Brand new 29 from Walmart

[nudnk]

Well here it is, I just picked it up this morning from Walmart. I'm aware there are better deals to be had than this, tank & stand were $180.00 so it wasn't terrible.
I purchased the deluxe tank which included an Aqua-tech 20-40 filter, heater and lamp housing/ tank cover with a 17 w bulb in it. I'm going to try for a planted tank with a pair of Angels and maybe a few smaller schooling fish. But that is a couple of weeks away when the cycling is done.
The filter will do for now, but I'll be upgrading the bulb to a higher wattage in the next couple of days and buying a decent test kit before I put in the substrate and the first few plants to get it going.
I've read pretty extensively on these forums about all of the things that I need to do. With planted tanks I believe I had read that an air stone isn't required and could as a matter of fact be detrimental to the plants, is this the case? Also, I would like a sort of tiered effect, with smaller or lower plants in the foreground and larger towards the back. If someone could please provide recommendations for 3 or so hard to kill plants from low to tall I would appreciate it.

 

[Ulan]

I would plant the tank immediately. That makes cycling much easier and faster. In any case, you will need more light, though.

Putting a higher wattage bulb into the light strip won't do it, because the ballast will limit the output to what you have at the moment.

And yes, the airstone will remove the CO2 from your water, which you won't want.

 

[OldMan1947]

I am also new to plants. I have managed to kill a few. The idea would be to get enough wattage for at least low light plants like a java fern to survive. What I have been reading is that an air stone or a filter that disturbs the surface a lot will allow the CO2 people are adding to escape the surface of the water. For people using the higher cost approach that includes added CO2, it amounts to wasting money on CO2 because they turn right around and drive it out with the air stone. Any fish in the equation end up in a balancing act with the plants. Better air exchange means more and larger fish can be supported but also reduces the available CO2 for plants. Not sure what to do next because I am faced with the delima myself and I always default to healthier fish. Like I said, I have killed a few plants. Right now a java fern is surviving and thriving in a tank with a good surface air exchange caused by my filter but no other plants in the tank made it.

 

[Forevernight]

I love brand new tank kits! About 2 months ago i picked up an All-Glass 10g kit for 30 bucks! I wasnt even there to buy a tank, I was looking at fish for my 55 g. I ended up putting in a Betta in the 10g. Post pics of your new tank when its finished!

 

[Swayde]

I've got a 20w bulb in my 29g All-Glass kit aquarium. I've been able to keep amazon swords, java ferns, java moss, some kinda grass and hornwort alive for the past 6-8 months. I did lose water sprite and a banana plant though. The growth rate is very slow, and I am sure the plants could probably be fuller, but they don't die at all and they do grow and they help keep the water quality good =)

 

[nudnk]

I've visited a couple of the aquarium plant links found throughout the forum and I've decided to go with low light plants at the moment, because I don't want to replace the ballast.
This site has been very helpful:http://www.plantgeek.net/

2 Quick questions though - as Ulan noted above changing the wattage of the bulb won't work because apparently the ballast limits it, would that apply even going from a 17w to a 20w? Seems like a small increase and the documentation doesn't mention any limitations.
Also, which would be the best substrate to use for a low light planted tank? I've read about Eco-Complete and I'm leaning towards that. I have read however there are compacting issues with it. Any suggestions?

 

[Swayde]

I've visited a couple of the aquarium plant links found throughout the forum and I've decided to go with low light plants at the moment, because I don't want to replace the ballast.
This site has been very helpful:http://www.plantgeek.net/

2 Quick questions though - as Ulan noted above changing the wattage of the bulb won't work because apparently the ballast limits it, would that apply even going from a 17w to a 20w? Seems like a small increase and the documentation doesn't mention any limitations.
Also, which would be the best substrate to use for a low light planted tank? I've read about Eco-Complete and I'm leaning towards that. I have read however there are compacting issues with it. Any suggestions?

My ballast actually says it can support up to 20w even though the initial bulb it came with was 17w.

 

[Star_Rider]

it is actually more difficult to find higher wattage bulbs that fit in the fixture.
in any case you will below 1 wpg and you will be only able to support slow growing plants.

it is true if you add CO2 you can offgas it with airstone etc..but this is only in tanks with added CO2.

if you are not adding CO2 with a pressurized system ,you won't offgas anymore co2 than you would be adding.


adding plants will help uptake of nutrients such as ammonia etc.
but the plants need to get established.

it will take several weeks to get the cycle established in the tank..you can use this time to establish the plants.

 

[FishRfine]

cool! however, on your life, do not purchase your fish at walmart. they will be sick, they wont tell you how to care for them, and most likely doomed before you even get them home.

 

[dwag88]

there is a walmart near my house that actually has very nice fish. extremely clean bare bottomed tanks. they even tell everyone to do weekly water changes. they had peacock eels there the other day . . .