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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

Starting out

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11 Aug 2008 17:18 #1 by steo_84 (stephen wyse)
Hi i'm new2 the fish keeping world and was just wondering what would be the best way 2 start on a tank.
Looking for any info on the size of tank and type of fish2 start off with.
I really like the marine reefs but i dont know if that would be the best 2 start with.
All help much appreciated.

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11 Aug 2008 18:04 #2 by Valerie (Valerie)
Replied by Valerie (Valerie) on topic Re:Starting out
Hi Steo,

Welcome to the forum. :-)

There is a lot of information on this discussion forum about starting up new tanks and stocking them, especially in the Beginners' Heaven section. By navigating through it, I am sure you will find some answers to your pre-research questions. :-)

What you put in the tank is really down to your own preferences. The equipment is slightly different and, imo, freshwater is definitely cheaper to start with compared to saltwater.
The forum users here are coming from both specialties and whatever the question is, someone will be glad to help you.

Apart from the various recommendations you can find in previous threads, I would advise you to get as large a tank as your available space/budget allows as it is easier to keep the parameters steady, which fish prefer! :-)

I hope this helps.
Regards,
Valerie

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11 Aug 2008 22:54 #3 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Hello Steo and welcome to the forum. If you haven't kept fish before i would start with a fresh water set up and you can think about marines at a late stage. By starting with fresh water you will learn a lot of basics you will need to know before going for marines.
Here is a link with some great info to get you started;
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/view/22/82/

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11 Aug 2008 23:41 #4 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
Welcome to the forum Steo, in my opinion Marines would be a costly and very tough starting point, as Valarie and Platty pointed out its best to start with Freshwater fish and learn the basics on them and once you have a decent understanding of whats going on, ph levels, water hardness, ammonia / nitrite/nitrate levels and fishkeeping in general you can progress to Marines which is a more precise side to the hobby.. anyway if you spot something you want to start with or like for your tank let us know we're here to help and we where all beginners once, enjoy the forum and welcome to the most addictive hobby you could have
Seamus

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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12 Aug 2008 20:10 #5 by BJHillson (Brett Hillson)
alot of research and a lot of patience, if you can pop into the local fish shop (LFS) and have a look at what fish they have and which ones you like the look of. If they have any beginer books pick one up to get you started. Come back to us with any ideas on fish selection and tank size etc and we can try and help you out. Like what is said above the bigger the tank the better buy the largest your budget and size of room can take, this will help out with stability of water quality control, stocking of fish etc,

There are alot of do's and donts in fish keeping, not that I want to put you off but the more research you can do the better, this especialy applies to selection of fish, one example a comen plec can very easily out grow alot of fish tanks, some fish dont get on with other fish (ie will east them or fight to the death) others fish do not have the same water requirements ie some might prefer colder water others hotter.

The more research the less problems you will have, you more than welcome to fire ideas at us and we can help as much as possible. But the best way to find out what you would like to try out is head out to the fish shop and have a browse and see what takes you fancy.

I hope this helps and I hope you fins it an enjoyable hobbie

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12 Aug 2008 20:35 #6 by adamireland (Adam Jackson)
BJHillson wrote:

fins it an enjoyable hobbie


fish on the brain :P

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12 Aug 2008 20:48 #7 by steo_84 (stephen wyse)
Well if i was to jump in at the deep end and go for a marine tank, What would i need exactly2 start off as the books i have list alot of different bits and pieces?

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12 Aug 2008 20:59 #8 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Hi Welcome!!! Basic marine setup would be, tank, lid, lights, heater, external filter,skimmer, powerheads (the amount would depend on the size of tank) salt, test kits, hydrometer, coral sand and liverock thats about it, it would be a basic setup but would be ok for hardy species, smallest marine tank id go for as a beginner would be 200L, as said before bigger the better, its all to do with water stability, but much moreso in marines!!!
Where are you based, best thing is, as said above, call into your LFS and talk to the staff and they should be able to get you to choose a suitable starter setup.

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13 Aug 2008 17:13 #9 by steo_84 (stephen wyse)
Im based in swords, Dublin. Think the nearest LFS is in ashbourne if im right. Might drop into them on the way home from work tomorrow.

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