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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Advice Needed: New Azalia Root Position in Tank

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09 May 2014 20:01 #31 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Hooray!!! Forgive my excitement but the root is already waterlogged!!! Only a few days to get the job done! Kept soaking it in joining hot baths or close on boiling at least. Waterlogged in 5 days.....

Lydia, can you trim some moss for me and maybe help me on Sun? Brian

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09 May 2014 20:18 #32 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)

Hooray!!! Forgive my excitement but the root is already waterlogged!!! Only a few days to get the job done! Kept soaking it in joining hot baths or close on boiling at least. Waterlogged in 5 days.....

Lydia, can you trim some moss for me and maybe help me on Sun? Brian


Mine was done in nothing but cold water. Maybe the hot water makes all the difference

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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09 May 2014 20:57 #33 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Hooray!!! Forgive my excitement but the root is already waterlogged!!! Only a few days to get the job done! Kept soaking it in joining hot baths or close on boiling at least. Waterlogged in 5 days.....

Lydia, can you trim some moss for me and maybe help me on Sun? Brian


Mine was done in nothing but cold water. Maybe the hot water makes all the difference


I think it does Lemon! Darren gave me the heads up on this. I believe the got water and temperature 'opens up' the wood and increases it's absorptive capacity- well it's no longer floating which is great, as now I don't need rocks, suckers or anything else.....happy days...

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09 May 2014 21:16 #34 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
Ah, the joys of being a fishkeeper. No one outside the hobby will truly understand why a piece of wood not floating makes us so happy :crazy:

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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09 May 2014 21:46 #35 by Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)

Hooray!!! Forgive my excitement but the root is already waterlogged!!! Only a few days to get the job done! Kept soaking it in joining hot baths or close on boiling at least. Waterlogged in 5 days.....

Lydia, can you trim some moss for me and maybe help me on Sun? Brian


Ah nice tip, I should know this when mine!.
Yeah Sunday it's ok I'll trim the moss tomorrow, about what time more or less?

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09 May 2014 22:52 #36 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Brian looking at the first picture I would just flip the wood over (180 degree) and trim a couple of cm of the 2 small pieces so it stands on it's own.

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09 May 2014 23:06 #37 by Miamiheat (Stephane Lemaire)

Ah, the joys of being a fishkeeper. No one outside the hobby will truly understand why a piece of wood not floating makes us so happy :crazy:


LOL hilarious!

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09 May 2014 23:35 #38 by Inza (philippe launois)
hi Brian i won't be off until Thursday if you can wait or be able to take the wood out to add more moss to it, i can keep some Xmass moss for you ! May even have some flame moss and 2 or 3 other kind... Can even bring it to you if you want. Don't forget to get some mesh to tied it to the wood !!!

Let me know ! Philippe.

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10 May 2014 08:52 #39 by paulv (paul vickers)

Ah, the joys of being a fishkeeper. No one outside the hobby will truly understand why a piece of wood not floating makes us so happy :crazy:

I soaked mine in a bin outdoors over winter, took 3 months to sink.

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10 May 2014 11:28 #40 by Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)
Brian I think we should wait for Philippe's moss because once the wood is in there and plant around and between it will be a mess taking it out.

Besides he is the fraking mastah so his help will be great!

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10 May 2014 11:57 #41 by swai (Simon)
I'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out! I have some java moss it's not in best condition as its been out the back garden but if you want you can have it. It's a handful. Maybe your co2 spring it back to life.

Marino, Dublin 9

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10 May 2014 13:27 #42 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Brian I think we should wait for Philippe's moss because once the wood is in there and plant around and between it will be a mess taking it out.

Besides he is the fraking mastah so his help will be great!


Sounds good Lydia....if this is ok with you Philippe maybe we could aim for Thursday evening? Tx to you both!! B

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10 May 2014 13:29 #43 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Ah, the joys of being a fishkeeper. No one outside the hobby will truly understand why a piece of wood not floating makes us so happy :crazy:


Just hilarious.....but so true!!!

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10 May 2014 20:57 #44 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Nothing is ever straightforward.....I just noticed the root is leaching a lot of tannins which are colouring the bath water quite a bit. How long will this leaching last? I don't want my tank water really 'yellow'. I know it looks natural and all that but I'd prefer it clear....any advice? Thanks.

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10 May 2014 21:03 #45 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
Activated carbon is the first thing that springs to mind, though you may have to use it continually until the tannins stop leaching.

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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10 May 2014 21:08 #46 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Activated carbon is the first thing that springs to mind, though you may have to use it continually until the tannins stop leaching.


Thanks Lemon. Won't Carbon also remove the nutrients I'm adding for my plants too though? Not sure what effect this would have on my plants?

