65 gal tank just begging to be used

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: 65 gal tank just begging to be used
From: mrsbill at docusystems_durham.net (P Humphrey)
Date: Fri, 23 Feb 96 23:32 EST
Nothing of importance here - delete now if you're busy. 

Late last night, my daughter announced that the water in my 65-gallon
tank was a little too cloudy to see anything in the tank. Yikes! We raced
downstairs to find the tank - you guessed it - messed up by yet another
experiment of mine. Lafffff! It seems my home-made CO2 system was spewing
liquid into the tank - how thoughtful! (I suspect sabotage here!)
No big deal, since I have a 20-gallon tank that was ready & waiting for more
fish & plants. No fish died as a result of this move, and all plants are
doing better than they were in the big tank! We laffed abt the fishes' union
and how they were plotting to escape by first clouding the water so I
wouldn't know they were leaving!

So now, I have a 65 gallon tank that is just begging to be re-used. I am on
a very limited budget. Looking at the 20-gal tank, I think I may leave the
plants & fish there. It isn't overcrowded and plants & fish seems to be happy
enough. I know that the water in my area is fairly hard, and rather than
play with it too much, I'd like to keep fussing to a minimum while doing
something creative with the bigger tank. FYI, water here is gen. 13 - 15 deg
dCH,
pH 7.2, and while the tank was in operation, nitrates, phosphates, etc. were
not a problem. I don't have an UGF and use Aqua-clear back-of-tank filters
plus interior corner filters. There is a good cover for the tank, although
it isn't totally airtight! - and lighting consists of 2x34-watt cool High
energy bulbs (abt 80 watts normal fluorescent bulbs). Have I forgotten anything?

I'm looking for ideas on what to do next with the tank. While I'd love to
go for discus, I do not have the $$$, time or energy to properly maintain
the water they'd need. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with other
types of tanks, and forgive me but I cannot remember the proper names to
describe partially-submerged tanks, floral gardens, etc. If you can provide
me with experiences and/or suggestions, I would love to hear them. Thanks!


Mrs Bill (mrsbill at mail_durham.net) 
"I wanna rock n roll all night, & party everyday"