time... I'm going to invest in a CO2 injection system with a pH controller.

Pass on the controller part and just get a monitor.
Save you some $ for stuff you don't need. If it makes you feel better,
I suppose you can go the extra 100$.

1. Using the conventional wisdom of 2-4W/gal. and my desire to keep medium
to bright(er) light plants, how much light do I really need?


120w of NO FL is enough to have some setrious award winning plant
tanks. More is not better and I would challenge the notion of plants
that need any more than 2-3w/gal.

Using the
formulas, I've calculated I need over 200W to keep the bright(er) light
plants in my 55g.

This is not true. I can grow whatever plants you can think of at 120w
in a 55gal.

I'm planning on compact fluorescents and have seen a lot
of the fixtures available with four 55W bulbs. I might even make a fixture
and hood. But another option is to retrofit the two 2-foot strips I
currently have with a single 55W in each. One online supply house some of
you may know boasts 163% lighting efficiency with a kit using compact
fluorescents and a shaped silver reflector. If I go with this plan, I am
already getting a straight 110W from the bulbs (or 2W/gal.). Am I getting
an effective 180W (110W x 1.63) and is this enough? Seems like it would be.

I would not think about it like that.
Compared to a NO FL's, perhaps it's close to this.
You buy an electronic ballast for either 4x 32 watt T-8's, buy a
reflector for them, or an electronic ballast for 3-4x 40w NO FL's T-12
lamps, this is plenty and also gives a nice spread of light.

The PC reflectors are narrow but some have wide flat reflectors that
spread the light better. 220w of light is very high for a 55.

Is the fact that the lights would be shining through the "slits" of the old
hood (only about 4.5" or so wide) too narrow an opening?

You could get 110w through there but not 220w.

Would it be better
to get a glass top and a fixture with legs a few inches or so above the
glass top instead?

Yes.

2. I have a canister filter on the tank loaded with charcoal. Will the
charcoal remove the trace elements and nutrients from the water and
adversely affect the plant growth/health?

If it's more than month old, it's now biomedia and will not remove
much of anything.

It is a 350gph filter with
biowheels. The biowheels oxygenate the water so I keep the filter outlet
below the water line so I don't really agitate the water much. Good, I
understand, to not agitate the water in order to keep the CO2 from escaping
the water too quickly.

So you just remove these.

Also, is it best to put the CO2 reactor right in
line with on the canister filter's outlet line?

You can add the CO2 reactor before or after the canister.
Here's an Easy DIY:
http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/co2reactor.htm

Will enough CO2 stay in the
water if it is coming out of the filter outlet at 350gph a few inches below
the surface of the water?

Should.
Some surface moevement is good.
Just not a lot.


3. I'm worried about my current substrate. When I initially set up the
tank, I bought a lot of the slightly larger size gravel. There is nothing
as to its size or dimensions on the bag but measuring it, I can safely say
most of it between 1/8" (3 mm.) and less than 1/4" (6 mm.) with the majority
being the smaller stuff. I hadn't planned on the plants being potted in the
substrate. Is this gravel too big?

A little.

If so, would I need to remove it? I
wouldn't think this wise with a living, established tank. Anyone ever do
this?

All the time, vacuum the contents(the mulm/detritus) out and add to
new gravel you are adding.
Decant off the water and save the mulm.
Nothing is on the old gravel and the bacteria etc is added back to the
new gravel/tank.

Flourite works good for folks.

4. Finally, I haven't found much on actually introducing the plants to the
aquarium, or an established one anyway. I've read it's best to try and stay
ahead of the algae. Seems like it would then be best to fully plant the
tank all at once as opposed to phasing the plants in if I am going to all of
a sudden inject the environment with a bunch of CO2 and sunlight... no?

Not the sun light part but yes, add a ton of plants right from the
start.

Regards,
Tom Barr


Okay, that's it. Congratulations if you made it through all that. Sorry to
be so long winded...

Arnim