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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

Close to disaster

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11 Sep 2010 23:49 - 11 Sep 2010 23:50 #1 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
Hi Folks,
looking for some advice -

came home this afternoon and turned on the lights in my 260L. All adult mollies dead and every fish plus a few hundred snails I didn't know I had up at the surface - including 3 L204s that never leave the bottom third of the tank.

I had given second dose of Whitespot treatment yesterday - that's the only unusual thing done lately. I didn't wait to test the water - I did a 25% water change and added 2 x 20cm airstones.

Is there anything else I can / should do?

Also - decided to water change a 240l while I was at it - its one of those Juwel corner box filter jobs. Took four 3AMP fuses to get the pump started again. Now I don't dare turn it off again. Go buy a TetraTec 1200 instead?

Many Thanks,

Jim.
Last edit: 11 Sep 2010 23:50 by Jim (Jim Lawlor).

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12 Sep 2010 00:17 #2 by dar (darren curry)
jim did you tamper with and monitor the heat while dosing for white spot? just a thought

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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12 Sep 2010 00:38 #3 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
Hi Dar,
Turned it up to 28 for 4 days, back down to 24 once I added second dose. Still only dropped as far as 25

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12 Sep 2010 01:47 #4 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re:Close to disaster
Jim,
It certainly sounds like some sort of oxygen depletion - in which case your actions would appear to be the correct ones.
I hope they were prompt enough and that you have had no more losses overnight.
Even if it was sufficient I would suggest a further water change in the morning , possibly even another later on if things haven't settled down.

As to the Juwel pump blowing fuses it might just be that the impellor was either stuck or even partially stuck and wouldn't re-start after it had been stopped. The seizure or even partial seizure could well cause enough resistance to cause a 3a fuse to blow - other than that you have to be considering an electrical fault...perhaps either a replacement pump or a new filter could well be 'on the cards'.

Any further suggestions?

I hope you get on top of your difficulties.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.

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12 Sep 2010 10:57 #5 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
No sign of any more causalties this morning. Whitespot treatment must have had an effect on O2. All other paramters are fine today. Luckily it is a fairly understocked tank.

As for the Juwel - the filtration on it is disappointing anyway. Its only got 6 Glowlight, 9 Odessas and 4 small Botias and the water is never crystal clear. Tetratec on the way!

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12 Sep 2010 11:14 #6 by Ma (mm mm)
Replied by Ma (mm mm) on topic Re:Close to disaster
Bad luck Jim, I would also say oxygen dep. I doubt the filter is blowing fuses unless it is leaking internally otherwise you might check the socket it is plugged into.

If your water is never clear it is down to the media usually and not the filter unless the filter is just not enough for the water volume or it is faulty.

The plecos survived cos they can get a breath from the surface.


Whitespot? Didn't you turn that 200L you got from me into a QT?


Mark

Location D.11

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18 Sep 2010 14:28 #7 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
Mark. wrote:

Whitespot? Didn't you turn that 200L you got from me into a QT?


Mark


Yep - 10 days solitary didnt do it, apparently. Am going to replace it with a smaller tank for QT - cheaper on the medications etc.

I also appear to have messed up on the treatment. Ich is back - have just started treatment again.
Should I avoid water changes while treating?

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18 Sep 2010 14:33 - 18 Sep 2010 14:46 #8 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:Close to disaster
I would suggest no Water changes, you will be causing more harm than good, if your Water perams are good, nitrates snd nitrites etc, add the meds, no carbon or other adsorptive material in your Filters, obey the instructions and keep the temps up until a few days after the Ich appears to be gone but be vigilant, watch the temps of any Water changes you are putting into the Tank.

In addition, return the Tank to it's proper temperature gradually, a degree a day until you have attained the correct temp.

Kev.
Last edit: 18 Sep 2010 14:46 by stretnik (stretnik).

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21 Sep 2010 14:18 - 21 Sep 2010 14:19 #9 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
Mark. wrote:

If your water is never clear it is down to the media usually and not the filter unless the filter is just not enough for the water volume or it is faulty.


I had tried cleaning the filter, replacing media & big water changes, to no avail. There was even a green scum growing on the water surface whcih could have been algae or maybe even cyanobacteria? If left a few days it began to look oily and the filter wasnt even breaking the surface.

So, I stuck a TetraTec EX1200 on this tank last night, turned it on about midnight at 50% max flow rate.

This morning, all water is crystal clear, visibly improved.

I'll run it in parallel with the Juwel corner black-box job for a few week and then the Juwel box is history . . .
Last edit: 21 Sep 2010 14:19 by Jim (Jim Lawlor).

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21 Sep 2010 14:28 #10 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Hi Jim. Good idea removing the box filter alltogether. Personally, Im not a fan of them, and yours being a mid sized tank now filtered by an EX1200 you could create more living space, improve the look and save power. Those units are not the best, and being the way they are, whitespot and the like can live safe and sound behind the nooks and crannies of them. Just a thought, oh, and best of luck with the recovery...

Jay

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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21 Sep 2010 19:22 #11 by derek (Derek Doyle)
hi jim
i found the standard juwel filters very slow to mature compared to the movable filters (internal, external.), but when they eventually kick in they work ok.
whitespot cures work on the priciple of having the dye in the water when the parasite cyst seperates itself from the host fish and multiplies a thousandfold and at this stage it can be destroyed. it has a 72 hour cycle and that is why treatment is added on days 1,2,3 and 6. when treatment is finished after day 7 a water change is reccomended. carbon or polyfilter must be removed during treatment or it will remove the dye/cure.
having said that, there seems to be new resistent strains of whitespot/velvet around now that are very difficult to clear up.
best of luck.

30 tanks specialise in african cichlids, angelfish and various catfish

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21 Sep 2010 20:57 #12 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:Close to disaster
For those down in the Mouth re White Spot.....


www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.p...way&utm_content=html

Kev.

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22 Sep 2010 14:19 #13 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
derek wrote:

hi jim
i found the standard juwel filters very slow to mature compared to the movable filters (internal, external.)


There was a filter sponge with the filter which claims to remove nitrate (presumably impregnated with a resin?). Would this slow down maturation by depriving the bacteria of nitrates? perhaps leading to a spike later on when the resin stops working?

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22 Sep 2010 15:16 #14 by DJK (David Kinsella)
The end product of the Nitrogen Cycle are Nitrates so this Nitrate removing sponge you mention will have nothing to do with the maturing process.

I personally use this sponge myself with great success meaning my water changes are confined to every 3-4 weeks in my Juwel Tank. Also note that this sponge should be replaced every 2 months or so.

From reading posts here knocking the Juwel Internal on a regular basis, not one single poster(that I have seen) has even mentioned that sponge(green) or the Cirax for that matter. They'd rather come up with their 'own way' of stacking the media and then blame the filter on whatever problem develops.

My advice is, follow the simple instructions + watch your stocking levels and all will be well.

Dave

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22 Sep 2010 17:06 #15 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
DJK wrote:

The end product of the Nitrogen Cycle are Nitrates so this Nitrate removing sponge you mention will have nothing to do with the maturing process.
Dave


Doh - sorry - of course, don't know what I was thinking.

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22 Sep 2010 19:11 #16 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re:Close to disaster
We all get them, they're called craft moments,

CAN'T REMEMBER A F**@ING thing moment.

kKev.

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