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
ClearSeal 500 New Project
- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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so i have moven on to bigger and better things from the rio 180 to a new clearseal 500
just wanna start think tread like i did the 180 so i can show yas how i get on with it over the next few months and that
ill tells some about the tank it is the freshwater clearseal 500 (black background) with
4 x 54w t5s
oliver knott substrates
2 x 300w heaters
FX5
CO2 system
i will be dosen E.I ferts for the first time ill see how i get on with them and if i see they are good ill keep usen them
it will be a very heavily planted tank
not sure about stock wise i have at the mo
1 x bredding pair off blue angles
40 x rummies
4 x kribs
3 x SAE
3 x otos
1 x pair off checkerboreds
i am thinkin a few discus and then that will be it but i think ill hold off for a while befor i get discus
ill be gettin an RO unit soon as i plan to use a mix off RO and tap
i have a step by step with pics but i can only do one photo at a time so ill do a few now and ill put the rest up tomo
lookin forward to all your comment and ideas so if yas have any let me know it will help me out good and bad welcome
sean
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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That tank looks fab in fairness,the rummies will look great if they shoal together.
Can you pm where you got the tank and price also if you dont mind. This is the tank Im hoping to get next year,have a deal with the missus that we can spend whatever is left over from the wedding funds when the wedding is done in June!!! So hers is shopping in New York..and mine is a new fish tank!!
The tank looks well,how long is it set-up...discus would look great but Id hold off until its more established,they can be picky at times. Its crying out for some corys to roam the bottom I think.
I was never gone on the SAE, but thats just me. The Kribs will be interesting,in fairness its a lovely tank. Keep posting the pics mate,its makes me wanna get cracking on with the new tank.
Gavin
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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yeah it will be a while befor i add a few discus see how thing go
all the runnies are stayin together and have to say it really make the tank they look great
haha the sister fella is doing the same thing about the weddin haha
i actually have 2 whiptails forgot to say yeah corys would be nice ill get a few down the road
i aleays have sae in my tanks they are great workers for me
thanks sean
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- SpiderMonkey (Mark O'Neill)
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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doing a cracking job sean and i'll deffo be watching

dave
Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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it will only get better in time the fourground olant has to bunch a loy it was in the 180 but i tuck it all apart and plant each one on its own hours and hours but when it starts bunching together it will look very well
still a lot to do
sean
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- Blue Land (Brian McGeever)
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Best of Luck
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- paddyc1 (Paddy Corrigan)
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The investment in time and spondulas has deffo paid off
Tallaght, Dublin 24
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- jeff (Jeff Scully)
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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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Kev.
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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Looking good Sean well done, you have it looking cracking in such a short time. Keep the pics coming. What length is the tank I would love an extra 2 or 3 foot on mine I think a longer tank really suits a planted setup
it is 5 foot 500L now i wish i went bigger hahahaha it is always the same
and kev u are spot on i love that me self i have a 900 wave maker small but moves the plants very well
o and thanks again for editin the post
sean
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- ghart (Greg Hart)
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I am still waiting delivery of my 5' custom Clearseal. Should be this week or hopefully latest next week.
Still running over the setup in my head.
Keep the pictures coming.
Greg
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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are u thinkin a planted tank
ill keep ostin update and that over time and update when i add stock
sean
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- ghart (Greg Hart)
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I will not be doing a heavy plant setup as I do not want to use a substrate in the new tank.
I will be using a pea size river gravel to a depth of 4 inches.
I may put the more difficult plants in pots with a minimum amount of substrate. I also want to avoid CO2 infusion to the tank.
My concerns here are for my expensive Discus stock in the new tank.
I've read where some substrates can occasionally release ammonia into the tank.
As you know any trace of ammonia is not tolerated by Discus fish.
On lighting : What bulbs are you using in your 5' setup for the plant growth.
I am looking toa use the 1 x 4 foot JBL T5 54W NATUR and 1 x 4 foot JBL T5 54W COLOR and both with T5 reflectors in my new setup.
Greg
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Kev.
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- BillG (Bill Gray)
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The tank looks amazing


Can’t wait to see how it looks when the foreground plants get well established.
Cheers,
Bill.
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- ghart (Greg Hart)
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When cleaning the tank I am concerned with the sand getting into the external filter and clogging it up.
Also with white sand very spec of dirt can be seen on the surface.
Could become unsightly very quickly if not doing a daily siphon.
The above is just my opinion on the use of sand.

