if you are concerned with light being too bright why not put less than 350W
over your tank and forget the plant cover, you'll save on your power bill
tremendously

wrote in message
om...
hi
I want to create a very natural tank for my 12" Serrasalmus rhombeus
and over 100 tropical south american fish.

what I have to work with is:
180 gallon glass aquarium
14' 25w heater cable.
300w heater.
100 pounds of quartz.
3-5 gallon buckets of flourite.
2 metal halide pendants. 2-175w 15k.

the tank will be open top. with a few inch layer of water sprite
across the surface to help cut down on the brightness.

my question is...what would be the best plants to use? I know I would
like some plants that grow out of the tank that will flower and would
also like to grow some bamboo.
I am just unsure of what would work best. the piranha is fairly active
but is great at negotiating his/her surroundings.

and lastly is there anything else I should have included in the setup?

thanks!
bob