[JustOneMore20]

Originally Posted by l burke l

AquaClear Powerfilters 30

Versa-Tops 30" glass top

Eco-Complete Plant Substrate

large smooth stone substrate to put over the plant substrate to help anchor plants

Theo Heater 200 watt (including a emergency spare)

Satellite Compact Fluorescent Fixtures Dual 30" light fixture (2-65 watt bulbs)

Digital Thermometer

I would go with an Aquaclear 50 instead of the 30. The extra filtration can't hurt.

I would skip the stones. You'll most likely get debri and waste stuck in them that you can't get out with a gravel vac. Eco Complete has different size grains. It holds plants well. I would suggest getting some big planting tweezers like these: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...8&pcatid=12038. Makes it alot easier to put plants into the substrate.

Originally Posted by l burke l

One of my main questions to ask was if i should go with that light fixture. It is really nice and comes with lunar lights and is 130 watts. From my understanding the 29 gallon tank is on the deeper side so the extra bright lights would help the plants grow. I did realize though that there were actually bulbs for plant growing which started to get confusing since they were such low wattage. I'm also not sure exactly which plants I want and understand that different plants like different wattage.

If you get that light fixture you need co2 injection (preferably pressurized, as diy wont be able to keep up with that much light). 65 watts will be fine for most medium and low light plants. If you can add pressurized co2 to your list (plan on about $200-300) then go with the 130w fixture. Otherwise, you'll be constantly fighting algae and won't grow much more than algae and stunted plants.

Originally Posted by l burke l

I have been doing as much research as I could and have seen the charts of compatibility and such and have a rough idea of what I want. I know that I will probably use a solo angel fish as a center piece fish. From there I was thinking of adding a school of tetras (ornate?), 3 or 4 kuhli loaches, a couple hatchets, a couple barbs, a small school of corys, and maybe some ghost shrimp or red cherry shrimp.

You need more than a couple hatchets. They are schooling fish, as are the barbs. Since you are going with an Angelfish, I suggest you choose 1 school of fish and have 8 of them. You really won't have room for 2 schools and a full grown Angel. A shoal of Cories or the Loaches would work...I wouldn't do both, since the both need groups. Choose either and have 6 of them. Shrimp will be eaten by the Angel.

Originally Posted by l burke l

I'm not sure if that is overstocking or not. I just want to have a lot of activity with top, mid, and bottom level swimmers. I picked the loaches shrimp and corys because I thought that might help with the cleaning process as well. Would a sucker cat be more efficient?

Not sure what kind of sucker cat you are referring to. Keep in mind that you shouldn't leave it up to fish to clean the tank for you. Any additional fish add waste to the tank. Water changes are the only way to get rid of nitrates (besides the plants). A group of Otocinclus might be ok. I've heard of Angels eating them, but I personally haven't had that problem...my Angel is in a 55g though and not a 29g. A single Bristlenose Pleco might be a better choice.

Originally Posted by l burke l

One more question. My girlfriend was looking at a tropical aquarium book of fish and saw one that she liked and would like to know if we could get one. It was called a red lyretail. The description said it was for a community tank but it looks crazy so also dont know where I would ever find it lol.

I just saw the other post on the full name. I agree with emc7, it is not a good choice. Killies are usually best kept in a species tank.