The at Petco said... Should I believe him?

Flourite is very helpful, but most people regard it as optional. It really depends on what you want to grow. Some plants need more care than others. The care they require can include light, Co2, and other nutirents. But, each plant's requirements varry greatly. So you will have to research any plant you want to buy.

There are plants that grow in all light levels. So you can either :

A) Find a plant that will grow in your exisitng light level.

B) Get more light to grow the plant you want.

Would you rather get more light or settle for a low light plant? Sometimes settling isn't all the bad. There are some nice low light plants.

A regular aqurium type light will due.

I would try to get closer to 1 watt per gallon if you can. That will give you a lot more plants to choose from. But it all depends on the plant you want to grow. Pick the plant first, then the light if you have the budget to get more light. If not, try some anubias or similar low light plants.

Beeker am I dreaming? I thought you just ordered a new light...

When it comes to light AFAIK there isn't any particular 'special kind' that plants need. Plants want light, plain and simple - there are a number of types that will work for aquarium plants, but I think the majority of people stick to fluorescents in one form or another - either regular T12/T8s or power compact are what I see people using most of the time, and they're all succesfully growing plants. The only kind of light that is unsuitable TMK is incandescent, because it puts out a lot of heat and much less light per watt than fluorescent.

I sure hope they meant Flourite (the substrate) and not flouride - plants, TMK, don't need cavity prevention for their teeth like people do
Flourite isn't a necessity, as jonathan mentioned. It's great for heavily planted tanks with demanding plants, but for a tank where you're going for low-light, low maintenance, I'd stick with the substrate you've got and see how things go.

I too am wary of LFS employee advice - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's just plain wrong, usually it's somewhere inbetween. Trust your instincts, and never be afraid to get a second opinion

Beeker said:

Blinky,
You are right, but sadly, it isn't enough wattage. Either I have to send it back and get a double, or I have to find a 48 inch tube that is at least 80 watts. Is it possible to find a 48" flourescent tube that is at least 80 watts? I am really getting disheartened having to make my fish wait like this. It seems as if nothing is working out in our favor.

Click to expand...

Well, with flourescent lighting, if you added an 80 watt bulb to a a setup that only had 60 watt ballasts, you wouldn't see any benefit at all. The ballasts control what wattage of bulb you can use, not vice versa. So, send it back if you can.

What I do is buy glass covers for my tanks and use shop lights for lighting. But then again, I'm cheap