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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

OptiWhite 66x45x45 Planted Tank Journal

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28 Apr 2012 11:25 - 31 Jul 2012 12:33 #1 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Tank: OptiWhite 66x45x45cm (10mm)130-135L
Lighting: 4x24W T5
Hardscape: DragonStone Bogwood
Co2: fire extinguisher Co2 Atomizer
Filtration and flow: Fluval G3 External Filter,Hydor koralia nano 1600
Heating:Fluval E 200W Heater
Substrate:ADA Amazonia ADA Powder + Penac P & W, Bacter 100
Ferts: Tropica Aquacare EasyCarbo Potassium daily































I would like to thank Marius from Aquaworld for making the tank and all his help along the way cheers buddy

Mark
Last edit: 31 Jul 2012 12:33 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill).

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28 Apr 2012 11:36 #2 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: OptiWhite 66x45x45
Nice job, lovely pix, what Camera are you using?

:)

Kev.

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28 Apr 2012 11:47 #3 by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Lovely fresh and bright setup!

I must say I do like this trend of showing the whole project from start to finish, step by step.

Melander

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28 Apr 2012 12:28 #4 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
That looks class and i cant wait to get some of them danio's.Can u give us a timeline from when the first pic was taken until the last pic pls? just to get an idea of how long something like this takes.

And also whats the name of the plant that blankets the aquarium substrate? and would u need a co2 system for it too grow as well as yours did.

Cheers Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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28 Apr 2012 12:47 #5 by joemc (joe mc)
very nice, great series of pictures

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Ebay Fish Foods Click here!

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28 Apr 2012 14:03 - 28 Apr 2012 14:17 #6 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Thanks for the comments lads it's still in work in progress

@Stuart the plant is Hemianthus Callitrichoides 'Cuba' iv seen it grow without co2 but i think it really needs it to flourish

The tank has been setup for three months now and to be honest with you Stuart it should be a lot better but i had a nightmare with algae! and had to cut back and lights so at the moment im only running 2 T5s for six hours a day till i get on top of it!

Slowly but Surely :)

@Kev Thanks most of the photo's were taking with my phone "HTC Desire HD" And a 550D :evil:

Ps. Thanks joe for giving me a kick in the ass to get the pic's up..
Last edit: 28 Apr 2012 14:17 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill).

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28 Apr 2012 14:15 #7 by paulcavan (Paul Gileoold)
Lovely set up fair play to ya.

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28 Apr 2012 14:53 #8 by SouthAfricanInIreland (Ryan Dokter)
:blush: uhm, hi, sorry for the noob question, but what is the item stuck to the glass on the right hand side of the tank?

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28 Apr 2012 14:58 - 28 Apr 2012 15:02 #9 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: OptiWhite 66x45x45
It's a drop checker that gauges the CO2 in your Water.

Kev.
Last edit: 28 Apr 2012 15:02 by stretnik (stretnik).

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28 Apr 2012 15:56 #10 by manius112 (Mariusz Kaminski)
Fair play Mark for setup, sharing pix and mostly for being so patient when you got algea problem.
I have to say some people may give up but you last and fair play for that pal.

Looks the bussines:-)

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28 Apr 2012 16:25 #11 by SouthAfricanInIreland (Ryan Dokter)

It's a drop checker that gauges the CO2 in your Water.

Kev.


Thanks Kev

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29 Apr 2012 11:05 #12 by BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
mark 1 word stunning

fair play mate growth is great

cant wait to see more

Sean

Sean Crowe

ITFS Member

Location: Navan

Always Remember Surviving Is Not Thriving

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29 Apr 2012 14:36 - 02 May 2012 18:07 #13 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Last edit: 02 May 2012 18:07 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill).

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10 May 2012 21:55 #14 by skimask (stephen)
Wow one of the nicest tanks iv seen on the forum.. obviously a lot of time and hard work gone into it. Fairplay to u mark uv moved on from keeping stickle backs in jamjars in ur back shed :P keep up the good work and keep the photos coming..
Rgrds Steve

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19 May 2012 11:15 #15 by paulv (paul vickers)
WOW is all i can say. im inspired now to set up an empty 120 tank i have. well done.

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21 May 2012 16:17 #16 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Thanks Steve, Paul iv just got a handle on the algae now so hopefully I'll be able to put more light in soon.

I'm thinking about taking the vallis out of the background, Anybody any recommendations on a replacement plant?


Mark

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21 May 2012 21:15 #17 by AquaticGardenDan (Daniel Madziag)
I'll go wit Eleocharis Vivipara, Rotala Vietnam or Rotundofola.and only in small amount.


Dan

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21 May 2012 22:00 #18 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: OptiWhite 66x45x45 Planted Tank Journal
Looking great Mark,

My suggestion would be Pogostemon stellatus, amazing plant, relatively rigid and will look great at the back, Vallis is just too lax to look good in a formal set-up.

Kev.

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22 May 2012 15:02 #19 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Thanks for the recommendations lads i'll definitely be looking in to those :)



Mark

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31 Jul 2012 12:34 #20 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Just a quick pic before i get the scissors out its getting a bit wild!





Mark

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31 Jul 2012 14:24 #21 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic OptiWhite 66x45x45 Planted Tank Journal
WOW!!!

Kev.

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31 Jul 2012 15:27 #22 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Thanks Kev there is a lot of green I need a few plants with a bit of red..


Mark

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31 Jul 2012 19:00 #23 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic OptiWhite 66x45x45 Planted Tank Journal
Try Alternanthera reineckii rosaefolia.

Rotala,

Ludwigia etc.

Kev.

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31 Jul 2012 19:01 #24 by blade (Michael G)
Looks great , Welldone .

Michael

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31 Jul 2012 19:10 #25 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)
The optiwhites even look good empty.
The setup is very impressive. Its one to show the wife when trying.to get another tank.
The Fluval heater should be vertical for optimim performamce as far as I can remember, I have one like it.
Lets you know when the water circulation isnt right etc.

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31 Jul 2012 23:28 #26 by SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
Thanks lads. Kev i'll have a look for those plants cheers buddy
Justin I got rid of that heater there rubbish in my opinion I had two of them that went funny!
One of them I couldn't turn down the temp and the other one couldn't hold the temperature in the tank



Mark

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01 Aug 2012 08:19 #27 by des (des)
that's a fine Tank Mark
fairplay

Des

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01 Aug 2012 13:02 #28 by fionakoi (Fiona Wynne)
Fantastic set up. Well done. Reminds me I must post some photos of my planted tank.

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03 Aug 2012 11:01 #29 by BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
Mark really after coming along great mate

There is nothing better then getting a balance right in a planted tank and when you have something like this and put a lot off hard work into it

It has really paid off for you this is an unreal setup

Sean

Sean Crowe

ITFS Member

Location: Navan

Always Remember Surviving Is Not Thriving

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03 Aug 2012 11:50 #30 by PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
Looks great Mark. In fact I would even say it looks as good, or better than the pic that you have on your signature! ;)

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