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
Substrate and tank cycling query
It can take a few days for the fine particles from the substrate to settle fully in the water. If you are running your filter, it will help with removing the fine suspended particles. Clean the filter media after a few days once things settle and the water clears up for you.
Depending on how fine the substrate material is, it can be a nightmare even after it settles in the tank. You will see this for real if you have fish that like to stir up the bottom. I would suggest seeing how things go with the substrate for a while after you add your fish and possible cover with a thin layer of sand if its getting stirred up too much. There are several options for doing this without having to drain the tank completely and also without too much disturbance and stress to the tank residents.
Regarding water changes, 15 to 20% of the water volume once the tank is actually up and running. During the cycle process, it depends entirely on the cycling method you are using. If you can give some details on how you are cycling the tank, it will help in this regard. Have you added any bacteria such as filter squeezing’s from an established tank, filter starter etc? What are your water parameters, both water supply and in the tank at present?
Based on the substrate you are using, i assume you are going for a planted tank? if yes, cna you give some details on the planting, heavy, medium or light planting levels? Are you adding CO2? all this will have a bearing on the cycling process as plants will absorb a certain amount of the ammonia and nitrates and can lead to random readings during cycling particurlarly depending on the light levels in the tank. co2 addition and absorption rates by plants can also have an ipmact on the pH readings.
SO as much information as you can give on your set-up will help no end in getting the right advice
There are a few good articles on the form under the "Articles" section at the top of the page. Shold give you some pointers too
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