I was hoping to get some advice and opinions on these 2 subjects. I
am setting up a 60g tank which will house various anubias, vals,
crypts, and swords. I have been keeping these types of plants for
years in smaller tanks with ok results. I would like to step up and
try a CO2 system, better lighting, and better substrate. I was
recommended Fluorite as a substrate by several people and my LFS. Is
this really necessary or is regular gravel ok to use. I am trying to
decide on using a pressurized CO2 system versus the carbo plus unit.
I am leaning towards the pressurized system and would like some
recommendations on which one(s) would work best. Also, what type of
lighting would be recommended for these types of plants. I have
always used vitalites on my tanks with minimal results. These were
recommended by my LFS.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

OK, I'm going to give you my advice, which is based on being as cheap as
possible (I have had very good success with this route). I don't know much
about pressurized CO2, and what system you should get, but I have only heard
bad things about carbo-plus: it is expensive to replenish the carbon block,
and may not produce enough CO2 for tanks like your or bigger. Again, though,
no experience here. For a substrate in a 55 gallon, I used profile clay soil
conditioner (find it at home depot) and laterite. It would cost about $20 to
$30 US to do your 60gal with 4" of substrate. I've had tremendous success
with it, but I can't compare it to flourite which I've never used. As for
lighting, your tank is the perfect size for 2 inexpensive shop light fixtures
with 2 four foot tubes each. Good luck!

In article ,
(dpots) wrote:
I was hoping to get some advice and opinions on these 2 subjects. I
am setting up a 60g tank which will house various anubias, vals,
crypts, and swords. I have been keeping these types of plants for
years in smaller tanks with ok results. I would like to step up and
try a CO2 system, better lighting, and better substrate. I was
recommended Fluorite as a substrate by several people and my LFS. Is
this really necessary or is regular gravel ok to use. I am trying to
decide on using a pressurized CO2 system versus the carbo plus unit.
I am leaning towards the pressurized system and would like some
recommendations on which one(s) would work best. Also, what type of
lighting would be recommended for these types of plants. I have
always used vitalites on my tanks with minimal results. These were
recommended by my LFS.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

__
"Insert witty comment here."
-John

Thanks for the advice. I will look at my local home depot for the
profile clay soil conditioner and the light strips. Let you know
later how they worked.

dpots



(redled) wrote in message a...
OK, I'm going to give you my advice, which is based on being as cheap as
possible (I have had very good success with this route). I don't know much
about pressurized CO2, and what system you should get, but I have only heard
bad things about carbo-plus: it is expensive to replenish the carbon block,
and may not produce enough CO2 for tanks like your or bigger. Again, though,
no experience here. For a substrate in a 55 gallon, I used profile clay soil
conditioner (find it at home depot) and laterite. It would cost about $20 to
$30 US to do your 60gal with 4" of substrate. I've had tremendous success
with it, but I can't compare it to flourite which I've never used. As for
lighting, your tank is the perfect size for 2 inexpensive shop light fixtures
with 2 four foot tubes each. Good luck!

In article ,
(dpots) wrote:
I was hoping to get some advice and opinions on these 2 subjects. I
am setting up a 60g tank which will house various anubias, vals,
crypts, and swords. I have been keeping these types of plants for
years in smaller tanks with ok results. I would like to step up and
try a CO2 system, better lighting, and better substrate. I was
recommended Fluorite as a substrate by several people and my LFS. Is
this really necessary or is regular gravel ok to use. I am trying to
decide on using a pressurized CO2 system versus the carbo plus unit.
I am leaning towards the pressurized system and would like some
recommendations on which one(s) would work best. Also, what type of
lighting would be recommended for these types of plants. I have
always used vitalites on my tanks with minimal results. These were
recommended by my LFS.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

__
"Insert witty comment here."
-John

Just a tip: I couldn't find good fixtures at home depot, as they were all too
wide and I would only be able to fit 2 tubes over my tank. But, at walmart, I
found 2 tube fixtures for like $10 each that are only 6" wide.

