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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

STARTING FROM TUESDAY

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23 Feb 2009 18:23 #1 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
HI EVERYONE, MY NAME GIUNCERIS FORM KANTURK(CO. CORK) I'M STARTING MY FISH TANK FROM TUESDAY,THEN I GET MY 260L TANK,I'LL BE KEEPING MARINE FISH!I HAVEN'T EXPERIENSE,SO I'LL NEED EVERYONES HELP:)
tks yours GIUNCERIS

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23 Feb 2009 20:36 #2 by reefpaddy (paddy kelly)
ask lots of questions, do as much research as possible ,never rush take everything one step at a time.
best of luck

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23 Feb 2009 21:43 #3 by peter (peter campbell)
have you kept any fish before because iv been keeping tropicals for 3 years and am only starting a marine tank in the summer but i still have to learn a lot.
marines a whole new world when compared to tropical

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23 Feb 2009 21:58 #4 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
it is my first fish tank in my life!i need a lot of learning!

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23 Feb 2009 22:49 #5 by peter (peter campbell)
id advise you to stay with normal tropical fish for a while so you can get used to water changes,filter changes,chemical tests,treatments.
you can still use the equipment like the filter and the heater if you switch to marine

I REALLY wouldnt advise anyone TO go straight to marine its a big job looking after a tank and they cost a lot of money and id hate to see you with empty pockets and a load of dead fish in 2 months time.

I know youll have a huge itch to get started but just slow down and id say to stay away from marine for a while and resist the huge temptation.

hope this helps.but sorry if it shatters your idea of a marine tank.
peter:(

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23 Feb 2009 23:53 #6 by LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
giunceris wrote:

it is my first fish tank in my life!i need a lot of learning!


You have to walk before you can run

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24 Feb 2009 01:30 #7 by PetCoLongMileRoad (Drew Latimer)
i agree with all of the above dont jump into the deep end.

i would ultimately like to keep marines but i know im just not able for it yet not for a few years anyways


think carefully before you go ahead with this and do a ton of research

best of luck

If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up.

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24 Feb 2009 18:57 #8 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
thanks lads for advices, but i thinking that i'm not so usless that i can't keep a marine fish tank!i agree that is difficulty job,thats why i need yours help!:)

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24 Feb 2009 19:02 #9 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
No-one is saying you are useless,its just that its best sometimes to begin on smaller more manageable projects and earn your stripes if you know what I mean. Also alot of experience here knowing what it takes. Id personally do the tropical freshwater tank for a spell first but if you are intend on doing the marine tank then Id suggest you get as much info before you even fill the tank with water.

Ask lots of questions and dont be afraid to take advise, that way you will give yourself the best chnace of making the tank work and more importantly making the fish stay alive for a long time!

Best of luck with it, and make sure you do a pic by pic guide to the set up, it would be a great thread to follow.

Gavin

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24 Feb 2009 19:06 #10 by peter (peter campbell)
Its not about been smart its about learing.and no matter how many books or posts yoll read you have to learn from experience!
So make your mistakes and gain experience with cheap freshwater fish instead of destroying 100s worth of LR and LS and killing fish,because IT WILL HAPPEN if you jump straight to marines.
do your wallet a favour and take some advice

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24 Feb 2009 19:11 #11 by cardinal (Lar Savage)
giunceris
You should really read some books before you put a drop of water into your tank... Nobody has said your useless but without reading up on things beforehand this could end up being a costly exercise,not to mention possibly causing stress and pain to living creatures, Do you not think it would be wise to keep freshwater fish for a while,the learning curve is not so severe or expensive !! :) ,I myself recently returned to fishkeeping after a long break and I intend to one day keep marine fish but I'd imagine it will be in a year or two once I've come backup to speed on things,anyway have a think, read through some of the beginner's threads here and some books and get a feel for whats involved.
Good luck...Lar

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24 Feb 2009 19:21 #12 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Also,if its just the colourful fish thing that is drawing you to the marines, then take a look at some of the chilids,gorgeous and colourful and some great rocks now available also to add to the coral type impression. Alot of people want to keep marines purely cos of the colours,tropicals have just as much colour if you know what to look for.
Also Guineris, what type of marine fish are you hoping to keep? How close is you lfs ?

Gavin

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24 Feb 2009 20:02 #13 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
if one time fish die, i'll get another fish!i'll attempt everithing the best!all time ask about everithing and i think that can get good resultat!

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24 Feb 2009 21:18 #14 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
giunceris wrote:

if one time fish die, i'll get another fish!


bad attitude, fish are not diposable,

seriously, take your time, read up, be patient

i killed a goldfish when i started and it still
bugs the hell out of me!

rgds

4

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24 Feb 2009 21:26 #15 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
i'm not saying that i'll be killing my fish, i want to say that i'll do everithing the best!i'm pick up information from every where!

