My heater did in fact fluctuate. A Rena submersible can be placed along the
intake tube which cuts down visual clutter and puts the heater in a good
water circulation path so it heats the entire 4 foot long tank.

For a lightly loaded tank, the Regent filter works. Add more fish and live
plants, it is marginal at best. It does not provide good water circulation
unless placed carefully. I don't like DEAD water in my tank.

The tank holds water and isn't opaque. Great, it meets the minimum
requirement. It is narrow from front to back so, live plants touch both
sides. The plastic surrounds are thicker then some other tanks so, more of
your view is blocked by black plastic. Thin glass does not have the
structural integrity of thicker glass but, my tank has not bowed enough to
leak either.

The stand is not as tall as other standard tank stands. Against a wall with
nothing blocking the view, who cares? It is amazing what 4 inches does in
tank stand height when it is placed in a dining room or living room where
there are other objects that may be between you and the tank.

The hoods are cheap plastic units with weak bulbs. You can upgrade them to
a point. The first time you go from 30W of factory hood light to a pair of
65W PowerCompacts, you will be amazed at the difference in what you can see.

There is no single right or wrong answer. This is just my experience. YMMV

Sid


"Steven S." wrote in message
news:dyFFb.16764$VB2.37025@attbi_s51...
I have the 55g Wal-Mart kit and am so far very satisfied with it.
The
heater keeps the temperature stable I have never seen it fluctuate even a
degree. The filter comes with an extension tube for the intake and seems
to
work fine plus the pads are very cheap to replace. The tank... I can see
in
and it doesn't leak what more do you want? I added and elite 802 pump
with
2 air stone ornaments from petsmart to increase oxygenation and generate a
better water flow. The stand holds the tank and doesn't fall or wooble
and
looks fairly attractive, that's really all I wanted. My only complaint is
the hood only supports 2 -15 watt tubes no where near enough for plants
and
its impossible to adapt. Though all the kits are like that.