Help choosing 20 Long vs 29gal tank

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

anoobias

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 16, 2016
Messages
13
I wanted some advice on choosing my first tank. Going to start with a very simple, low tech planted tank, probably anubias, java ferns, and java moss. Then after cycling adding a cleanup crew and a small community of fish, probably guppies or tetra.

Still in the research phase but my local Petco is having a $1/gallon sale so I wanted to pickup the tank for a good price.

I wanted to go as small and easy as possible, which sounds like 20-30 gallon from what I've read.

I like the idea of a 20 gallon long:
* extra surface area for O2
* easy height to trim and clean
* less water depth to filter out light
* extra length for fish to swim

But it has the same footprint as the 29 gal, so I'm considering the advice to go as big as you can and get the 29. What am I gaining/losing with a 18" height vs 12" height? I'd like maintenance to be as easy as possible.

What is your recommendation: 20L or 29?
 
The height can become an issue with lighting the plants. Other than that, the extra 9 gallons of water ( it's not really 9 as the tanks don't hold the amount of water they are described as) makes any changes in the water quality take longer to happen. Another possible issue will be the air pump necessary to get down to that depth. You will need one with a higher pressure ability.
The biggest concern comes with the stand. Some people use ordinary furniture as their stand and the extra gallons of water can become a breaking point for flimsy furniture. ( I would recommend only using stands designed for aquariums and not try to use something "just as good". The weight of the water alone for a 29 gal tank will be just over 200 lbs. Then add your tank, gravel, decor, etc to that number. :facepalm: Not all furniture can handle that kind of weight. :nono:
 
If growing plants was your focus and you wanted to get the most bang for the buck with your lighting, I would go with the 20 long over the 29g. Otherwise, go with the 29. That will give you 9 extra gallons of "buffer" against buildup of waste and other substances.
I have a pair of 20 longs: planted tank and shrimp tank. I like the profile and footprint. Scaled properly it can resemble a much larger tank.
 
Get a 40 breeder. Best of both worlds..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Go the 20 long, there an amazing tank and if u have a look at fresh2o's thread there is plenty of room to make them look amazing
 
29 gallon for sure!

The 29 gallon is the way to go for sure; and for a cost of 29 bucks; you can't beat it. The 9 extra gallons will help in the long run. A 29 gallon tank; is what I started with; and it worked great as a first tank for me.

Hope this helps.

Mike.:popcorn:
 
Thanks for all the replies. Helpful information. I am planning to build a custom cabinet for it so it will definitely be overbuilt for the weight of either.

@mikellewen did you keep just plants or fish also in your first 29 gal?

I'm still leaning towards the 20L just because I am going to be focusing on learning to work with the plants and it seems the best set of parameters to start with.
 
20 no doubt for the planted advantages alone.
Im getting rid of my 14 for a 10 just cuz its not as tall
 
Go for the 20 long. It is easier to choose lighting unit with less height.
 
Decided to pick up a 20 long last night. Thanks for the replies. Looking forward to finishing up the initial research so I can setup.
 
Decided to pick up a 20 long last night. Thanks for the replies. Looking forward to finishing up the initial research so I can setup.


Nice work! Make sure u make a post so u can log your progress and ask all questions in 1 spot. Planted tanks can be very tricky so make sure u ask a lot of questions ;)
 
Looking forward to posting progress details and photos. Would it be good to just create another thread in this forum as my "log"?
 
Back
Top Bottom