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Re: Howdy from new member



>From: richardm at cd_com (Richard Masoner)
>
>I've pretty much decided I'll probably try out the yeast-method of CO2
>generation (at first), but my first immediate problem is.... you
>guessed it: lighting!  My wife, who's fairly naive about aquarium stuff
>(but she's learning!), got a Really Tall Tank -- the kind that goes up
>to your armpits if you do anything with the gravel.  This means, of
>course, I'll need something like 200 watts of lighting if I want
>anything to grow on the bottom.  She's already spent money on a generic
>one-bulb tank cover, so that's something that'll have to go into the
>garage sale pile.

I'd recommend going to a local commercial lighting vendor and purchasing two
twin-tube shop lights plus four 5000K tubes.  Another route if you want to "do
it right" would be to purchase a high frequency T-8 ballast and GE F32 T-8
SPX50 tubes for about $6 - $8 apiece.  The ballasts are a bit expensive.  My
MagnaTech ballast cost right around $60.

>Anyway, from reading all the FAQ's and what not, something I haven't
>found is: where can I find a tank cover that supplies adequate
>lighting?  Also, I'm a little unclear about when plants should be added
>during cycling -- is it okay to add plants in from the start?  or
>should I wait a while?

Unfortunately, the aquarium industry just hasn't quite gotten the idea yet that
those wooden stands they sell should also have aquarium tops available to go
with them at reasonable prices, so many of us wind up building our own.

If you want to do a DIY cover, plans are available.  George Booth has plans on
the Krib that have been recently mentioned.  Erik Olson's plans are also there
and nice if you want to do a hanging fixture.  

David Webb in Plano TX, where the weather is wacky.