your filter already running in that tank? your already install your lighting? that 2 thing is a major effect on your water temperature. if both are running, that is low than normal temperature.

why not? they will clean your algae.
just that they are eyesore when too many inside. 
maybe they come in larva or egg form when you buy plants.

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Added on June 1, 2012, 10:04 am
3.5feet planted tank is a bad choice.
where do you brought this tank?
you cant get 3.5feet light set anywhere in market.

yes, you need use 4feet light.
but it will be quite annoying since light casing will be longer than your aquarium size.

im guessing some kind of nematodes... tetra would eat them for snacks 

its probably harmless (unless u can see them hanging from ur fish's anus)

if ure so afraid, buy albendazole (zentel) or flubendazole (dog dewormer) n bomb ur tank... last time i bombed my tank (for hydra) they're gone for quite awhile, before reappearing (i gave treatment for 2 days only, worms died, dint kill the eggs)...

some suggest using no-planaria, dunno if that works or not coz i hav no experience using no-planaria... bought but never used >_<

i afraid that is ulat sampah.Lol.kih3

ME TOO! HELP!!!

you referring to surface skimmer or protein skimmer? 

Protein skimmer is useless i think in freshwater aquaria...protein skimmer is mainly for saltwater...

Surface skimmer on the other hand, is for freshwater aquaria... I use ut in my aquarium coz my surface always got this oil film n bubbles, n surface skimmer fix this like a charm...now my surface is clear without debris( suicidal bugs/ants) or oil film ... Cons... Ugly like hell...lol...

Liberty 200 ard 95? N surface skimmer i think was below 50... Cnt remember, i didnt keep the receipt...

Co2  u need to ask cfus like usermode, sisaiko or weijie, but i think to know correct dosing of co2 ,  u need to buy a co2 indicator, coz its quite hard to agak2 d co2...

CO2 related question, how much bps does a 3.5ft tank roughly need, if the tank is filled with plants at 60-70%? And based on the rough estimate of bps, what CO2 tank size is recommended?

i sellign surface skimmer Rm25. Please refer to my blog for image.
but i dont think it is possible to attach an HOB.
by the way, you are using 3.5feet tank with HOB only?

you would need co2 indicator to dose correct amount of gas into your aquarium. adjust co2 bps according to co2 indicator color.
there are NO accurate guide on bps for any aquarium size, because co2 dissolve is depending on your water flow, aeration, plants, light, many more factors.

i use this surface skimmer

cun2 fit my intake pipe... cant post earlier coz online using ipad...

this surface skimmer the connection btw intake n surface skimmer can be adjusted, mine is 2 cm diameter, cun2 no need to adjust anymore, so anything smaller than that should be ok i think... of coz if u want to make sure, bring ur intake pipe to shop n ask to try-fit first...

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Added on June 4, 2012, 12:45 pm

+1, but if u got fire, n u got o2 tank nearby, ull see the fire go bad real quick

i think it is better if u buy the mini canister filter (shiruba) they having offer there now,

138+20% discount (if im not mistaken) = rm111,( if u hav vip card even better, + another 10% discount... )

performance should be better than eheim 200 n u can mate surface skimmer with this filter too ( i saw them using shiruba canister+ista surface skimmer in one of their display tank before...)

@malformed,

you don't plan to use the HOB filter for the 3.5ft tank right??

wanna ask opinion of sifus here.

should i go for a filter taiyo 1200 or one eheim 2217? RM150 vs RM400+

i wanna complement my current taiyo 1000CF which is very low on the output already after passing through co2 reactor and chiller.

4ft tank. 250 liters of water.

yes it depends... mine was quite problematic, d layer on water surface,  i swear i can even pick up the layer with lidi... some say its because of OD antichlorine, but i dosed ngam2... some cfu here suggest black molly to fix, but my tank is quite crowded adi... so last choice, use surface skimmer... ugly piece of equipment (planning to cover it with moss later...lol...) but, does its job perfectly

happen to me before, small worm wriggle in the tank. lucky i got my guppy inside the tank. suspect came from leftover cucumber that i feed to shrimp

try with glosso 1st. once you managed to grow the glosso, then you can try HC.
HC is has higher light demand compare to glosso.

3" of ADA soil??
 
i thought 2" is more than enough.. unless you want to create slope. but then you can use rocks to save on soil..

and if you have an idea how to scape your tank, you can just put the soil at the specific place where you want to plant.
but then, how you want to fill the gap between??

ya ya...your plant need nutrient, which is why we need aquasoil, not just plain sand, which contain a little amount (maybe not) of nutrient that plant need. you can save soil by putting divider (such as rock / wood) form sand to seperate them from mixing together. dont put hyper active fish such as GAE, they will mix it together. 
anyone want 3 inch SAE? got 2 of it. free of charge  

happen to me before, small worm wriggle in the tank. lucky i got my guppy inside the tank. suspect came from leftover cucumber that i feed to shrimp

my guppy doesnt eat those worms lehhh... T.T

starve ur guppy, theyll eat those worms...

my guppy doesnt eat those worms lehhh... T.T