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You should have gotten the AM100, this(500) piece of junk sticks. CO2, light are far more critical than anything to do with nutrients FYI. See here: http://www.tropica.com/article.asp?type=aquaristic&id=142 This will help you achieve a management goal much better, with less effort, and better...

I'd suggest you focus A LOT MORE on measuring testing etc light and CO2, learning that and generally about how and what good plant growth looks like, ,nutrient dosing is the easiest part of this. Once a good lower range light is set, then nutrients, all you have left is the CO2. Measuring CO2...

Examples: Ca is 35ppm and Mg is about 18ppm here: NO3: 40, PO4, maybe 5 ppm, K+ is the 40-50 ranges. light is 450 at the surface, about 200 at the bottom. Another tank: Ca is about 4ppm and Mg is 1ppm, NO3 is 20ppm, PO4 is 5ppm, K+ is 40ppm. Light is about 200 at the top, 70 at the...

You are going to be all over the place. You also need to quantify how much is in the organic substrate you mention, and using PAR, not w/gal will also be needing to be addressed, not to mention how the CO2 is measured. In otherwords, what good is ppm's in the water column......if the light is...

http://thedesignspace.net/MT2archives/images/fish/197.jpg http://tydpoolmarine.com/img/WetDry.jpg See where the bio balls are? That's the tower wet/dry section

I'd just stick with a non vented wet/dry tower, this solves the issue, adds some bio, adds O2, keeps the CO2, and works better that the idea you had above. Why? I've tried it a few times, same type of thing. Gas builds up and burps out, well, I suppose if the pipe is really large enough, I...

Gaffer's tape or duct tape the wet/dry section so no air can exchange and plug any vent holes in the tower section. It can splash all it wants to then. The degassed CO2 simply has no where to go but back into solution and then back to the tank. O2 is still high because CO2/O2 are independent...

I'd personally suggest 4x 54 W T5 lights with reflectors, they make retro kits. This would be ideal and target better color combos, they have few color bulb types for 96W. I like the Gieseman powerchrome middays, maybe add an aquaflora in there for one of the bulbs. Good coloration and...

Give the dual stage regulator thread a read on my web site from LeftC. Plenty of specific discussion and many post with pictures etc for the DIY person seeking top of the line CO2 equipment. I use dual stage Victor regs, you are not going to get too much better, ebay often has good deals...

Bulb efficiency from a 13 W is very low compared to a 55 w PC lamp, there is the issue, less so with height but that is a factor as well. I'd use 2x 13W for the 12 gal. Also, with 2 bulbs spaced apart more, you get a better spread of light, so there's more angels and less self shading from...

See ebay etc and also read LeftC's long winded posting on Dual stage regulators on my site listed below. Lot to sift through, but there's a lot to learn and you can save a 100-200$ and get something that will last and be very high grade for 20-50 years. Regards, Tom Barr

Worm castings is also a very good method, and a bit more consistent in terms of how to make it and the results are stunning as well: http://www.aquahobby.com/tanks/e_tank0311b.php This is with CO2, but slowing things down without CO2, the supply and type of nutrients still functions and works...

+1 for ADA aqua soil, -1 for the powersand. PS does not add much, other than some NO3, most of the long term nutrients are in the ADA AS. PS also ends up mixing and looking tacky if you uproot or reuse the sediment later on. I and most others have the same results as PS with or without. So...

All sold locally Regards, Tom Barr

Tropica no# 049 Starougyne species. 20 plants: 40$ shipped 40 plants; 70$ shipped 80 plants: 125$ shipped(that's peanuts per plant!) Also, a I have a lot of others: Blyxa japonica, maybe 10-15 plants, Blyxa aubertii, 5 large plants, Ech diversifolia(20 plants?), Singapore red Rotala...

O'hia would make very nice driftwood, but an invasive species, that **** guava tree, old creek side pieces can be found that hollow out and look good, mostly on the north side up some of the canyons with streams, there's bound to be plenty. These are very suitable for aquariums. Super bad for...

Yes, in person you immediately think pali My sig other is from Ohau and the mosses really like the wood, so pali could be emulated for sure. I might try Fissidens moss foreground, the plecos might rip and shred it up, but you never know till you try. the wood is soft and moss attached...

This tank has gone through a few different changes, but has settled in. I'd originally wanted some finer foreground leaf shapes, but the plecos would have none of that, this plant does not uproot and and allows a nice understory place for the plecos to grub around and the RCS to pick and clean...

Not to suggest non CO2 is a bad idea, but there are certain limitations and more patience is required, here's an example that's a non CO2 low light tank also, but it does not get any water changes, just top offs and the species are more limited: Still, a nice looking tank. Regards, tom Barr

This is incorrect and there's specific aquatic plant research that support that it is incorrect, see Tropica for more there. Low light + CO2 allows the plants to maximize the low light availability, basically being able to use what little light there is more efficiently. This is due to...