Thanks for the advice I will read through that series as soon as possible, the more help I can get the better.

as for lighting, right now Alaska is going through the bright part of the season and it is remaining sunny for most of the day from around 4am to midnight, so my system is currently sitting in the window sill.

I am currently cycling my system and have no plants in the system yet, although I am up for ideas on plants to grow. My wife and I have been doing research but haven't made any real decisions yet.