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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

Hello there!

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07 Mar 2013 22:22 #1 by Christie (Christiane Parkinson)
So glad I found this forum as I am completely new to fish keeping! I bought a second hand Juwel Rio 125 litre tank 2 weeks ago and have started to set it up straight away according to a book I have. Last week I got the first fish: 10 red-eyed tetras. Any suggestions what second fish would go well with the tetras?

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07 Mar 2013 22:49 #2 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Hello there!
Christie, welcome along.
Did you get a water test kit with the tank - I think most people here would agree with me that this is the most important accessory for a newcomer.
Take a bit of a troll through the 'beginners section' and you'll soon pick up some clues regarding starting up your tank.
I suppose I'm being a bit diplomatic and in a (very) round-about way am trying to tell you that after only two weeks even the ten fish you have bought could well be as many as you would be wanting (if not too many) until your tank stabilises.
Unless, of course, you were using something like the Organic Aqua, so beloved by some on here (and, I have to say, I'm not averse to its use now myself).

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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11 Mar 2013 21:11 #3 by ger310 (Ger .)
Replied by ger310 (Ger .) on topic Hello there!
Welcome along Christie and welcome to the hobby.

As John said,i would kinda leave it at the 10 tetras for now and get your water checked weekly at your LFS for a while unless you have a test kit of course.Best of luck

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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11 Mar 2013 21:25 #4 by Christie (Christiane Parkinson)
Many thanks for your replies, I did get some water test strips and the water levels are not right yet, the nitrite and nitrate is still a little high. I will take your advise and leave it at the 10 fish I have for now. ;) Is there anything I can do to get the levels right? More waterchanges for now? I have done one a week so far. Where can I get Organic Aqua?

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11 Mar 2013 22:02 #5 by newbejkjimk (damien kelly)
Hi Christie welcome.
i have seen organic aqua in seahorse, the strips are not great for testing if you can get the liquid testers they are much more reliable you can do a 10% water change daily until you get the water right.
jim

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12 Mar 2013 13:03 #6 by ger310 (Ger .)
Replied by ger310 (Ger .) on topic Hello there!
As Jim said,do 10% daily water changes and i agree with him on the strips but they will do the job for now.......Check your water 'before' you do the water changes and you will gradually see a reduction in Nitrite and eventually zero Nitrite.......If you stick with the daily water changes using a decent Dechlorinater then you should be grand in a couple of weeks.
I'm also assuming you were testing for Ammonia and you got that reading down to zero?

All the best,

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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12 Mar 2013 13:13 - 12 Mar 2013 13:13 #7 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Hello there!

Many thanks for your replies, I did get some water test strips and the water levels are not right yet, the nitrite and nitrate is still a little high. I will take your advise and leave it at the 10 fish I have for now. ;) Is there anything I can do to get the levels right? More waterchanges for now? I have done one a week so far. Where can I get Organic Aqua?


A short, but very pertinent bit of information - if you were to choose to go along the OA route totally ignore any test readings as they aren't relative (I know, it sound illogical - but it works in a completely different way and conventional readings just don't apply).

But...it works (even though I don't understand how) as long as you follow the instructions.

I must also agree with what's been said previously about the test strips (assuming you follow the 'conventional' route) - they could be a bit more reliable!!!

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.
Last edit: 12 Mar 2013 13:13 by JohnH (John). Reason: changed something

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12 Mar 2013 13:22 #8 by ger310 (Ger .)
Replied by ger310 (Ger .) on topic Hello there!

Many thanks for your replies, I did get some water test strips and the water levels are not right yet, the nitrite and nitrate is still a little high. I will take your advise and leave it at the 10 fish I have for now. ;) Is there anything I can do to get the levels right? More waterchanges for now? I have done one a week so far. Where can I get Organic Aqua?


A short, but very pertinent bit of information - if you were to choose to go along the OA route totally ignore any test readings as they aren't relative (I know, it sound illogical - but it works in a completely different way and conventional readings just don't apply).

But...it works (even though I don't understand how) as long as you follow the instructions.

I must also agree with what's been said previously about the test strips (assuming you follow the 'conventional' route) - they could be a bit more reliable!!!

John


Agreed John but i think he should stick to the 'conventional' route as if nothing else,you learn the basics of Ammonia~Nitrite~Nitrate which stays with yeh for life

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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12 Mar 2013 14:27 #9 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Hello there!
You're right Ger, but I was merely pointing out that there was a 'quick fix' alternative way to go about it.

OA is great for 'cutting' corners for someone starting a tank and wanting to stock immediately.
Then, unless someone is prepared to continue with it, the suggestion is that after a month or so filtration can be added and the 'tried and trusted' cycling will kick in pretty quickly thereafter.

That is its main strength - in my view. It is an invaluable 'start aid' for people requiring a 'quick start' (not everyone has the patience to wait for water to 'cycle') but can never be considered a total alternative.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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13 Mar 2013 13:08 #10 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic Hello there!
Hi Christie welcome to the forum

Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth.

A life making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.

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