hello all,

I have a 46-gallon bow front freshwater aquarium and have a few questions about lighting and replacing water using a tap water filter.



Fist, I seem to have a problem growing certain plants, especially ones in the foreground. I have a coralife 192-watt compact fluorescent light, 6700k. Which should be sufficient for any high light plant, right? I purchased the stands for the light housing but I'm not sure it would help to offset the light 2" off the top or not? The tank is bowed, so maybe that is why I have a problem growing plants in the foreground. I have two one-gallon glass jugs for DIY Co2 as well, with the tubing routing through the intake of my canister filter. One of the plants I am talking about is; Micro sword-lilaeopsis (looks like grass) I have standard gravel and some laterite mixed in as well. The grass just seems to grow algae and die off. My water parameters are, PH 6.5, ammonia is good, nitrite is good, and water hardness is low.



Second, the way I filter my water is with a "tap water filter" by aquarium pharmaceuticals. I was wondering if there was a cheaper alternative to filter tap water other than purchasing a replacement filter every month. I have been looking at the RO filters, like the deluxe maxxima 35 HI-S by Kent Marine. Would something like that save money later on down the road? Or should I keep on buying the tap water filter replacements? My tap water out of the faucet is very hard and high in PH.



Any help is appreciated!!!



Thanks,

James


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JAMES BISHOP