[Aquakilla24]

Hi there everyone! hmm, where shall i begin? I'm a college student looking to get my feet wet in the "planted" aquarium hobby. I'm trying to just keep things simple so i have a chance to actually "learn" about keeping plants as opposed to just attempting to, but i guess at 4.8 watts per gallon i'm going "high-tech". This will be my first planted tank, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
The following is just a list of equipment, etc..
perfecto 10 gallon (obviously.."thread title" )
Aquaclear 20 HOB filter
24" Nova Extreme 48 watt T5HO (1x 24watt 10k, 1x 24watt 6700k "plant light")
20lbs Ecocomplete substrate

As for fish and plants, i'm just trying to research what best suits my tank. I've always been for creating "realistic" ecosystems as opposed to just a "mix" of fish and plant species that arent from the same geographical area. I want an "amazonia" style system, so if anyone knows of plant species that like "intense" lighting, and are hardy, im all ears-Aquakilla24

 

[Aquakilla24]

Hey there everyone! just thought i'd post an update. The tank has been up and running for about a week now. I did test for ammonia and i didnt really have much of a spike. The tank was clear upon initial setup, got cloudy for a few days, then cleared right back up . I put in a few plants and 3 glo-light tetras in about two days ago, and everyone seem to be doing well ( and yes, i know that cycling with fish is a big no-no.. but I did add eco-complete, and made sure the ammonia spike was over). Here are a few pics

 

[Aquakilla24]

Im having trouble uploading pictures. Theyre too large. What does everyone here use to resize images?

 

[Aquakilla24]

heres the first pic