I agree John, we all have to do the "high tech, high light" tank at some point in this hobby. I did and found that the plant growth was too fast. The optimum viewing of the tank was a small window. Then a major trim and it looked so ugly. Waiting it out to only have a week of "what you want my tank to look like all the time". I have discovered that a lot of "high light plants" grow well in medium light. Of course I say this with the fact that I use shallow tanks for aquascaping. This is the key for low and medium light tanks. 40 gallon breeders, 20 longs and even a panoramic 60 long are great planted tanks. You just don't need as much light as you think. I also have learned that this technique can slow down plant growth without any adverse affect on the plant. Less ferts are needed as well, not to mention trimming less. I have also notices that these tank seem to "balance" nutrient wise, much faster and easier the high light tanks. Sometimes we can make thing really hard on ourselves by thinking "Bigger, brighter the better". Like you said "slow and steady wins the race"
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