, as always, is to get the best quality I can for the least amount of money.

My understanding from what I have found on the forums here with some basic searching is that test strips are not accurate enough in the long run. Is it necessary to have both a liquid and a soil PH meter? As for calibrating the meter, most do not seem to come with calibration solutions. Is it required to purchase those as well, or are there alternatives more commonly available?

Some basic information about my setup (Still mostly in planning stages).
Light: Probably 250w HPS/CFL hybrid due to space/heat/stealth concerns.
Soil: Soil grow, not hydro. Looking into tracking down Foxfarms soils locally but may have to resort to cheaper bagsoil from a chain store.
Water: Cheap distilled water most likely, it seems like the water in the new apt is a bit on the hard side (not sure how bad this is for the plants, but distilled seems like a cheap insurance policy, planning to have at most 4 - 6 plants in flower at one time.).
Ferts: Any recommendations here? Probably just going to grab something from a local store.

Any help is appreciated.
For those that read through the long winded post, have a bonghit.

 

Hmmm, no replies yet. Ahh well, I did a little digging around further in the forums and stumbled across this

I'm not sure how important the PPM sensor is since I'm planning a soil grow, but it's a fairly nice deal on the pair it seems like. Does anyone have any experience they can relate regarding these toys? Good, bad, ugly or what?

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

Yes, I have thought of that. Still, I don't know enough about the various PH meters out there to tell between a good deal and a bad deal most likely. At least not at the moment, I'm learning more though. Any suggestions on good brand names to look for? OEM producers? Bad name brands?

Made a few rushed purchases before, without making sure I was getting what I needed, bad idea. I am trying to not sacrifice too much in the way of quality in exchange for affordability.