Here are my lighting options for the 75 gal. tank without spending another
dime...

1) leave the current set-up going as is (260 watts of PC)

2) Leave 2 of the four bulbs on for 12 hours (130 watts) and leave the other
two on for a shorter amount of time (130 watts at let's say 4-6 hours a
day). The two halves are on independent switches, so this would be easy.

3) Use 1 switch of my current PC (130 watts) plus add my NO 40 watt light
for a total of 170 watts.

What would everyone recommend. I would very much appreciate a few
suggestions/ideas, as I would like to have a good looking/growing tank!

Thanks again everyone!

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Online

Greg G. wrote in message
...
Craig Brye said:

I have a 75 gal. tank, as many of you might already know due to previous
posts. My plants are starting to grow slightly better. It's been about 9
days since the tank was started, and this will be the fifth day of
fertilization.

One thing I'm starting to notice is some of the plants are starting to
grow more horizontally than vertically in the water. Plants like H.
Micronthem. and Hygro. Polysperma are showing some serious horizontal
growth. A few of the other plants are also showing some minor sideways
growth like my Diandra. The B. Carolina, Swords, Lotus, L. Sessiliflora,
Cabomba, and a few others are displaying "normal" growth.

I have 260 watts of PC lighting suspended above the tank in one fixture
(two separate switches each control two sets of lights). The lights are
currently 21" above the substrate and about 3-4" above the water line. If I
removed the suspending device they would be at about 18" above the substrate
and about 1/2" above the water line.

Do I generally have too much light? Could I do something where I have
130 watts on for 12 hours, and the other 130 watts on during the middle of
the daily cycle for a shorter amount of time?

Thanks,

Flatted growth is *generally* a sign of too much light.
Like African violets, too little light results in the plants leaves
"reaching" for the light, but too much and they flatten out to the
point they wrap under the pot.

My God, 260 watts of PC lighting? I only have 192 watts of evenly
distributed T-8 on my 75G, and it's too much for some plants. I had
128 watts and most everything but certain elocharis grew like weeds.
Added 64 more watts, and my anubias bleached light green and my
beautiful crypts all melted... Oh, well...
Oh, yea - The algae loved the additional light!

I have a lovely red sword that grew from 1 leaf to a huge centerpiece
in 6 months under 128 watts of T-8.


Greg G.