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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

sudden change in water testings

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06 Dec 2010 14:34 #1 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
Hi
I have been cycling my 200l tank for the last 5.5 weeks and been getting little hic-cups along the way but while the SNOW kept me grounded at home for the last 10 days, all the readings came back perfect, have been doing a 25 % water change every few days and testing daily. low and behold I can get my car out today so tested the water before I left to get my first few fish:) and the readings have lept: Ammonia 0.25 and Nitrate isn't quite 5 but def not 0. What more can I do??? Fish that r currently in tank r doing great even thriving.

Sue

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06 Dec 2010 14:40 - 06 Dec 2010 14:42 #2 by dar (darren curry)
fish dont trive in ammonia, do not add anymore fish. more water changes 10% a day should cover you for a week or so with daily testing, nitrates can go up to 40ish, are you sure its not nitrites. sorry but wat size tank do you have, filter and wat stock?

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
Last edit: 06 Dec 2010 14:42 by dar (darren curry).

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06 Dec 2010 14:49 #3 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
dar to the rescue again, :)

Is a 200l tank with an inter fluval and external eheim 300. only stock I have are 5 guppys ( lost one last week but story attached to that he was'nt ill) and two gold fish who have been maturing the filter for me. nitrite is reading 0, ammonia .25 and nitrate not quite 5. I added safe start 4 weeks ago and have being doing the 25% changes every 2 days until last week and since then have been doing 30% every 4 days. don't want to sound like a baby throwing her soother from her cot but its so dissappointing after having perfect readings

Sue

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06 Dec 2010 14:56 #4 by dar (darren curry)
can you remove the goldies? these are messy fish. also i'd like to hear your feeding routine?

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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06 Dec 2010 15:00 #5 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
I was thinking of that this a.m, the biggest one is always busy. I have been feeing them daily but was recommended to feed them less when ammonia peaks so went down to every two days. I have a older goldie tank belonging to our kids in other room might move him there until he goes to my friends out door pond

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06 Dec 2010 17:00 #6 by joey (joe watson)
test your tap water. when snow is gritted and melts the run-off can get into the water and alot of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates can come in with them. if you test positive then dont use anymore tap water til it reads 0

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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06 Dec 2010 17:24 #7 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
joey
your a genius, just tested my tap water and its giving the exact readings I got out of my tank this am. ammonia 2.5 and nitrate just below 5. now the problem of getting 50 litres of water back from the shop lol.

thanks
sue

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06 Dec 2010 17:37 #8 by dar (darren curry)
up yours joey

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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06 Dec 2010 17:39 - 06 Dec 2010 17:40 #9 by dar (darren curry)
curlysue wrote:

now the problem of getting 50 litres of water back from the shop


wat about an ammonia lock, lads wats the best one

this makes safe ammonia

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
Last edit: 06 Dec 2010 17:40 by dar (darren curry).

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06 Dec 2010 17:51 #10 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
going to try get out 2m and get up to shop and get some.
hyper about tank not being completely botched, pity about the drinking water:)

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06 Dec 2010 17:54 #11 by joey (joe watson)
:P to you dar!
actually it was something i read in a previous thread last year, not too sure if it was on this forum or not. so i cant take all the credit
try running another small filter with matured media in a bucket of your tap water and test after a few hours or a day, to see if the bacteria clears the ammonia, then use that to do a water change. but TBH your filter should catch up soon and automatically clear the ammonia its a case of testing a couple of times a day

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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06 Dec 2010 22:36 #12 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Yes it's that time of year again when the mains water goes a bit funny.

December, January and in to February the mains water seems to change and its not unusual to find traces of Ammonia.
Its a good idea to only do small water changes at this time of year in case you introduce something in to the tank that you dont want.
As mentioned above, once the snow comes and the roads are gritted the water treatment plant have to deal with the addition of salt in the water. Last year they used urea (ammonia + carbon dioxide) to clear the snow.

It's also a good idea to have some polyfilter at hand in case you need to take quick action to help clean up the water in your tank.

Prime is a great water conditioner that will deal with the Ammonia.

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06 Dec 2010 23:46 #13 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
thanks for the advice lads.
will get shopping 2m
not only have I a rise in ammonia now but also in inhabitants:) two baby guppys are hiding behind some bog wood tonight;)

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08 Dec 2010 21:22 #14 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
what to do ???
the rise in ammonia in tank has been the thorn in my side for the last few days. So I sent the OH to get to a pet shop which isn't buried in snow:P to get an ammonia remover as advised, to no avail. so he got 60 litres of water in lidl tried Dunnes and all the water had high nitrate and ammonia levels so bless his little heart he went onto lidl. prolem is, its reading 5 ammonia and approx .3 nitrate. Tap water is reading .25 ammonia and .5 nitrate. Need to change water tonight need advice on which will kill my guppies :( .

