Re: CP for 90 gallon plant tank

[Bill Wichers <billw at waveform_net>]

>talking about them.  I origianlly looked a little into regular fluorescents,
>but they seemed to have to be so big and take up so much space in the canopy
>to get a decent amount of light.  I also do not know the difference between
>T-8 and T-12, etc.  I think I am going to go with the 4 x 55w CP from
>AHSupply, but I haven't fully decided yet.
T-numbers refer to the diameter of the bulb in 1/8's of an inch. T8 is 1" 
dia, T12 is 1.5" dia, T5 would be 5/8" diameter, etc. T8 is the size used 
in most commercial florescent fixtures in offices and the like and is made 
in huge quantities as a result, which tends to make it the cheapest size. 
You probably can't beat a DIY T8 fixture for bang-for-buck, but it will be 
a lot larger physically than a PCF fixture for the same light output. MH 
(Metal Halide) are my personal favorite but they're also probably the 
trickiest lights to set up, and they are *not* cheap, even DIY (mostly due 
to the bulbs).

I think you'll be happy with the 4x55w PCF setup. You *really should* try 
fertilizer and even CO2. At least do fertilization at water changes though 
as a minimum if you want to have your plants stay at all healthy. Planted 
tanks range from just lights and water changes (with undemanding plants) up 
through fully automated CO2 and daily fertilization, but you don't have to 
get all fancy and complex to have a tank you can enjoy. Start with some 
basic fertilizers like TMG or Seachem's Flourish (and Flourish Iron, you 
really need both). Before you know it you'll be hooked and be back here 
digging into CO2 systems :-) It's really not hard, you just have to be in 
the habit and be consistent.

         -Bill


>Thanks
>Scott
>


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