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
- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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- dar (darren curry)
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Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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- dar (darren curry)
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Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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- joey (joe watson)
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Location: Portlaoise, Midlands
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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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- dar (darren curry)
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Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- dar (darren curry)
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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
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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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hyper about tank not being completely botched, pity about the drinking water:)
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- joey (joe watson)
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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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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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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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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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- serratus (Drew Latimer)
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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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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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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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

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- serratus (Drew Latimer)
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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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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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- serratus (Drew Latimer)
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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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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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- joey (joe watson)
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- dar (darren curry)
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Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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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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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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- curlysue (suzanne forlot)
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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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