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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

Tank wall in shed out of scrap timber

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17 Nov 2008 23:36 #1 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Ok i got the go ahead to set up the rest of my tanks in the shed. I started building a rack for them this evening.Will hopefull finish it tomorrow evening if I can find enough materials.Havent spent a penny so far :) Didnt draw a plan either , just all out of my head.There is also another shelf going over the lower one.Any suggestions welcome.







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18 Nov 2008 00:48 #2 by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
totally off topic and probably no help , buttttttt ... at least the fish can stay fit with the threadmill .... and eat well due to your considerate inclusion of a barbcue for them too

how considerate

the project looks well ... keep up the good work

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18 Nov 2008 00:53 #3 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Haha , I just gagged on my beer reading that :)

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18 Nov 2008 01:05 #4 by LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
Hey John

Is the shed insulated? The roof obviously is not so will you have issues with keeping the heat in the tanks? Also will you have issues with condensation forming on the roof?

LB

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18 Nov 2008 01:16 #5 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Yeah there is 4 inches of fiberglass insulation behind all the plywood panels.The Roof has a non drip coating on it (Its wooly to the touch). I need to insulate the door tho , and put in the foam insulation where the roof meets the wall, have these already so its not too bad :). Its never really cold in the shed , as the oil burner is in there and a certain amount of heat comes off the stainless steel pipe for the chimney.When i was puttin in the burner , i left T joints on the pipes so i can put a radiator in the shed too ;)

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19 Nov 2008 00:14 #6 by Zoom (Zoom)
Hi John ,
I'd paint the ply wood as alot of condensation will build up in there , I'm presuming its not Marine ply so the little voids will gather mould etc over time and it will protect the ply , just a quick coat of gloss before you put the tanks in . Also it will help the ply wood from warping as the moisture will cause the ply to expand , really your supposed to have a vapour barrier (plastic covering the timber to protect it over time) , my fish house is made from timber and i've had all the problems. Best to do it as best you can from the start as it saves alot of time and hassel later.

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19 Nov 2008 00:20 #7 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Thanks for the suggestion Zoom , I never thought of painting it.Didnt do anything with it this evening , fell asleep on the couch after work lol :) The plywood is water and boil proof.Im thinking of mabye a small fan that vents to the outside at the top of the rack , would this be a good idea ? Have you got any pictures of your fish room , might give me some ideas

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19 Nov 2008 01:03 #8 by Andrew (Andrew Taaffe)
likewise, i'd like to see photos and options users have of their fish rooms
Andrew

ITFS Club Secretary
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
see the ITFS tab above for more information www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/itfs

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19 Nov 2008 13:43 #9 by Zoom (Zoom)
Hi John ,

I never thought a vent would be a good idea as i wanted a heated sealed room , and even with a vent there still will be condensation, Also just thinking you said your boiler is in this room , then a vent is necessary because the boiler needs oxygen to burn and if the room is sealed it would not be long before it uses all the oxygen in the room , then you could get boiler trouble with it not igniting also it wouldn't help the fish as there would be no gasous exchange with oxygen on the water surface dont know how much it would effect the fish but definetly the boiler. Also although the ply is wbp it will still take in moistuer and warp. I will post some photo's later on have to take a few pic's .I put plaster board over a vapour barrier which is between the timber and plaster board. Its worth it for 7 euro a sheet then you can either skim it or joint it and paint it , if it is the moisture resistant board. but i'm sure a coat of an apoxy paint would do the same job over the ply.

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19 Nov 2008 22:10 #10 by Zoom (Zoom)
Hi again just uploaded some photo's to show ya , its small but it suits me as its very easy to keep warm its actually has a room temp of 25 degrees celcius just from two 300 watt heaters in the 2 big tanks which are set to 29 for discus. So here is some photo's of the room and some of the fish i keep in it . Also 1 of the stands i made for it which I had on my phone.









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19 Nov 2008 22:23 #11 by duzzy1 (Martin Kennedy)
wow wot a cool set up ... i'm so envious .... congrats it looks well sweet

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19 Nov 2008 22:24 #12 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Very nice Zoom !! Mine isnt going to be anywhere as professional as that as its only going to be for a short while.I got a bit more done this evening , was wrecked after work so didnt have much energy :unsure: . I have another rescue tank on the way to me tomorrow for free , think its only a 60L but a tank is a tank :laugh: . Anyone out there got any more old tanks they dont want , doesnt have to be anything fancy , dont even mind if its scratched.

