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
Sand substrate murky tank
- lambo111 (kevin)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 42
- Thank you received: 0
Should I remove the sand or will it settle
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- JohnH (John)
-
- Offline
- Administrator
-
- Posts: 6067
- Thank you received: 857
Most sand and gravel we use as substrate really needs a whole lot of washing with running water - then when you think you've done enough do lots more!
It's an arduous task, but one which really cannot be shirked.
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.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- lambo111 (kevin)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 42
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Gedas (Gediminas Derkintis)
-
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 94
- Thank you received: 3
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- mickdeja (Mick Whelan)
-
- Offline
- Platinum Member
-
- Posts: 1142
- Thank you received: 36
Mick...

Follow me up to Carlow
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- igmillichip (ian millichip)
-
- Offline
- Moderator
-
- Posts: 3366
- Thank you received: 536
Some gravels/sands are easy to clean....others are a pain.
So, when the cloudiness has settled, what is going in the tank?
ian
Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- lambo111 (kevin)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 42
- Thank you received: 0
should i shut down the filter to keep the water still?
I still haven't decided 100% on what to keep originally i was going to have 100litre tank and just keep some guppies and mollies but now i have 330 to play with i'm not sure Ideally i want to have several colorful fish that won't eat each other.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- bart (Bart Korfanty)
-
- Offline
- Senior Member
-
- Posts: 335
- Thank you received: 77
not many people is keeping them and they are kinda hard to get
but stunning colors and easy to keep in hard water
have look here
rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm
and that's what i have
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/fforu...raphs/90882-rainbows
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- stretnik (stretnik)
-
- Visitor
-
Water is always at its clearest a few days before the Filter needs cleaning because as it clogs up finer particles get trapped.
The best way to fill a Tank is to place a side Plate on the sybstrate and then place a soup dish on top of this the right side up, gently pour the water into the soup bowl, it will overflow onto the side plate and gently into the substrate, as the Tank fills the water can be put in more quickly with little disturbance to the underlying substrate, it always works for me.
The second water problem is Bacterial bloom which you can ask about when your water clears.
Kev
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Katherine (Katarzyna Glebocka)
- Offline
- Senior Member
-
- Posts: 288
- Thank you received: 22
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- lambo111 (kevin)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 42
- Thank you received: 0
go for rainbows
not many people is keeping them and they are kinda hard to get
but stunning colors and easy to keep in hard water
have look here
rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm
and that's what i have
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/fforu...raphs/90882-rainbows
They do look nice what other species do you keep with them?
I managed to remove the murky water by running a hose to fill the tank while removing the water using the syphon the sand is settled now and the water is clear.
I originally had to use buckets to fill the tank but got a hose so i could do water changes more easily.
guess you can tell me what bacterial bloom is now

Please Log in to join the conversation.
- bart (Bart Korfanty)
-
- Offline
- Senior Member
-
- Posts: 335
- Thank you received: 77
they will mix well with mollies, sword tails and such, in general they are community friendly
pH over 7 is what they prefer so probably what u have in tap
anyways whatever u choose good luck
it's great hobby
Please Log in to join the conversation.