Oh I redid the 5 gallon, just boiling the driftwood then I am gonna attach some java fern and one Anubias plant. I will be posting pictures once it is all done.

I found a T5 HO at Petco for like $70, it was by Zoo-Med and it just attaches to the rim of the tank. Nice look also.

Yeah I am gonna just go the Excel route. Pressurized Co2 where it is like the fluval and stays in the cup would be nice, but as you said it is way more expensive.

Well I will look at Home Depot, Lowe's, and aquarium places.

I don't know. When I switched, I just kept the light on like I usually do and the fish/plants seem to be doing all right. But yeah, the bulb I got at my LFS was $12, and he marked it down from $15 'cause I was buying it with the fixture. But when I went to look at Home Depot for a 24", I couldn't find any. :/

What I worry about most with the C02 is that I'll somehow screw it up and make the pH go even screwier than usual. At least with the Excel I know I can't screw it up so easily.

Oh for CO2 do either a paintball setup or just DYI it, so many videos on YouTube about it. Though at night you need to run an airpump to counter the CO2, or make a shut off valve and just have the CO2 go in the air or something.

Yeah thats downside to it, I am gonna look a bit more. I think going to hardware stores will be better because ones for aquariums are more expensive, way more expensive. Maybe when I go to get wood for that canopy I can look and ask the people there. The problem I have is just finding a 24 inch light.

When I switch to T5s I make the light hours super low right, then gradually bring it up to like 10 hours or something? Maybe 8. I need to get a timer for the light...

I can't wait to look at the driftwood today, this family petstore has what I think is Malaysian, and they have a lot.

I still have yet to get through my Omega One container, even with 17 bettas. And I spilled half of it, too.

I know what you mean. I was looking at the Fluval C02 kit, thinking it would be great and it was *almost* affordable but then I realized it would cost me about $50 every 3 months to replace the cartridges. Excel will work just fine, it's what I use.

Only thing I heard about the Aqueon one is that it's not high output. But I believe if you go to any aquarium store, you should be able to get a high output bulb for it. Look for a high wattage bulb with at least 6500 K and you should be set. Count on 2 watts per gallon.

I am thinking of getting the Aqueon T5 light fixture, though I am gonna check Home Depot first since it will be cheaper.

Really? A little tiny thing of Omega One costs about $3 at Petco instead of a give thing that will last for over a year for $8. I think the Omega One would be gone in no time, it is just so small.

I would order online, but I am not sure on if I am using stem plants yet, I may use anacharis and ludwigia, maybe rotala if Petco has more. Most likely for the 16 gallon ball plants will be ordered online. I heard that the Excel actually helps woth algae outbreaks, I just want to use it because it puts carbon into the water so plants will grow better. I can't afford a mini CO2 kit and replace the cartridges all the time.

Bleach. I should try that. I can't get the smell out of my nose and it's making me sick. o.O

I think Omega's more affordable than NLS, actually. The nice thing about NLS is it has a lot of garlic, which is acts as an anti-parasitic.

I think I'm going to order my plants online. But yes, Seachem Flourish Excel is good and it can occasionally help with algae outbreaks. But I hear bright light is best. I got an Odyssea HO T-5 fixture for my 20 gallon. I wouldn't recommend the Odyssea brand for much else but as a light, it seems to be doing well. Hasn't exploded yet, anyway. Only cost $60, instead of $225 like the Coralife one I looked at online.

Yeah, now my hands smell like bleach lol.

I have NLS, I am gonna plan on getting Omega if it is affordable along with some others. I think I am gonna feed a combination of NLS, Hikari, and Aqueon Betta pellets from now on. Just so it mixes things up for them.

Getting plants tomorrow! I think I may look at some drift wood as I want to work with very low maintance plants. I might have some ludwigia, just all depends. If I do get it it will be in the back behind the driftwood so I can chop of down so it grows dense. Gonna have to invest in some Seachem Flourish Excel?