Alan Silver wrote in news:3DHGlmGJz
:

In message , magus kent
writes
I run a 70 gal with four 55watt compact fluors on it. Two on each side
of the tank as it where. Two switches, so I can start with one lamp on
each side, then as the day progresses I turn on the other two lamps.
Three kinds of swords, three types of crypts, val, sag,hygro, java
fern, water sprite and not sure of what else right now. No CO2, but at
least once a week I have to trim plants down/out enough to fill a good
sized salad bowl!.m

Care to share more details ? Without CO2, how do you get good growth
without an algae explosion ? That's some high lighting there.

Please fill in the other details. Anything you can think of. Ta. Any
pics available ?

Nothing fancy..just a lot of plants using up the available nutrients.
With a limited supply of nutrients available, the higher plants get as
much as they can use, and the algae gets whats left. Tank has a
collection of smaller fish such as tetras and corydoras. Only two larger
fish are two doradid cats that have been in there probably for twelve
years. Fed once a day (and not much then) flakefood and shrimp pellets
for the doradids. Weekly twenty percent water change. Fluval 303
cannister filter gets cleaned about once a month. The sag and val go to
the surface and then curl around which ends up blocking a fair amount of
the light too. Also use a dose of Flora Pride twice a month, laterite in
the gravel, chunk-form, primarily near the swords. I haven't checked
PH/nitrates/nitrites/ammonia/whatever in five years. I used to use a
shoplight with two Triton lamps but that was expensive after awhile. I
need to have my LFS order me a couple of Otocinclus to get what little
algae there is. Two bulbs on from about nine AM to one PM, then all four
bulbs on till about eleven PM. The 'secret' is to start a tank with a
lot of plants, adding nutrients until the fish add enough themselves,
adjusting light duration until everything gets going. Works for me, and
has been that way since I started the hobby in the sixties. Back then it
was hard to get enough wattage on a tank but with the power compacts its
a piece of cake!...m