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Advice wanted (fwd)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 1996 09:18:10 
From: Brad Grenard <BRGRENARD at SMLY-01_HFS.PURDUE.EDU>
To: aquatic-plants-owner at actwin_com
Subject: Advice wanted

I've been lurking on this list for a while and have really enjoyed 
reading the posts, plus I've learned a lot, too.  Now it's my turn to 
ask for the opinions of all of you learned aquarists.

Here's my present setup:
    55 gal. plant tank that is doing very well.  Plants are mostly 
    swords and corkscrew val.  I run a ugf with power heads and use a 
    Vortex diatom filter occasionally.  I do 15% water changes weekly 
    and use pmdd.  The plants are in containers that are mostly 
    filled with top soil with aquarium gravel on top of the topsoil.  
    The containers are then buried in the gravel.  Light is one 40w GE 
    Plant & Aquarium tube and one 40w GE Chroma 50 tube.  Lights are 
    on 14 hrs./day.  I'm also using diy CO2 injection.  There are 
    about 20 fish, mostly livebearers and cardinals, in the tank.

The plants are going crazy; growing wall-to-wall and out the 
top.  Given this success, I'm thinking about getting a larger 
tank.  I'm considering either a 120 gal. (48x24x24) or a 125 gal. 
(72x18x22).

With the 120 I could use 4' light tubes, but the 125 offers more 
surface area.  What are your experiences with tanks of this size?  
What amount of light would I need?  Do you think I could use the same 
filtration scheme that I use in my 55 gal.?  Are any of you using diy 
CO2 injection in a 120 or 125 gal. tank?

I'm sure that I haven't thought of everything and I want to learn as 
much as I can before I jump into this.  Thanks for your help.

Brad Grenard
Otterbein, IN
brgrenard at smly-01_hfs.purdue.edu