<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by AliceH:
I have set up my first natural tank as a test so to speak. I want to be sure this system will work for my sister who has MS and cannot do weekly water changes. Why is a water change at 6 months preferable to smaller regular water changes?
***I don't do regular water changes for the same reason your sister may not want to. Water changes are tedious. Plus, they waste water. Finally, my fish seem to be happy irrespective of water changes.****
What lighting would you recommend for a 20-gallon tall without direct daylight? My tank is between two south facing windows and gets 1.5 hours of direct sun in the morning and in the late afternoon. It's going gangbusters. Hers won't get this bonus.
***I would encourage her to use windown light. If she gets an algae problem, then she can tape aluminum foil, etc to the back of the tank.
For a 20 gal without window light, she'll need a strip light with two 20 watt bulbs. Most tanks are sold with plastic tank hoods with only one light bulb. Thus, she'll need to specially order glass covers for the tank. I pay for the glass shop to prepare 2-3 rectangular sheets of glass to cover my tanks (the back rectangle has a notch for the heater and filter cords; the front rectangle, onto which I glue on a handle, is long and narrow, so that I can easily lift it to feed the fish). I place the strip lights with two fluorescent bulbs onto the glass strips.
All of this work and expense can be avoided if your sister uses window light. Using window light, a 15 or 20 watt fluorescent bulb will work fine. Paul's suggestion to use a timer is another excellent idea.****
Thank you so much for this book! I was an English major and I can understand what you are saying. My HS biology teacher would never believe I could learn so much!
***I worked very hard to make the scientific information understandable in plain English (communicating effectively is a sorely under-appreciated talent). I was appalled that the wonderful scientific information that I discovered buried in university libraries had never gotten to aquarium hobbyists. Some of the best experimental data I found was from scientific papers published in the 1970s!***
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> | 
Hybrid Mode
