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Planning first tank in years..
After a few years break, I've started planning my (triumphant?)
return to aquarium keeping. A few questions, please keep in mind I've been
out of the loop for a few years.. Two things I always wanted to try, but
never really got around to, were substrate heating and C02.
I don't see much talk about substrate heating lately, and Dupla
cables seem very hard to find online. Has substrate heating gone out of
fashion?
Last time I did a planted tank I had about 1.5" of vermiculite
covered by about 1.5" of medium gravel. The vermiculite seemed to help, but
it would cloud the water anytime I need to uproot a plant for any reason.
Is vermiculite still recommended? Would I be better off using plain gravel
with Dupla G mixed in?
CO2 - I never really wanted to mess with a compressed gas tank, but
I didn't have much luck with DIY when I tried the 2L bottle method. Has
anyone tried the Dupla Omega CO2 unit? Is it worth it, or would I be better
off trying DIY again if I want to use the non-compressed air method? Or
should I just bite the bullet and lay out the cash for a real CO2 sytem?
Last, but not least, can anyone in NYC suggest some good LFS?
I live in Manhattan and don't have a car, so the ideal places would be
either in manhattan or near a subway stop.
Thanks for your help and suggestions.
-Jason