Aqueon 36gallon bowfront kit

[Brandon3000]

hey guys, I am getting ready to put my tank together and get it set up (finally). I was wondering, would the filter that came with this kit be enough for my tank? I plan on having live plants in it as well and Pool filter sand as my substrate. A friend recommended I ditch the kit filter and buy an Aquaclear 70, but cash is a bit tight right now. I'll get it if I have to, but I don't want to make a purchase if it's not necessary. Thoughts?

 

[Old Scales]

Welcome to AA Brandon,
The filter that came with the tank should be fine. Are you going to do a fish in or fish out cycle? Either way that filter will still circulate enough to get the beneficial bacteria established in the filter media. Later if you wish to upgrade, you just transfer the BB loaded media to your new filter. Good luck. OS.

 

[Dnoel5787]

Totally agree with Old Scales. I have the same kit and replaced the filter with an Aquaclear 50, but only because I jammed up the stock filter with sand. Just let your sand settle overnight, then throw the filter from the kit on the back and you should be fine. If you do need to replace the filter, I totally agree with Aquaclear 70 suggestion. I wish I had done that instead of the 50.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[flitabout]

The only thing I will tell you as I just set up the exact same kit is the light that comes with it is well crap for plants. The filter seems to be fine I did add another filter but that was mainly to shove in more cycled filter material and the aqueon's material didn't fit in my canister to prep it. But if you want to grow more than just anubia you'll need to upgrade the lights. Here is a cheap t5ho. That will give you decent output. I bought the quads and found out later that it was probably going to be overkill for the depth of the tank. I dirted mine but I have play sand here's a pic. I have more lighting on this tank already. I added a T8 15w 4100k strip and an LED strip that barely gets me in to the low light range.
Crap I forgot to post the link!!!! http://www.aquatraders.com/24-inch-2x24W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52121p.htm

 

[Old Scales]

I do love bow fronts. I like how it bends the view of the sides so that you can see them better. LOL. My perfect tank would be a shallow height 40 gallon breeder type bowfront. Beautiful tank, congrats. OS.

 

[flitabout]

My new lights came in!!!!! Here is a pic of the tank with quad t5ho fixture. I can't wait to see what the plants will do with all that light!!!!!

 

[Old Scales]

Awesome! Congrats.

 

[Khuligirl93]

Your friend is smart, the filter is ok but upgrading would be much better. Also I agree that the light it comes with can't grow a thing, you will definitely need to upgrade. It's a great tank- enjoy!

 

[Brandon3000]

Thanks for the replies guys. Can anyone send me a link to the bulb I should upgrade to?
Would I have to replace the whole hood or just the bulb? Sorry I'm new to all of this.