Sue

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08 Dec 2010 21:36 #15 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Hi Sue... if the fish arent showing any signs of distress ie. gills moving fast, fins red, sitting on bottom on gravel or hanging at water surface i would leave it and dont feed, with levels like that you could make it worse!!!! i will try and get Ammonia remover sent to our Tallaght store tmw.. fingers crossed!!!!

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08 Dec 2010 21:46 #16 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
hi drew
I am shocked the amount of junk in bought water, I rehomed the goldfish in our goldfish bowl, God love them they ll think the reccession has hit them too:) so that should mean less ammonia production, if you could that would be great. Fish r lively and don't look distressed but what will I do in the short term about water changes. By any chance do you have 5 gallon drums up there too?? there is a natural stream not too far away from me I could possily get water from it??

sue

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08 Dec 2010 21:48 #17 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
curlysue for god sake dont use bottled water these are naturally high in ammonia and nitrate,you'll only make a bad situation worse, get some polyfilter and get ammonia remover from serratus and do water changes from your tap water, i treat mine with easylife found it the best for removing all the crap in water

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 2010 21:55 #18 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
hi Sheag 35
like I said I am shocked at the high levels of crap in bottled water. going to get some amm. remover from serratus and without sounding thick or should I say thicker ;) what is polyfilter??

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08 Dec 2010 22:02 #19 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Yep and people drink it!! :0 good idea to take the goldfish out, they are very pollutant fish and it will help. Yeh we have jerricans in Tallaght as suggested also get a polyfilter, great product made by Underworld and designed by NASA!!! this will absorb any AM, No2 etc.. in the water and make it safe...a standard size will do your tank. I wouldnt use stream water without testing it fully as you could add "something else"....

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08 Dec 2010 22:06 #20 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
great stuff, will the polyfilter work for future water changes too cause I really have to change some of it in the next few days??

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08 Dec 2010 22:16 #21 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
yep just leave it in the tank, and once every few month take it out and recharge it in a very strong salt solution for about 48 hours, then rinse very well and reuse

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 2010 22:29 #22 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
I dont think you can recharge poly-filter, one of its downfalls :( replace it every month or so... when they are full thats it, they wont absorb anymore, however they wont release compounds back into the water when they are exhausted... unlike carbon etc...

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08 Dec 2010 22:39 #23 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
will argue this point serratus as i do it regularly and heck it even tells you how to on the pack, well it did unless they took it off to increase sales

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 2010 22:55 #24 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
polyfilter? ok, must check that out, have used it for many, many years and never heard of recharging it!!!! have looked at a few sites and seems to be confusion over this..... pos. too different makes???

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09 Dec 2010 00:39 #25 by joey (joe watson)
i'm not going to change water for a wee while, i haven't bothered testing the tap water yet but will do tommorrow. onlt did a few litres today as i was syphoning out a fry trap but thats it. the fish should be ok for another week

Location: Portlaoise, Midlands

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09 Dec 2010 08:11 #26 by dar (darren curry)
use the prime lads it says it removes chlorine choramines, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, plus it is cheap as chips (well not as chips, chips nearing the 2.50 if not over region but it's still cheap)

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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09 Dec 2010 10:35 - 09 Dec 2010 14:19 #27 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Hi i contacted Underworld direct and it appears there has been lots of rumours on on the net about there product able to be recharged but "technical" informed me it cannot. It even says on the back "clearly demonstrates when it needs to be replace" if anyone has a pack at hand..... There are a few products that go under the name "polyfilter" we got some in from the US but they were not as good as the original. Its possible that these products say they can be recharged but according to Underworld themselves theres cannot.
Last edit: 09 Dec 2010 14:19 by serratus (Drew Latimer).

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09 Dec 2010 14:43 #28 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
ok, the stuff i got did come from the states so probably there in lies the difference, it was just maked polyfilter in a clear bag but looking at the bag again last night there was no manufacturers label so dont know who the manufacturer is.
prob different companies so, but it is good stuff whom ever makes it, a must have in my opinion

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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09 Dec 2010 19:59 #29 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
cheers drew,

Got home and tested water ammonia .5 and nitrate 5 still no nitrite though, good or bad don't know but as long as the rest drop don't care:), seperated the polyfilter and put it in each layer of the external, there is a great flow through it so fingers crossed, replaced 25% of tank water and moved the plants and bog wood around and its really starting to look the job. all I need now is Fish:laugh: , If I get stuck could I bother u for more water??
when I get it stocked I'll post some photos,it'll look nothing compared to some of the works of art posted on forum, but it'll do me fine.
Sue

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09 Dec 2010 20:02 #30 by curlysue (suzanne forlot)
Hi Joey,
Let us know how your tap water results go will you? It 'd be interesting to c the difference from county to county

Sue

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