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20 Nov 2008 19:39 #13 by Orca (Eoin Walsh)
Very nice zoom and john. I could only dream of a fish room no space in the house and no shed.
What might the cost setting up a fish room.What are the things you realy need to do to get up and running.

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22 Nov 2008 19:30 #14 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Mini Update today :laugh:

Ok I got another tank today for free , id say its a 60L. It came with an UGF that filtered half the tank :unsure:. I ripped this system apart and made a DIY filter out of the powerhead,a tupperware container,some pipe and foam + gravel. Gave the tank a bloody good cleaning then.Nearly got sick with the smell that was in it :S . Lemme know what ya think.







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24 Nov 2008 23:59 #15 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Dunno if anyone is following this build but ill keep posting my progress.Got a bit more done this evening , just in the door now in fact :dry: The missus thinks im mad working out in the frost lol.

Total Cost so far for materials : €0.00 , well thats not counting the electricity to charge the drills and work the chopsaw. I already had the Screws too , I collect them in work when im taking shelving out of vans when they get traded in. Im a mechanic BTW :P

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25 Nov 2008 00:05 #16 by Andrew (Andrew Taaffe)
lookin great John, i'm following this one all the way. I'll crack a drink when the fish go in !!

ITFS Club Secretary
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
see the ITFS tab above for more information www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/itfs

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25 Nov 2008 00:08 #17 by LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
Are you planning to have another 3 tanks on top John?
What sort of supports do you have under it?
It’s starting to look the part ;)

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25 Nov 2008 00:18 #18 by derek (Derek Doyle)
john,is that woodworm i see on the stands legs. (only joking)
you could put polystyrene at the back, sides and bottom of tanks to conserve heat,

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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25 Nov 2008 00:19 #19 by Orca (Eoin Walsh)
Looking very good.How many tanks are you going to have.

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25 Nov 2008 00:23 #20 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Thanks guys. Well im thinking of putting the smaller tanks up on top , I want to get 2 x 3 foot tanks for the middle shelf , and some tanks for the bottom aswell.Im having trouble getting tanks tho , and i certainly dont want to buy new ones :S As regards supports under the middle shelf , the timbers are 9" x 3" , They dont move a millimeter with me swinging out of it lol.I might add in some supports just in case tho :)

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25 Nov 2008 00:30 #21 by LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
From the look of the last photo it looks like you might need some more support under the ply shelves?
Those 3 tanks will weigh a fair bit when there full.

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25 Nov 2008 00:34 #22 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Think I have some 3/4" ply I could make supports out of.Its former life was in the floor of a van :) Somebody help me out with some tanks !!! :laugh:

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26 Nov 2008 00:11 - 26 Nov 2008 00:12 #23 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Ok didnt get anything done this evening. Just thought id post a pic of my main tank as it is now. I need to get a background for it , the curtains behind it look terrible :S I got some rocks out of the river thats in my backyard , brought them into work and steam washed them.I had to move the filter away from the glass because one of my lombardi's got stuck behind there for around half an hour , she is now hiding constantly for the last few days and wont come to feed with the other 3 :(

Last edit: 26 Nov 2008 00:12 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin).

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26 Nov 2008 00:15 #24 by LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
How did you steam wash them at work?

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26 Nov 2008 00:21 #25 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
We have a jetwasher that turns up to 130 degrees. Should be sufficient to kill anything that was on them. They wernt bad to be honest , the river that they came out of is crystal clear and has small trout and minnow in it so it cant be polluted.

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26 Nov 2008 00:31 #26 by LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
Just watch out for soap and oil :huh:

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26 Nov 2008 00:41 #27 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
They should be grand. I soaked them in a bucket with a hose in the bucket gently running for about an hour. Once again the missus thought i was mad lol :)

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07 Dec 2008 23:35 - 07 Dec 2008 23:36 #28 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin)
Got a bit more done today.Also put in a 5' double flourecent that I got for nothing.It was missing the starters but i had some lying around :) Have water plumbed to the front of the rack. I still have to close off the sides and insulate a bit more.Made some glass tops for the tanks out of old cabinet door glass :lol:
.Wanna make some sort of drain to the outside aswell.





Last edit: 07 Dec 2008 23:36 by Johnmorrin (John Morrin).

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07 Dec 2008 23:43 #29 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
looking impressive

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick

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08 Dec 2008 00:29 #30 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Very nice. You certainly know how to turn old into new. fair play.

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