Actually I tend to disagree with the no bio-wheel theory. I have emporer bio-wheels on all of my tanks, and they are all heavily planted, even the 10 gallon that I have dwarf puffers in. One thing to remember is that what works in one tank will not always thrive in another tank.

You also have to remember that during the day, or when you lights are on then yes your plants will be producing O2 and using CO2. Live plants also help with keeping your nitRATEs down. Anyway, when you turn of your lights and your fishies go to sleep those same plants USE O2 and produce CO2. The way that I remedy this is by putting my lights and an airpump with a bubble wand on a timer. When the lights go off the bubble wand comes on.

The use of CO2 systems is not always neccisary, and I personally have never used one. I fertilize by the directions on the package once a week with liquid fertilizer and also place fertilizer tabs by the roots of my heavily rooted plants like my swords, litea etc. There is also a product made by Jungle laboratories that I put in on occasion, it is suppose to add CO2 to the water when it disolves, but I mainly use it for the trace elements that It contains.

The statement about the lighting is correct also, to some degree. There are low light plants out there that would do very well in the light that you already have. Lighting can get pretty expensive, both in the original purchase and the upkeep on them. I would recommend replacing your bulbs once a year because over time they lose some of their power. On my tanks I run 2-3 watts per gallon and have never had a problem.

Also one last thing. If you are using fertilizers make sure that you follow the directions and work from there. If you give too much then you might have a wonderful little algea bloom. It takes some experimenting to get things going and looking good, but in the long run you will be happy with it. Just remember to keep those dead leaves clipped off or you could have a mini-cycle from the decaying plant leaves.

Not only will you have a beautiful tank that looks much better than fake plants, but your fishies will love you too.