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24 Feb 2009 21:47 #16 by john gannon (john gannon)
Replied by john gannon (john gannon) on topic Re:STARTING FROM TUESDAY
hi guincerus
if your still going ahead with your marine project a good book choice would be the conscientious marine aquarist by robert m. fenner, its quite exspensive but a lot cheaper than a tank full of dead fish.if i were you my next investment would be a quarintine tank 50 ltrs.[trust me i know his from exsperience]
anyway what ever you decide to do take your time and good luck with it
john

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24 Feb 2009 21:54 #17 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Dont even fill the tank until you have picked up a decent marine book and receive alot of advise from people on here and in the lfs. Nobody wants to kill a fish, and I know you wont want to do that either,however marines are one of the hardest fish to keep and while you may get a second chance at times with tropicals, the same cannot be said with marines,who also are expensive.
Perhaps six months of tropicals would pursuade you otherwise!

You must feel like everyone is telling you not to do your marine project. I know when you want to do something,its hard to go against the plan then. People here arent having a go at you,its important to understand that, however they are giving their advise which is based on years of experience and they have seen it all before.
For example when you are learning how to drive you dont learn on a ferrai, you start on something small. Fish keeping is similar, tropicals are great fish and most people begin with coldwater fish at some stage progress to tropicals and eventually move to marines, the upkeep in marine takes all those years experience garned from the coldwater and tropical fish keeping to get to the level required.

Its something you are intend on doing by the sounds of it, best of luck with it but I urge you to research everything before a drop of water goes into the tank!! :)

Gavin

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24 Feb 2009 22:08 #18 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
when you have a plan something to do, it's very hard to change it!

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24 Feb 2009 22:19 #19 by john gannon (john gannon)
Replied by john gannon (john gannon) on topic Re:STARTING FROM TUESDAY
what exactly is this plan like how do you intend to go about your project
john

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24 Feb 2009 22:26 #20 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
at first i think to get all equipments!then about 30kg of live rock!after some time start to put some fish which are kepp easy(like a cluon fish blue tang) and time after time put something more!

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24 Feb 2009 22:30 #21 by john gannon (john gannon)
Replied by john gannon (john gannon) on topic Re:STARTING FROM TUESDAY
do you intend to have a full reef or fowlr

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24 Feb 2009 22:37 #22 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
at first i think to keep only fish, to see that everythink going allright,and then put in some corals!

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24 Feb 2009 23:08 #23 by john gannon (john gannon)
Replied by john gannon (john gannon) on topic Re:STARTING FROM TUESDAY
okay i would make my first bit of equipment some books and then maybe take a step back for a couple of weeks while you some serious study because rushing this is the worst thing you can do.
after setting up your tank and cycling it [4-6weeks]you will get an algae bloom its time for a clean up crew
and then another week or so before fish and only the most hardiest types id steer clear of tangs for a while.
you seem hellbent on this so all we can do is try to help ,be prepared for some bad days as well as good
john
ps agood skimmer is a must

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25 Feb 2009 14:35 #24 by peter (peter campbell)
NO marine fish are EASY to keep!

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25 Feb 2009 17:23 #25 by PetCoLongMileRoad (Drew Latimer)
i think he meant they are not easy compared to tropical or africans

allot more knowledge is needed and it most certainly beneficial to have kept tropical fish before hand

If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up.

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07 Mar 2009 19:54 #26 by peter (peter campbell)
well did you start your tank or did you leave it

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07 Mar 2009 20:15 #27 by alkiely (alan kiely)
I was the very same guinceris i spend about 10days researhing marines and when i say 10 days i mean every spare moment ( i wasnt working was let go ) and the more i read the more i thought i am way over my head here i new i hadnt the experience not even close to deal with the needs of a marine set up. so i went with a small tropical first.

Even thought i knew enough to start one up right away but i was wrong in the first month i lost 5 fish, now with tropics dats not too expensive but with marines thats a couple of hundred euro and i wanted a huge tank to start but ive learned to just keep it handy start small and work ur way up and im only know after upgrading to a 180l after 4 months, not to big not what i was thinkin when i started but its the next step.


I will say all the lads on the sit are great for any type of help to do with all ares of fish keeping anything you need they can help with i will say good luck and i hope you can prove us wrong and have no problems with the tank or fish.

Alan

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07 Mar 2009 20:35 #28 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
thanks for good word B)but now no one can't change my minde!

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07 Mar 2009 20:39 #29 by alkiely (alan kiely)
Well good luck with everything hope all goes well:laugh:

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07 Mar 2009 20:44 #30 by giunceris (gintaras barbsys)
i hope is well:)

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