dollar store soil is known to carry bugs as I have actually threw it on the counter and seen bugs jump on the counter also timers are really important as you can tell and very cheap and the one you have from the cfl's probably just needs a 99c adapter, it is nearly impossible to stay to a 12/12 schedule doing it manually ... don't think i would ever be able to do it, but hey its a learning curve ,i only know because i have done the same in the past ... I would def stay away from the dollar store soil if gotta go cheap go home depot or lowes and get like a 6-10 dollar bag from the center of the pile and be really careful if stored outside , you will not survive a bug attack with a limited budget , even the bug stuff that sometimes works is hella expensive.. again just advise