In article ,
(dpots) wrote:
Thanks for the advice. I will look at my local home depot for the
profile clay soil conditioner and the light strips. Let you know
later how they worked.

dpots



(redled) wrote in message
a...
OK, I'm going to give you my advice, which is based on being as cheap as
possible (I have had very good success with this route). I don't know much
about pressurized CO2, and what system you should get, but I have only heard
bad things about carbo-plus: it is expensive to replenish the carbon block,
and may not produce enough CO2 for tanks like your or bigger. Again, though,

no experience here. For a substrate in a 55 gallon, I used profile clay soil

conditioner (find it at home depot) and laterite. It would cost about $20 to

$30 US to do your 60gal with 4" of substrate. I've had tremendous success
with it, but I can't compare it to flourite which I've never used. As for
lighting, your tank is the perfect size for 2 inexpensive shop light fixtures

with 2 four foot tubes each. Good luck!

In article ,
(dpots) wrote:
I was hoping to get some advice and opinions on these 2 subjects. I
am setting up a 60g tank which will house various anubias, vals,
crypts, and swords. I have been keeping these types of plants for
years in smaller tanks with ok results. I would like to step up and
try a CO2 system, better lighting, and better substrate. I was
recommended Fluorite as a substrate by several people and my LFS. Is
this really necessary or is regular gravel ok to use. I am trying to
decide on using a pressurized CO2 system versus the carbo plus unit.
I am leaning towards the pressurized system and would like some
recommendations on which one(s) would work best. Also, what type of
lighting would be recommended for these types of plants. I have
always used vitalites on my tanks with minimal results. These were
recommended by my LFS.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

__
"Insert witty comment here."
-John

__
"Insert witty comment here."
-John

Pressurized systems are the easies and will last the longest .
Depending on the size of tank will determine the size of co2 canister
you need. I can run a co2 canister 2.5 lbs four usually over 8 months
and the refil is only 12-15 bucks. If you can get a larger canister
under your tank do it that way cause it is only a few bucks more to
fill my 20 lbs tanks and they last years. I am currently having a
sale on a co2 gauge with solenoid AND reactor for $129.00 I doubt
you will find a better offer for both anywhere

Marcus
HTTP://www.Aquatic-store.com

On Thu, 02 Jan 2003 22:12:22 GMT, (redled) wrote:

OK, I'm going to give you my advice, which is based on being as cheap as
possible (I have had very good success with this route). I don't know much
about pressurized CO2, and what system you should get, but I have only heard
bad things about carbo-plus: it is expensive to replenish the carbon block,
and may not produce enough CO2 for tanks like your or bigger. Again, though,
no experience here. For a substrate in a 55 gallon, I used profile clay soil
conditioner (find it at home depot) and laterite. It would cost about $20 to
$30 US to do your 60gal with 4" of substrate. I've had tremendous success
with it, but I can't compare it to flourite which I've never used. As for
lighting, your tank is the perfect size for 2 inexpensive shop light fixtures
with 2 four foot tubes each. Good luck!

In article ,
(dpots) wrote:
I was hoping to get some advice and opinions on these 2 subjects. I
am setting up a 60g tank which will house various anubias, vals,
crypts, and swords. I have been keeping these types of plants for
years in smaller tanks with ok results. I would like to step up and
try a CO2 system, better lighting, and better substrate. I was
recommended Fluorite as a substrate by several people and my LFS. Is
this really necessary or is regular gravel ok to use. I am trying to
decide on using a pressurized CO2 system versus the carbo plus unit.
I am leaning towards the pressurized system and would like some
recommendations on which one(s) would work best. Also, what type of
lighting would be recommended for these types of plants. I have
always used vitalites on my tanks with minimal results. These were
recommended by my LFS.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

__
"Insert witty comment here."
-John