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
How long till my ext filter can take over
- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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I had my tank cycled and added an external filter to my tank, 3 days later my internal filter slowed down considerably and I had to clean it (used tank water) I did this while doing a waterchange and I did too much, I threw it back into cycling, this was on the 3rd of october, the external filter was added on the 1st of october.
I have done daily watertests and if ammonia was anywhere near 1.0 I would do a waterchange, so far so good and no casualties yet.
Today still get readings of slight ammonia less than 0.25
and Nitrites are 0.25 as well
NitrAtes are 10+
I have set up a 2nd 40L tank with a diffirent filter wich I got online and discovered that it is faulty, it doesn't run
well.
Can I take the internal filter out of my 'big' tank and use it in my small tank, or would that upset the parameters in that tank too much.
Thanks for all your help
Astrid
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- MaxiZoo Leopardstown (MaxiZoo Leopardstown)
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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actually as of today the readings are 0/0:silly:
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- nonie (leonie troy)
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- MaxiZoo Leopardstown (MaxiZoo Leopardstown)
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just read it there its a rio 180.. is the standard juwel filter still active aswell as another internal?? or were you planning on putting the juwel filter into your smaller tank??
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- nonie (leonie troy)
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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I haven't a clue about the organic aqua and I wasn't planning on usin this, I want this to be a shrimp tank so I am going to use ammonia, if I can get my hands on it, and a whole lot of patience, I want this tank to be stable so it will propably be x-mass before I put any livestock in it, maybe even longer.
The Internal filter I have in there is the filter I used on my 180 to cycle it originally, not a wellknown brand, but it did the job.
I am just worried if I take it out to put in my future shrimp tank, I am going to upset my newly aquired 0/0/10 balance (just tested this morning)
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- davekie (David Keane)
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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Gavin
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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If you used Organic Aqua you'd already have fish in that tank.
Sorry, I am propably oldfashioned by saying this, but were's the fun in that, I want to take my time on this one, and have no shrimp dying from unexpected nitrItes or any of that.
Plus using the ammonia method is something I can then add to my experiences.
Maybe on the next tank I might try it, and then again maybe not:lol:
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- JohnH (John)
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I am going to use ammonia, if I can get my hands on it
Astrid,
I urge you to think very carefully about the use of ammonia, especially with young children around - it really is pretty desperate stuff...
Plus using the ammonia method is something I can then add to my experiences.
Please think very carefully before going down this route.
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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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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I am going to use ammonia, if I can get my hands on it
Astrid,
I urge you to think very carefully about the use of ammonia, especially with young children around - it really is pretty desperate stuff...
Plus using the ammonia method is something I can then add to my experiences.
Please think very carefully before going down this route.
John
what would you reccomend?
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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After being convinced not to do the ammonia thingy I put a shrimp in the tank,(I am not allowed to eat them anymore as I discovered recently that baby number 3 is on the way), at this stage I am wondering should I bring it to the barbers it has quite a bit of hair on it:laugh:
my readings this morning are
amm 0
trIte 0
trAte 10
I know that looks a bit suspiciously quick but the filter that is in there is a borrowed sponge from Xeon, (while my own is being returned) plus the fact that Acara has donated some javamoss might have helped the cycle along a bit
Will my cycle have to start all over again once my own filter goes in there or should it be safe enough?
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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Have you got your own filter in there now? It shouldnt really have to recycle as such,maybe you could put the sponge into the external filter for a small spell just to seed it abit quicker but Id imagine it will be fine as the water will contain enough benefical bacteria to kick start the filter into action also.
Gavin
Ps: Congrats on the discovery of another wee nipper on the way

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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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I don't have an external filter for that tank just a small int. big enough for 200L and I am stil waiting for that to arrive back.
The external is on my other tank
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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