betta blue

I need so much help! Afraid you're going to be hearing from me alot til I can have a successful planted aquarium. It's time I started to concentrate on my plants. Just started aquariums a year and half ago...always had a plant or two in my 2-5gal. and 2-10gal tanks. They're surviving but not doing wonderfully. Now I have a 90 gal. tank and my plants aren't doing well at all. I've gone through Ich in that tank and treated it with salt and higher temperatures. Was happy to see that my plants just barely survived...but have gotten rid of the salt and am now at 80 degrees in that tank. I've bought a number of plants since and the longer they are in the tank, the less healthy they look. If I learn how to keep my plants healthy in the 90 gal., I think I can learn stuff for the small tanks.

I first believe that I don't have enough light for the 90 gal. I have one 40 watt (max. for a fluourescent tube) but I only have one tube allowed for my hood? I don't know how to increase the tubes in my current hood. Do I need to buy another hood? Is there a way I can change my current one or do I need an electrician to do it? Stupid question I know...but honestly, I don't know the answer.

I am totally afraid of CO2 injection...I have trouble with the filter cannister to change the elements in it. So you know, I'm a klutz...if I can screw up, I will find the way even though I have the best intentions.

So now you know how inept I am....My 90 gal has a java plant that I attached intentionally to bog wood and 2 grass type plants that attached to the bog wood on their own. I have three amazon swords that are dying. I have about 6 Val that are dying. I bought 3 beautiful plants that I finally got some latin names...hygrophila corymbosa siamensis; hygrophilia polysperma rosanervig; echinosorus osiris. They are beautiful plants in plastic pots...finally found a LFS with healthy plants that can tell me their latin names. I want to add to my substrate to properly plant the last three plants. Looking at finding an LFS that carries fluorite or latrite(sp). Currently, I have small rocks 1 cm in diameter for about one inch in depth with larger rocks for the surfance to keep the plants anchored. I'm only seeing just some small rocks at most of the LFS I've visited. Cause I have a common Plec and Clown Loaches plus mollies and platys, I would like to increase the back side of the aquarium with substrate to keep the plants on a quasi terrace but leave the front lower as it is to allow swimming. I use Nutrafin plant fertilizer sticks (16-9-12) with only four of the plants in the aquarium. How many of those sticks can I put into the aquarium without effecting the fish or should I change fertilizer methods. Can I overload a fish tank with fertilizer sticks for each plant? I've been told our tap water is on the hard side but with two large pieces of bog wood and one small one, my water seems to be soft. I'm only using test strips that I've read are not that dependable but I've used them now for the past 6 months and other than the PH lowering, they are consistent:

NO3 - between 0 and 20 (color in between both)
NO2 - between 0 and .5
PH - between 6.5 and 7
KH - between120 and 180
GH - definate 180

Currently, I do 10% water change weekly. I have one 9in. plec, one 6 in. twig catfish, 4 clown loaches...two weeks ago, have added 4 platy's and last week, 5 mollies. Please advise about substrate, fertilizers, what I have to do to increase wattage and yes, water changes.

Sorry to go on so much...but so many questions...and it's time I got my plants to grow!

Thanks,
Shar