Starting my first planted FW

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Re the two pumps to equalize, I agree with your assesment that is too difficult. One float switch breaks and its no longer redundant but rather the cause for water on the floor. And much the same as I would type to someone considering a sump, at that point the effort is better made considering some overflow or drilling or finding some mechanical saftey less likely to break. I think your last ideas are good and you don't need this newest idea. Just 2 cents of course.

Great diagrams by the way and very easy to follow.
 
Well I wasn't really considering it as 2 pumps to equalize but maybe I am getting hung up on semantics here. My thoughts were more along the lines of double insurance. think of it as 3 phases of failure.

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I would envision this as generally remaining in state 1 and in case of failure usually not exceeding state 2 but in case it should reach the lip activating state 3. If the switch should break then power should be cut to both pumps because the circuit would be open if the switch failed.

So is the worry that the float may get stuck and keep the switch closed even if the level drops?

 
jcarlilesiu- Thanks for your .02 on the Aquarium. I really like the "idea" of the depth and am very glad to hear of your experiences with this tank. I only have an idea, so it is good to take into account the experience of someone who has actually been there. I don't have the room for a traditional 55 gal long and wanted to maximize my gal/sq.ft. footprint for the space I did have. I am planning on building a custom stand for this tank that will keep the top at a height of 50". I experimented in the store with their tank and could reach to the back edge of the tank even with theirs at a 56"height.

The pics of your tank are quite lovely. What have you found to work well lighting your tank? I am not planning on using CO2, did you ever try planting this type of tank without it?

Originally, my light fixture was a Current-USA (2) 65Watt compact flourescent fixture running a dual 10,000K/6,500K and some other dual bulb. Can't remember the temperatures. I found this light to be adequate, but I couldn't produce any high light ground cover or keep any other high light plants. I recently upgraded to a metal halide T5 combo fixture with over 300 Watts of power.

I didn't run CO2 at first and the plants didn't do well at all. They grew, but so slowly that the leaves got algea covered before they could get large. The plants looked straggly and bad. Once I added the pressurized CO2, the plants took off, and I never looked back.
 
I hear what you are saying. To get the kind of results you experienced, I need to reconsider using CO2 and be thinking metal halide on the lighting. I have heard of people getting good results with "Flourish" ferts in place of CO2, does anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
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