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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

New tank need help

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27 Jan 2012 20:39 #1 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)



Hi all new to the site i am in the middle of setting up my 300l tank havent decided fully what africans i want to keep, there is so many fish i would love ,but my main question for the moment is about my fishless cycle ,i started off adding amonia that my brother in law made up in his lab so it is pure with nothing added to it he made it up at 10 percent,i added enough amonia so that i had a reading of 5ppm the cycle is running two weeks on saturday my nitrite is at 5,0 mg/l my nitrate is at 50mg/l my PH is 7.8 i also have a filter pad from my 4 year old tank in my new tank(Oscars x2 ,silver dollers x4,green Severn).My question is that i read on the net my amonia should fall when the nitrite started to rise and when the nitrate had spiked my nitrite should have fallen, am i just two anxious to get my fish but with my readings i should have seen some drop with the amonia at least.I have never done a fishless cycle before, when i got my other tank it was already cycled as i baught it from a friend.If any one sees if i am doing anything wrong it would put my mind at rest if u would let me know i would be greatful :) ill stick some pictures up of the tank i hope the upload correctly.
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27 Jan 2012 21:12 #2 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
hi and welcome when i set up a new tank 6mts ago i was like a child just couldn't wait it was killing me so i went to my lfs to ask if their was anyway i could speed things up and guess what he gave me a sterter kit around the €20 mark said put this in and add your fish straight away (only a few now) but i was like yes their will be swimmers tonight, as i went off with a big smile i started to think how is this possible and my smile fadded a bit haha but kept saying he knows his stuff it'll be grand.. sure enough added (ehem) 10 fish into a 240ltr i was told 5 or 6 but anyway 6mts later or more never lost a fish

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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27 Jan 2012 21:21 #3 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)
Sounds like a plan i hope to get out to seahorse on sat if my wife hasnt any plans for me but will the starter kit work when my readings are at what they are at ,by the way thanks for the reply

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27 Jan 2012 21:30 - 27 Jan 2012 21:34 #4 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: New tank need help
Here's a link, hope it helps as I have always used the Organic method, ie. using hardier Fish etc.

www.algone.com/aquarium-articles/technic...ion/fishless-cycling

It looks like you have the same Aquarium as me, if you haven't already done so, I'd advise you to put a smear of Silicon on all areas where the wood comes to a 90 deg angle, Clearseal have improved their Stands and Lid considerably in the last few Years but I still noticed areas prone to soaking up Water and swelling, it's esy to do by squeezing it along your seals.

Kev.
Last edit: 27 Jan 2012 21:34 by stretnik (stretnik).

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27 Jan 2012 21:43 #5 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)
Sounds like i am trying to do this the hard way ,i need to get some more rock tomorrow so ill have a good look into these products thanks for the link the people with a real intrest in the hobby know best,
I would like to get some Fontosa is my tank two small for them if not how many could i get into 300l and is there any good tank mates i could get to go in with them

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27 Jan 2012 21:46 #6 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)
i dont like the sound of that but i have some silicone there from when i had a desaster with an old tank but thanks for the heads up

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27 Jan 2012 22:05 #7 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: New tank need help
I can go in more depth if you'd like, It's a dawdle to do, you can do it so it cannot be seen.

Kev.

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27 Jan 2012 22:12 #8 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)
i have a good idea what u are talking about i intend to get right on top of it in the morning dont need any hastle like that it took me a while to convince my wife to let me put the tank in the sitting room but i know she wil love it when it is stocked she would not be too happy to see that happening cheers

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27 Jan 2012 22:23 #9 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: New tank need help
Take a peek at this to see how it looks with a South American(ish) theme.

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/fforu...llon-aquarium#115371

Kev.

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27 Jan 2012 22:37 #10 by jeff (Jeff Scully)

Sounds like a plan i hope to get out to seahorse on sat if my wife hasnt any plans for me but will the starter kit work when my readings are at what they are at ,by the way thanks for the reply




no probs at all mate
not a 100% sure about the readings side of things cause i did it at the start, but well worth looking into

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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27 Jan 2012 22:46 #11 by jeff (Jeff Scully)

Here's a link, hope it helps as I have always used the Organic method, ie. using hardier Fish etc.

Cool link thanks kev




www.algone.com/aquarium-articles/technic...ion/fishless-cycling

It looks like you have the same Aquarium as me, if you haven't already done so, I'd advise you to put a smear of Silicon on all areas where the wood comes to a 90 deg angle, Clearseal have improved their Stands and Lid considerably in the last few Years but I still noticed areas prone to soaking up Water and swelling, it's esy to do by squeezing it along your seals.

Kev.


and again thanks Kev

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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27 Jan 2012 22:51 #12 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)
The video is class where did u get the drift wood you really have an eye for the decor

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27 Jan 2012 22:55 #13 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)
Will let you know the out come tomorrow ,time to relax now and watch a movie

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27 Jan 2012 22:59 #14 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: New tank need help
Thanks a Mill, It's Moorwood, really is amazing stuff for dramatic scapes, it takes a while to expel the Air inside but it does and sinks well, it has a tendency to grow a Whitish Fungus in the first few Days but a couple of Ancistrus (Bristlenoses) will sort that very quickly, it will also release Tannins which give the Water a brown/Tea-like colour which, if you don't like it, can be removed using Activated Charcoal but I think the Fish like it.

You can get the Wood from most Local Fish Stores (LFS) Call before going out to make sure your Trip isn't wasted.

Thanks for your comments.

Kev.

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28 Jan 2012 20:41 #15 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)



Went out to seahorse today to see what can be done about my cycling problem uying ,and it was good news they tested the water for me and it was my readings that were the problem i was waiting too long to read the ammonia so my readings now are PH 7.5 nh4 was 2ppm which i taught were reading 5 all the time NO2 5PPM and NO3 100 so at the minute i am back on track ,i have to keep an eye on NO2 it should drop in the next couple of days and when it dose a good water change and ready to stock up.yee ha.

I also couldnt resist buying these two convicts for my oscar tank hopefully they will settle in well and my oscar will leave them alone as he is not too fond of new tank mates they are in a couple of hours all seems well and they are feeding well.

Ill keep u all up dated on my african tank as i go along thanks for all the replys and the help :)
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14 Mar 2012 10:33 #16 by steothegreat (stephen flanagan)
hey i done fishless cycles on both of my tanks and worked fine. but they can take anywhere up to a month.
just keep the patience
what ammonia are you using.
and in the middle of my cycle i did a 50 per cent water change and that really boosted things along
just make sure to have the water conditioner added as the will not be good for oyur benefical bacteria.

any question feel free to ask and ill try help through my experience :)

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14 Mar 2012 19:50 #17 by lawlessr (Ross Lawless)
Thanks for the reply i finished the cycle about 6 weeks ago it worked out perfect it took about 4 and a half weeks tank is running very well now its fully stocked ,just a bit of brown algey on the rocks at the moment i used pure ammonia that my brother in law made up in his lab,all prameters have been perfect with 30% water change every week.

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