Petco 29 Gallon Aquarium Deluxe Kit $69.99 Regular price is $189.99
Petco currently has Aqueon 29 Gallon Deluxe kit for sale.
Comes with Glass Aquarium with Black Trim, QuietFlow™ Power Filter, Filter Cartridge, Deluxe Fluorescent Hood, Fluorescent Bulb, Submersible Heater, Aquarium Set-up, Care Guide, Water Conditioner, Digital Thermometer, Premium Fish Food and a Fish Net
Deal may be regional. To check
1.) Go to
http://www.petco.com/
2.) On bottom of page and click "View Your Local Ad"
3.) Type Zip code and pick location
4.) Deal is shown on page 6
5.) Also should be displayed in store. Can confirm it is here in Honolulu, Hawaii
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2. Yes, if you get a cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) infestation, and/or don't change water enough, have it overstocked with fish, don't clean the filter, and overfeed.
3. Regular waterchanges with dechlorinated water of like temperature. Sometimes you might have to clean the substrate, you use a gravel vac that goes into a bucket for that. You will clean/change the cartridges if you buy the (not so good) filter that comes with it.
See my earlier post about the questionable value of this deal...
2. It shouldn't stink as long as you clean it regularly and replace the filter pads as suggested with the instructions.
3. Beyond feeding them, you would need to do partial water changes. This involves purchasing something called a gravel vacuum that siphons water from the tank and into a bucket. You do this to remove detritus from the bottom of the tank. The frequency of cleanings depends on the amount of fish and how often you feed them. You would also want an algae pad to remove algae from the glass and some test kits to check your water parameters to ensure its safe for your fish.
Live plants help a little with jump starting just like adding gravel from an established tank but you still have to wait for the process to complete before adding fish. Live plants are mainly useful for utilizing the final product of the nitrogen cycle- nitrate
Trim the plants too heavily, don't have enough CO2 or nutrients in the water, and the plants will not be able to help enough to prevent harm.
But it is possible and some people never cycle their tanks by having a large amount of plants and ample equipment/education to make it work.
For those that don't want to take the chance here's an article I wrote a couple years ago to help those that want to fishless cycle:
http://www.aquariumadv
As for the deal, it's meh to me. As mentioned the quality of the components are a bit suspect (low quality heaters are DANGEROUS), and the normal price is ludicrous. You'd be better off waiting until they have the good prices on bare tanks (I think they occasionally do the $1 for a gallon at PetSmart), and purchase the rest from reputable vendors. 29gallons is also the starting point to where I recommend canister filters over powerheads. You can definitely still do a powerhead (or 2), but canister filters start to come into there own at 29+). If you like the natural look pool filter sand (PFS) available at pool supply or Lowe's/HD is cheap and fantastic as long as you are willing to spend some time washing it. My home tank uses PFS and it looks great, the fish/snails love to dig through it, and it holds live plants nicely compared to gravel. My tank at work is bare-bottom to aid in easy cleanup since I'm not there on the weekends and can't take hours out of my work day to tend to it.
So basically it's an OK price for an almost complete setup but you could do better for about the same price if you are willing to piecemeal it together. One other thing is to check Craig's list. People are constantly getting rid of tanks/equipment for free or very cheap. You could score a whole setup for half this price.
HTH
At the very least, get it home, get it set up, and get the temperature stable. Could it be done? Of course, but if you're new, you're not going to know the rules enough to know how to break them
Get a proper stand for it. This is more important that you think. I see a lot of stress cracks and seam leaks because of stands that do not support the tank evenly. With water, this thing will be between 200-300lbs. Nothing is worse than a tank all over the ground.
I saw someone mention that you should not use this for saltwater unless you already have a successful saltwater. I agree 100%. This is not an easy starter tank size for saltwater. Larger is easier and more stable! Plus all of the additional things you'd need to buy would cost far more than this combo pack... not even getting into fish, live rock, lighting for coral (if desired) and coral, etc. Again, it can be done, absolutely, but you're far more likely to fail and get turned off by it. Go look at how many aquariums are on CL right now.
I would do community fish in this one, period. Easy, pretty, lots of movement on all levels, etc. Goldfish and cichlids are probably too big anyway, but even if you wanted to, you'd have a boring tank with just a few fat fish that don't do much.
Biggest advice I can give you to go as big as you can. PH fluctuations are less with a greater volume of water, and your margin or error with water changes is a lot better than a 10G. 30 gallon isnt bad, but I would get something like African cichlids and maybe put 5-8 in there depending on fish size and hiding space. Thats a decent setup to not lose fish. You regular community fish arent hardy, and will die A LOT. There is too little room for mistakes with community fish IMO (like if you have to go on vacation etc).
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There's TONS of information and lots of people willing to help out. Plus lots and lots of pictures for ideas.
testing the water regularly and aquarium salt (yes even for fresh water you need a bit)
2. It shouldn't stink as long as you clean it regularly and replace the filter pads as suggested with the instructions.
3. Beyond feeding them, you would need to do partial water changes. This involves purchasing something called a gravel vacuum that siphons water from the tank and into a bucket. You do this to remove detritus from the bottom of the tank. The frequency of cleanings depends on the amount of fish and how often you feed them. You would also want an algae pad to remove algae from the glass and some test kits to check your water parameters to ensure its safe for your fish.
Uh oh, here comes the bad/dangerous information.
1. You do need to use a dechlorinator (I recommend Prime because it's cheap and lasts forever). Many municipalities now use chloramine because it is more stable in the water (ie it doesn't evaporate). You can let this sit out all you want and it will still do harm to your fish. To make matters worse when it reacts with something the -amine is essentially ammonia which will further hurt your fish.
2. You do not need aquarium salt in a freshwater fish tank. There are fish that prefer salt (mollies, SOME puffers, etc.) but these are mild or moderate brackish fish. Putting salt into a guppy tank is NOT needed, and potentially harmful.
3. You should never replace filter pads unless they fall completely apart. The biological filter is what keeps your fish safe and that doesn't "run out" after a month or two. The filter companies only get paid if you continue to buy their inserts. Ignore that and RINSE the filters in USED TANK WATER to remove the gunk that inhibits the water flow, and then reinstall. Viola, a new filter. I've replaced a filter pad ONCE in 7 years, because it literally melted in my hand after cleaning it so many times.
4. Water changes are mandatory (this is just to reiterate, not in argument to the quoted comments). 10-50% once a week, depending on how stocked/fed/etc. When you do a water change you need to use the SAME TEMPERATURE water as in your tank. You also ideally need to add in dechlorinator PRIOR to adding the water to the tank (this is only applicable for smaller tanks where you fill with buckets). If you cannot do this or you have a huge tank that fills from a water line you need to dose the tank with enough dechlorinator for the TOTAL VOLUME OF THE TANK (very important). I do 50% changes once a week. Doesn't take much longer than a 25% water change and is a nice way to be sure the water parameters are not getting too out of whack. Topping up (only water evaporates, all the crud and toxins are still in the water) IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!
HTH
Includes digital thermometer, 5" fish net, filter cartridge, 100-watt submersible heater and more.
If you ask me is not such of a great deal if you don't have a stand included...
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2. You do not need aquarium salt in a freshwater fish tank. There are fish that prefer salt (mollies, SOME puffers, etc.) but these are mild or moderate brackish fish. Putting salt into a guppy tank is NOT needed, and potentially harmful.