I would live to hear the arguments in favour of silica sand in freshwater aquaria.
Greg
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You only need a small amount to have a lovely set-up, I am using Sand for Donkeys years and 2 of my current set-ups have White Sand and my Filters are perfect.
Kev.
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- ghart (Greg Hart)
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You have me reconsidering sand again now.

White silica sand and plant pots may be the way to go

Greg
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Kev.
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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Sean,
I will not be doing a heavy plant setup as I do not want to use a substrate in the new tank.
I will be using a pea size river gravel to a depth of 4 inches.
I may put the more difficult plants in pots with a minimum amount of substrate. I also want to avoid CO2 infusion to the tank.
My concerns here are for my expensive Discus stock in the new tank.
I've read where some substrates can occasionally release ammonia into the tank.
As you know any trace of ammonia is not tolerated by Discus fish.
On lighting : What bulbs are you using in your 5' setup for the plant growth.
I am looking toa use the 1 x 4 foot JBL T5 54W NATUR and 1 x 4 foot JBL T5 54W COLOR and both with T5 reflectors in my new setup.
Greg
hi greg i am used 4 foot x 4 x 54w arcadia plant pro bulbs with reflectors i wanted to try get the best i can for it best off luck on the new setup and keep us posted
Hi Sean,
The tank looks amazing The plants chosen and the size of the plants just works in the tank. You have managed to make a 500L tank look small I mean that in a good way! you see too many people make a mess of the planting layout etc and yours looks like you got it right!
Can’t wait to see how it looks when the foreground plants get well established.
Cheers,
Bill.
hi bill thanks very much mate means a lot i put so much time into plantin it and i wanted to try get it the best i could so thank u very much
i was lookin out for the biggest plants i could and found a good few in different places
ha about maken the tank look small it doesnt in real life:L:L
i should have went bigger but sure that can happen over time
about the foreground plant it wont be long at all as it is a great grower and bunchs very well ill keep yas all post with photos as time go on
i am now lookin into the E.I ferts i got the salts but have to look up how much to mix with how much water and that and going to make up a dosein schedule tonight or tomo
thanks again
sean
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- anglecichlid (ciaran hogan)
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Anyone with a aquarium can keep fish,
But it takes real skill to be a fish keeper,
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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as for the rest they are coming alone ok but did get a very bad transfer so they are suffering a bit now
i am tryin the E.I but still cant really tell how it is going
i have added a few new additions to the tank but im not going to say untill i do the update but all is well
@JSleator when ya pick the tank up ya will want to start it right away :L:L
@anglecichlid thanks mate would ya belive i pick up that pair for free and have to say the best pair off angles i have ever had stunning pair u would have to see them face to face to really tell
if anyone knows anywhere i could get easylife as in ferro easycarbo profito at a good price could yas let me know
thanks sean
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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i added a few more fish to the tank there is now 60 rummies,8 discus,4 checker broads also added a stunning pair off Apistogramma nijsenni
aslo i added 4 Apistogramma cacatuoides 2M and 2F but they didnt last not to sure as off y though though that is the only ones that went off me so all is good
the foreground plants are going great after fillin up the whole foreground do look very now not thanks god
i also added a full lenth spary bar i got made up for the tank so that there would be no dead spots in the tank and now that it is in the flow around the tank is a lot better
the discus have came on a lot the growth rate is great
also added a few Corydoras Sterbai
have being doing 40 to 45% water changes 2 ta 3 times a week
any ideas would be great for the tank
thanks for lookin here some photos when doing a water change and trimming th plants and also when addin the spray bar
thanks
Sean
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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- alkiely (alan kiely)
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Always loved big planted tanks, were did you get the plants....?
Give it another 3 months and it will look even better, it will get to the stage where it will be about the plants and not the fish



The tank will only get better as time goes on.
What did you use as substrate...?
Can i ask why are you doing so many water changes a week......?
Alan
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