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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

Build Plans - Advice will be needed -NOW INSTALLED

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11 Feb 2015 21:01 - 11 Feb 2015 21:02 #241 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
Last edit: 11 Feb 2015 21:02 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh).

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12 Feb 2015 01:35 #242 by alan 64 (alan)
looking good mate lots of colour in there

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20 Feb 2015 08:59 #243 by ceech (Desmond Gaynor)
Wow that tank turned out amazing. The detail that went into your thread is amazing :-) where do you get all the time my lady would have a fit if i spent that much time on my tank lol. Again its really impressive tank.Keep those pictures coming.

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16 Apr 2015 10:13 #244 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
aquarium cover installed, looks great :)

And no more damp in the house. (I was collected 3 liters a day in the humidifier.
I've also treated myself to this

aquarium-led-controller.com/product/bluefish-led-controller/

Its a BlueFish Light Controller.

I'm using it with my 0-10V dimmable rapidled Drivers.
It's all wire up, but have a ton of issues and im in contact with the manufactors about it.
Hope to be resolved soon

bloody expensive piece of kit.

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03 Oct 2015 18:08 - 03 Oct 2015 18:09 #245 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
A small update on this topic, Tank is still going great and still love the hobby.

A good few fish have come on gone and I've learnt so much from each one. The biggest mistake i made was lowering the lights before i went on holidays for 3 weeks, ended up killing 90% of the plants - including all the xmas moss :(


So the day / night light controller is now working as expected :) its really cool
I bought the 5l of tropica fertilizer - its amazing stuff.

Since the tank has matured i was surprised at how often the filter socks would fill up. So I ended up making my own at a cost of about E1.33 per large sock.

Co2 Canister, then fertilizer in the middle and EasyCarbo on the right.



new home made filter socks (will see how long they last)
Last edit: 03 Oct 2015 18:09 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh).

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03 Oct 2015 18:09 - 03 Oct 2015 18:13 #246 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
2 months of growth from the remaining plants -after holiday





I want to try and replace the lost plants so might put an order in next week for some.
Future plans,

more plants
stronger return pump
male ancestris
maybe more discus in time
lock cabinet doors (got a new born on the way)
Last edit: 03 Oct 2015 18:13 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh).

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08 Jun 2016 20:28 #247 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
Just to keep this topic up to date, after spending alot of time with discus ive sold all mine.

For a few reasons

My plant range is very limited at the high temp
The ESB cost of the high temp
The cost of there food
The cost of there medication
The constant monitoring / worrying
The drepression that sets in when one dies for no reason...

So im going to rearrage the tank a bit.
On that topic i have a question in the plant fourm.

DS

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14 Aug 2016 17:20 - 14 Aug 2016 17:25 #248 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
with the discus gone, temperature lowered my new plants are staying alive.

so, the tank has under gone some work.
I've done some wood work and created a new light shelf



We turned he room a bit "beach house" theme




I've found a great biological filter using the Ceratophillum demersum + frogbit






and ive invested in some new plants (more coming)



1 : Vallisneria spiralis
2 : Ammannia Gracilis
3 : Hygrophlila
4 : Hygrophlila Siamensis
5 : Nymphaea lotus
6 : Ludwigia aff. glandulosa
7 : Anubias
8 : Cryptocoryne x willisii
9 : Lobelia cardinalis
10: Rotala rotundifolia
11: Hydrocotyle leucocephala
12: Myriophyllum aquaticum
13: Bacopa caroliniana
14: Limnophila aquatica


I'm aware of the impart the Nymphaea lotus will have so i've planted it in a plastic container under the gravel.
Last edit: 14 Aug 2016 17:25 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh).

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14 Aug 2016 17:23 #249 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)

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14 Aug 2016 18:11 #250 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
I wonder is that filter youve discovered (with the plants in it) also working as an Algae Scrubber?

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14 Aug 2016 18:15 #251 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
it does a bit more than that.
Ceratophillum demersum releases an algaecide

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratophyllum_demersum

C. demersum has allelopathic qualities as it excretes substances that inhibit the growth of phytoplankton and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae).[2][13] Its dense growth can outcompete native underwater vegetation, leading to loss of biodiversity. In New Zealand, it has caused problems with hydroelectric power plants.[2]

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14 Aug 2016 19:11 #252 by robert (robert carter)
looks very nice , love the wooden shelf

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04 Oct 2016 20:20 #253 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
so 50 days later and ALOT trimming the tank is still doing well with the new plants

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04 Oct 2016 21:08 #254 by robert (robert carter)

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05 Apr 2017 11:08 #255 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
still growing strong and doing very well. (don't need to touch it for weeks at a time now)
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05 Apr 2017 12:46 #256 by robert (robert carter)
Looks brilliant ,well done

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05 Apr 2017 15:01 #257 by iain54 (Iain Minchin)
Looks beautiful fair play to you

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24 Aug 2017 11:08 #258 by paulcavan (Paul Gileoold)
Great read fantastic tank how is it looking these days. It's a pity about the discus but they are the kind of fish that can keep you awake at night with worry and just when you relax and have a good nights sleep one dies.

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24 Aug 2017 16:25 #259 by Darkslice (Stephen Walsh)
its still doing very well :)

Only thing i buy now is fish food and once a year i buy some co2 and replace the water filter cartage :cheer:


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24 Aug 2017 17:59 #260 by nomad (pat murphy)
Looks really well ....

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24 Aug 2017 22:37 #261 by robert (robert carter)
Wow , thats a stunning tank

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