A few ?'s

[kimley]

Is fluorescent or Incandescent bulbs better to use, I also have plants in my tank?? Is it better to put some cotton in your bio system to catch the little stuff or is it just fine to let it run with nothing in it?? How much plant food is good, should you follow the directions on the bottle or go with less?? How long should I run charcoal in my system after I finishing giving meds for ick?? Have heard two days and have also heard two weeks??

Thanks,

Kim:dance

[anonapersona]

flourescent is generally better, less heat -- but with live plants you will need more than one flourescent usually, and then you may be able to use screwin spiral flourescents in the incandescent hood

not cotton, but a polyester floss, like cheap pillow stuffing from Walmart. cotton rots. it will clog so be aware of it filling up and needing to be changed as it cleans the water

need for plant food depends on light levels

medication directions may say how long to run charcoal, a few days is probably enough.

[aquariumfishguy]

Flourescent is always better, especially if we're talking about plants. Basically, unless you want to stay with the "beginner" plants which need little light, you'll need an advanced lighting system.

I have a sponge in my filter, and I also have one which picks up fine particles. As far as what you said, I'm not sure if you think you should run a filter "bare" or not...but you do need a sponge of some sort in your filter. Unless trying to rid your tank of meds, carbon is generally not nessessary.

I would advise you to stick with what the bottle says on the plant food. You might choose to use the plant food whenever you do a water change so you dont nessessarly need to add it "every" seven days but you should be using plant food regularly...;)

HTH