Quote Originally Posted by redwoodtrees
I have a 40 gallon aquarium with a large back pack filter, underwater heater, 20 white cloud minnows, and an airstone. I also have a 36 inch light fixture with four T5 HO Floursecent tubes; two of the tubes are 10,000k daylight, and the other two are actinic (blue). All four tubes are rated at 39 Watts...

Would I be successfull growing a small plant if I were to remove the filter media from the back pack filter of my aquarium , lower the water level 4-5 inches, cover the outer walls with tinfoil, and place a floating foam 'medium' on the water with a hole cut out for a small plastic aerated container containing a small clone...?

My thought was that as the plant grows I siphone more and more water out of the aquarium slowly lowering it from the light. So far I have not thought of why this would not work... I would change the 2 actinic lights to 2 T5 HO 65000K flourescent tubes to get a red spectrum. I am worried that because an aquarium is sealed by glass walls that the plants will not get enough "fresh air", is this a problem? I would very much appreciate any flaws you see with this idea, or suggestions that you think may help me with this experiment. Thanks for reading my post.

Sounds like unhappy fish, and unhappy plants.
Now, using the fish waste as part of an organic feeding schedule with soil based plants.... Now we are talking.