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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

easter island head

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08 Mar 2012 22:33 #1 by brian (Brian)
flic.kr/s/aHsjywdAsu

moulded up an easter island head for the tank,though a friend says it looks like bruce forsythe so having second thoughts ,maybe just need a bit of modification,its about 2 foot high.want to make one about 3-3.5 feet high for the main tank :)

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09 Mar 2012 12:31 #2 by PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
Haha, nice work Brian. You certainly don't do anything on a small scale do you!! :)

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09 Mar 2012 12:44 #3 by kilyth (De Burke)
That's pretty amazing. What's it made from?

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09 Mar 2012 13:15 #4 by brian (Brian)
made from an 18" piece of 4" sewer pipe ,chicken wire wrapped round to a face shape,then covered in concrete.its hollow inside so was going to maybe lay it flat and it could be catfish housing.

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09 Mar 2012 13:59 #5 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: easter island head
Hi Brian, very talented guy I'm guessing.... a word in your Ear, Chicken Wire WILL rust and I'm not sure about the pros and cons on this, maybe someone else can explain, the Galvo on the main strands may be fine but where it is twisted by Hand, Galvo will crack exposing mild steel leading to rust.

Kev.

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09 Mar 2012 16:40 #6 by brian (Brian)
yeah i was a bit worried about that,was thinking of giving it a topcoat of clear polester resin,or epoxy resin.do you think the rust would leach out from inside the concrete?

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09 Mar 2012 17:15 - 09 Mar 2012 17:17 #7 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: easter island head
It often happens in Statues made of concrete where a central structure of steel is needed, wait until Ian comes on, he'll give you a definitive answer.

I just have to say, it's a lovely piece of work, it'd be amazing in a Reptile set-up too!!

Kev. .
Last edit: 09 Mar 2012 17:17 by stretnik (stretnik).

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09 Mar 2012 17:34 #8 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
Easter Island heads look like Bruce Forsyth anyway.....so there is no 2 ways of getting around an easter island head that does not look like Bruce. :)

That's a really nice piece of art work.

Is this to go inside a tank? (I'm a little confused somewhere...possibly the dimensions confused me)

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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09 Mar 2012 17:44 #9 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
Hi brian,

I'd be very cautious about putting concrete products into the tank. When i was doing my pond i was warned not to let concrete or concrete products near the water unless they were painted with the pond safe paint.And kev is on to something there with the chicken wire. Galvanised steel will not rust for 100 years but the wire will have been cut at some point when u made the head and its these ends that will rust in a day or two and even with no rust i would be careful putting galvanised things into the tank full stop.if the whole thing could be coated in the clear resin it might do the trick but i wouldn't take the chance tbh.The head looks fantastic tough a few of them in the garden would look class.

Stuart.

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

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09 Mar 2012 17:52 #10 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
The iron rust is the least of the problems.

The zinc from the anti-rust coating of the wire is a much bigger problem for the fish....in the long term.

In the short term, the concrete itself is the immediate risk to fish unless it has been cured correctly and fully.

The curing starts from the day the concrete object is made.....and that is best started by having the objuect in a moist atmosphere to get maximum hydration on the setting of the concrete to start with. Then after that, you'd need to have a long process of fully curing the concrete before being safe for a tank.

The curing process will also depend on what has been added to the concrete....eg accelerators or retarders etc.

If done properly it can be safe, but you may still need to address the zinc problem.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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09 Mar 2012 19:21 #11 by brian (Brian)
yeah was going to put it in the tank,really just trying out building one,think i will try making the bigger one bout 3-3.5feet high without wire.i heard that after the concrete has set soaking it in water for a few weeks will help get rid of lime in the cement making it ready for the tank ?

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09 Mar 2012 20:42 #12 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)
Brian you could use plastic mesh or even stainless steel mesh as a subsitute for the chicken wire.

Stuart.

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

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09 Mar 2012 20:48 #13 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
Wow, that is some size.....I wasn't sure if you were building a cool stand with that size ornament.

The first few days of leaving in a humid environment will help much of the remaining surface calcium oxide change into calcium carbonate quite rapidly (the moisture and carbon dioxide will help).

Then after a week or so setting, then place it in tap water for 6 weeks to 8 weeks. Refresh the water every so often and take pH readings until the pH has stabilised at a level suitable for your particular tank set-up.

When the pH is stable, the soak in a weak vinegar solution for a few days. Then rinse and then see if the pH is still stable.

If this is for marines or Tanganyikan cichlids then the concrete can stabilise quite easily; if for Discus etc then it could be a problem.

You'd have to keep a close watch on the pH when in the tank.

That's a big project....I don't want to be too negative and say 'dont do it' but it can be done.

Maybe a non-toxic lacquer would help.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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09 Mar 2012 20:49 #14 by igmillichip (ian millichip)

Brian you could use plastic mesh or even stainless steel mesh as a subsitute for the chicken wire.

Stuart.


I've bumped Wylam's suggestion as he posted as I was typing away merrily. :)

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09 Mar 2012 21:38 #15 by brian (Brian)
yep plastic mesh and a load of cable ties sounds the job,its goin in quite a bit of water so if its
cured a bit should be ok.i have bout 50 kilos of limestone chips in the filter to stabilize ph ,hardness at the mo anyway.

and i its gona be done : )

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