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10 May 2014 21:21 #47 by Inza (philippe launois)
Ok for me! Carbon will remove the plants nutriments and you will have to change it every 2-3 weeks. The only way I know would be to boil it for a couple hours, this is what I did with mine.

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10 May 2014 21:31 #48 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Ok for me! Carbon will remove the plants nutriments and you will have to change it every 2-3 weeks. The only way I know would be to boil it for a couple hours, this is what I did with mine.


Yeah, I've just been reading some stuff online about this hotly debated topic. Some say activated carbon doesn't and others say it does...I'm going to read some more....

Thanks got your offer of moss Philippe and maybe you can come by on Thurs. Btw, your new discus are the business....I saw them last week and wanted them immediately....the checkerboard pigeons are outstanding. Pics please when they've settled.......

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10 May 2014 21:37 #49 by Homer (Kevin)
Brian,

You are most likely to get a serious growt of slime mould on the Wood, no matter how many times it is scrubbed or boiled, totally harmless and easily sorted using one or two Ancistrus , they love it.

Another tip on speeding up the water logging process is to put it in a water but or large Bin and place something heavy on it, making it sink causes pressure on it via the weight of water around it and helped force the Oxygen from it.

Kev.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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10 May 2014 21:53 #50 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
The only other option I can think of is small regular water changes until the tannins stop staining the water, which might take some time.

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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10 May 2014 22:07 #51 by Homer (Kevin)
Brian, Charcoal will work initially but most wood will release tannin until it is totally decayed so there will always be Tannin to some degree and it will help keep your ph down so not a bad thing if you are keeping Softwater species.

Kev.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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11 May 2014 11:08 #52 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Brian, Charcoal will work initially but most wood will release tannin until it is totally decayed so there will always be Tannin to some degree and it will help keep your ph down so not a bad thing if you are keeping Softwater species.

Kev.


Thanks Kev. What is your opinion on whether or not activated carbon will remove essential nutrients from the aquarium which might plants need to grow and thrive? Lot of conflicting info online about this - some people say it doesn't make a blind bit of difference if carbon is present and apt hat there is no scientific data to prove that it affects plant health and growth - in other words it's another fish keeping myth. Other people say it does so I don't know what to believe!!!

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11 May 2014 11:29 #53 by Homer (Kevin)
Carbon has a finite capacity before it will start leaching nasties back into the Water, I doubt the efficiency of Carbon to remove important nutrients, when we grew orchids and other sensitive plants, we always put Charcoal in the compost or baskets to keep the soil/substrate , "sweet" if it absorbed nutrients, I doubt we would have been as successful growing terrestrial plants, water changes are as good at removing Tannins if not better, I only ever use Charcoal to remove meds etc.

Kev.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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11 May 2014 15:47 #54 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Thanks Kev. I asked Darren about it today. He says that it's used in all Amanno ADA tanks and there's no arguing with the quality of those aquascapes...if it works for them I'll give it a go. I'll leave the root for a few more days and then add it to the tank. Will only use carbon for a few weeks initially.....thanks to everyone for input...

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15 May 2014 21:47 #55 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Quick Update: I have to say this site and hobby have some great people involved. Lydia (Aroshni) and Philippe (Inza) gave up hours of their time this evening to help me with my tank. Both brought over mosses, plants, twines, scissors and all that's needed to wrap the new piece of wood, position in the tank and replant around it. Lydia didn't leave here until 9.30pm after me picking her up at 4.45pm!! Really big, big thanks to you both and hats off to you! Owe you big time.....

Here's the finished result....have to trim back the large plant on the right in line with top branch of root but just too tired....tomorrow...

Hope you like!





Attachments:

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15 May 2014 22:06 #56 by Inza (philippe launois)
glad i could help ! wait a couple of weeks for the plants and moss to grow properly and you should end up with a nice perspective ! Beautiful discus too ! :)

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15 May 2014 22:36 #57 by swai (Simon)
Looks very natural. Will look great when the plants behind the wood grow over!

Marino, Dublin 9

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15 May 2014 23:14 #58 by Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)
We had a nice time there Brian and Philippe, glad for being of help.
Lovely fishes and patience they had there. The tanks looks really fantastic!

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16 May 2014 17:10 #59 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

We had a nice time there Brian and Philippe, glad for being of help.
Lovely fishes and patience they had there. The tanks looks really fantastic!


Philippe/Lydia, thanks again and I'm delighted with the tank. Also delighted you like my discus - these guys and girls have got a lot of my time over the last 18 months and I'm glad they are healthy and thriving! Fingers crossed they'll stay that way.....

Chat soon. Brian

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15 Jun 2014 20:46 #60 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Hi Guys. Quick update on my tank. Put pics in chronological order:
16th May:



One month later: 15th June: incredible growth!



15th June: Gave tank a good trimming....









What do you think guys? I hope you like it.....

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