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A few questions
Hi all, I'm a new subscriber to the digest, haven't been around these parts for a few years, and
I've just been bitten again by the aquarium plant bug.
I have a 100G tank that I want to upgrade the lighting in. What I'm looking for is a ballast that
will run 4 40W T-12 bulbs, preferably an electronic type. And a bit cheaper than an IceCap
<g>. I had one that I got from Grainger a few years ago, but after being hooked up to a power
company that tended to under supply power, it burned out. Anyway, I'm looking for a
replacement, and some suggestions.
I know that 160 W is generally considered to be low light, but for me it's going to be pretty
intense. I've been running 80W over this tank for the past 3 years, and had good plant growth.
Currently, the only plant in my tank is some unidentified Crypt that I have been unable to kill,
regardless of water, temperature, lighting, or anything. I recently moved, and ended up
throwing away around 300 plants, or about 10lbs worth. The tank is around neutral pH, 76
degrees F, and I don't use supplemental CO2 or fertilizers. My substrate is river gravel, with
some Tetra Initial D thrown in 3 years ago, and half a bag of Marc Weiss' peat pellets (which
seem to attract a lot of roots, BTW).
I am moving towards making this tank some variation of a SE Asian biotope/habitat tank, and I'm
looking for some ideas as to plants for this area that would do well with the lighting that I plan to
use. Also, any good mail order sources would be helpful.
Sorry for the long post so many questions, but as I'm sure you know, when the bug bites, you
have to start planning!
Richard Oller