# Newbie



## 06Honda (Dec 11, 2009)

Hi from Kingstson, Ontario. Just joined this evening. Looking to start my first FW tank, have done lots of research regarding cycling etc and for the first step being my tank purchase is buying a complete kit IE: Hagen/Tetra etc the best route or buying components to build a setup. My plan is a 29 gallon freshwater planted community.


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## Byronicle (Apr 18, 2009)

whats up, check out the plant cultivation section of the forum. Lots of good stuff. And if you plan to have foreground plants I strongly suggest growing them immersed (not underwater) it works miracles and it cycles the aquarium at the same time!!!!!


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## 06Honda (Dec 11, 2009)

Tanks for the post back  great idea about the plants.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

Welcome to the Community.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Welcome to GTAA. 

If you are looking to go the route of a planted tank I'd say your best bet is to buy used equipment. You can find a show quality tank no problems with all the trimmings for a lot less than a brand new setup. Also, the starter kits come with lighting that really wouldn't be sufficient for a planted setup and filtration that just barely meets the requirements. If you don't care about cost then you can also just buy the components new in store which is still a better option than a kit as it will allow you to tailor the equipment to your needs. A starter kit would be woefully inadequate for a sw reef tank but perfectly alright if you wanted a few community fish and a grinning skull ornament, it all depends what you're after.


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## 06Honda (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks Cory for the helpful info, much appreciated. I will keep my eye out for a used tank to get me started with my list.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

Do not buy a starter's kit if you intend to do plants. The only thing you'll use it the aquarium. 

Speaking of those starter kits... Does anyone else find it misleading when they advertise those tape strip thermometers as "digital"?

Digital stuff has an LCD screen... Tape does not...


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