Man I so envy these Radion lights. But well above my budget.
Good luck with the scape. I have some ceratophyllum to send you if you need (but I'm based in Athens, Greece mind you). I think the combination of more plants with the hardware you have will make for a great aquascape with beautiful, lush plants.
Costa - that's a very kind gesture thankyou.
Many thanks for the kind comments.
Now i've managed to sort the CO2 diffuser out (was blocked) and the drop checker is a nice lime green, my thoughts are turning to two aspects I need to tackle
1) Hardscape -
a) Do I go for 1 substantial piece of wood in the centre of off to the left such as cypress knee / malaysian driftwood / redmoor?
b) If so do I keep it central this time to improve flow?
c) Do I go for 3 / 4 smaller pieces of malaysian driftwood attached to the back of the tank via suckers to create a dramatic effect?
2) Water / CO2 flow and distribution
This IMO is a very under appreciated aspect of the success of a planted tank. I currently have an Eheim 350 which has a peak output of 1050 LPH, with head height loss I suspect this is more like 900 LPH which is bang on 10 times tank volume. The spraybar for this is on the left hand wall, sat about 2 cm under the water level, with the intake on the right hand side. However I feel more flow will help. I was thinking of a cheap ebay chinese powerhead situated halfway down the tank to improve flow at the bottom?
Also, due to the impending addition of a new family member - a Burmese kitten, i've had to 'kitten proof' the tank by covering the top, I know this will reduce gas exchange but unfortunately I have no choice. The plus side is I now have no surface protein film to remove on a daily basis.