Recent content by Dolfan

Although if one breaks you are out 2 pieces of equipment. If your pump goes out you lose heating and filtering. I've always thought it was best to keep equipment seperate. I do think Hydor is a good company though. I like there Hydor Theo submersible heaters, and there inline heaters for...

Like Rooster said its probably a bad thermostat. Another thing that could be causing the heat is really strong lights. If you have a well insulated tank and really strong lights this can add 5 degrees or so. Most reccomend 5 watts per gallon...so your 200 watt heater is perfect for your 40...

If you have a pal in the U.S. or Canada, or better yet going there on vacation get them to order for you then ship it/bring it back to you. I would imagine there is some company that could ship you what you want. I'm not sure what size tank you have but the Emperor 280 and 400 have great big...

Emp 400. They have tons of media options with 4 media slots. Easy to clean and maintain. Great biowheels for permanent bio filtration. Less than $40 at bigals.

It would probably work ok, you would still need to do occaional water changes like maybe 50% every 2 months or so. I'm no scientist though, I am just estimating. You would need really good filtration, bio wheels and a cannister. I would also check water specs every couple of weeks just to be...

Sponge filters are mainly for smaller tanks with small delicate fish like shrimp and fry. They are not very good filters but are safe and good enough for a baby tank. Biowheels are great. The Emperor 280 by Marineland would be good for a 30 gal. Bio wheels do a great job of bio filtration...

For one I think Hang On Back filters like the Emperor are much easier to clean and maintain. This means you will be more likely to to perform maint. if it's easier to do. The Emp. 400 is rated for tanks up to 75 gal. or so. It would be good for a 55. Bio wheels are really good at growing...

It seems like one benefit of the undergravel with fluval hooked up would be that you wouldn't have to vacuum the gravel very often. The filter would constantly be sucking out any crud that settled to the bottom. I don't own a cannister filter but from what I hear the Eheim 2028 is a great...

Check out Bigalsonline.com they are super cheap. They have everything except medium-big tanks and live fish or plants. I would definitely reccomend a biowheel Hang On Back filter (Power filter), Under gravel filters are messy and never really get rid of the "funk", they just store it up and...

I put "Diamond Blend" zeolite and carbon mix, its made by MarineLand. It works great and it's only $7 at bigalsonline for a big container. I change mine every 3-4 months. After the chemical filtration of the zeolite and carbon wears off after 3-4 weeks...beneficial bacteria will build up on...