I've not had a 29 gallon in a very long time, and I was just starting out when I had a tank that small, so I am pretty sure I made a few mistakes....
My 29 gallon had a Whisper filter (one of the really old ones... not sure the model or anything...) supplemented with a UGF. I had a very lightly stocked tank, mostly swords and platies, and fake plants. I didn't have it for long before I upgraded to a 72 gallon custom...
My current setups are probably overkill for what I really have right now. I've got a 55 gallon, soon to be single-specimen tank (I'm having a hard time getting the fish I want in the store because they have to import it from Africa. Not much coming this way right now because of the war...), with a Emperor 380 and a UGF, and will soon have a Fluval 404 or the equivalent (at which point I plan on removing the UGF and planting the tank.).
I also have a 10-gallon guppy tank with another, no-name HOB filter and a sponge in the corner. Breeder fish for the monster that's going in the 55...
Finally, I have a 2-gallon betta tank with a UGF and another sponge.
As far as maintainence, I just shut all the air pumps down and vacuum as normal on everything but the 10 gallon (sand substrate, I can just skim the surface...)
