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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

jbl manado, aquasoil alternatives etc etc

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02 Jan 2010 13:43 #1 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
hi all

ive been fairly inactive recently

is there any update on getting aquasoil over here
or is there any better suppliers or anything?

anyone tried the new JBL one? or any others for that matter

im sick of my substrate (peagravel over flourite sand) and want a one shot wonder
i dont want layers, just one single size substrate
for the planted tank,

colour and small grain size is more important than nutrients
as i dose ei

rgds

4

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02 Jan 2010 13:52 #2 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
I know zig got some manado but was turned of by the colour. His description would be to rude to describe here. But if its going to be cover by plants he said it was fine for planting.
The tropica soil dosent look bad with its mixed grain size but a lot of it is very light (dusty). I can give you a small bit of this to try in water.
I would still go with the Amazonia but i think you still have to send away for it.

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02 Jan 2010 14:04 #3 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
cheers

i have seen the manado in the flesh and
was dubious about the colour myself
but as stated it looked nice for planting etc

where is the best place to get the AS then?

rgds

4

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02 Jan 2010 14:14 - 02 Jan 2010 14:56 #4 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
AS= aquasoil?
I dont know. It's been a while since i ordered it.

EDIT; Have a look here
www.aquasabi.de/index.php?tab_id=0
Last edit: 02 Jan 2010 14:56 by platty252 (Darren Dalton).

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07 Jan 2010 01:13 #5 by zig (zig)
I have a tank set up with the JBL Manado atm, but there is no water in it yet as I have been quite inactive myself lately, but its good stuff for working out hardscapes doing dry runs etc thats what I am using it for really atm, the colour aint to bad but does take some getting used to especially if you normally use aquasoil the colour is quite stark in contrast, grain size is good although I have found it quite dusty so I would wash it beforehand then it should be fine. One negative that I have read since I bought it is that it will raise the Ph quite a bit and some folk keeping shrimp have had problems in that regard so it might'nt be for everyone, makes you wonder whats in it actually.

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07 Jan 2010 10:29 #6 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
cheers guys

(zig, sorry i PM'ed you on this
and only noticed this after)

I was led to believe that the jbl is inert
and was just a "sponge" for whatever is in
the water column

i have a load of cherries
so thanks for the heads up on PH!

regards

4

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07 Jan 2010 16:13 #7 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
That's interesting that it increases ph. Do you know if it has any effect on the hardness?
I was looking for something to increase the hardness and i was going to use seiryu stones but they are pricey.

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08 Jan 2010 01:16 - 08 Jan 2010 01:18 #8 by zig (zig)
platty252 wrote:

That's interesting that it increases ph. Do you know if it has any effect on the hardness?
I was looking for something to increase the hardness and i was going to use seiryu stones but they are pricey.


Darren heres a copy and paste from UKAPS forum by a member from Belfast, actually think he may be a member here as well not sure of that though.

"Bad news for shrimps keepers. JBL Manado raises pH and gH but no kH. How do I know?
I put 5l of manado into the bucket. I added RO water [kh 0, gh 0, pH below 6] After 24H I`ve checked pH, kH and gH:

pH 6.6 [RO was below 6] after a week stir -> 7.5[!!!]
kH 0
gH 6[!!!]"

The issue first came to light on some German shrimp breeding forums there were lots of complaints to JBL apperantly, they are said to be looking into the matter!

Having said the above there are people on UKAPS who are happily growing plants in the substrate, the Ph issue seems a bit odd though and maybe a little bit extreme for my liking.
Last edit: 08 Jan 2010 01:18 by zig (zig).

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08 Jan 2010 23:04 #9 by zig (zig)
Total coincidence but the same chap gave an update today, coincidence because the thread wasnt updated for months until today.

"I soaked Manado for a month in RO [changed every week]. Last readings -> TDS=50-80ppm, PH >7, gH 3-6"

So basically this is the result when the substrate stabilised, perfect for growing plants I have to say especially if your tap water is soft to begin with. I will give it a go and report back in a few months how I got on but it looks all good to me, a few water changes will sort out the initial pH spike. It could be what you are looking for Darren.

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14 Jan 2010 22:04 #10 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
hi all

im going to try akadama
(i've read the 17 page thread on ukaps..phew)

akadama is 30e, aquasoil(+ post) is 150e

i'll let you know how i go

rgds

4

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14 Jan 2010 22:58 #11 by Katherine (Katarzyna Glebocka)
Ok, I had no idea substrate can cause so many problems in the tank. Could you tell which one should I buy and where? I'm going to have some "resistant" plants :) and fish for beginners (guppies and other hard and not too big fish).
I wanted to put 2 cm of substrate and then cover it with 3 - 5 cm of tinny black gravel with bigger size gray gravel spots on it.

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14 Jan 2010 23:08 #12 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
hi katherine

the stuff we are talking about is generally
associated with heavily planted tanks
and heavy nutrient demands

im assuming you have a standard light in your hood

i personally would not use a mix of substrates
when you are starting out as you will
want to move things around as your plants grow
and you get new ones etc etc

you will stir all the different substrates up
and things will get messy looking fairly quickly
if you use a soil-type under gravel it will cloud up
the water everytime you plant or move anything

in my regular tank i use bog standard pea gravel
and add a little fertiliser once a week

rgds

4

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14 Jan 2010 23:49 #13 by Katherine (Katarzyna Glebocka)
Yes, generally everything is standard in my tank, so is the light. I will stay with gravel only as you suggest and some fertilizers (have a sample from JBL). I have to learn a lot and get experience then probably I'll be able to make a step forward. It's great this forum is on the Net and I can ask silly questions and get help.

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15 Jan 2010 00:13 #14 by fourmations (NIall SMyth)
hi katherine

my gravel is just an example, pick whatever you like

just to clarify, the soil would
certainly not do any harm,
im just saying its not really a must
and will get stirred up

playsand looks great as well
but can get too compacted

dont be tempted by coloured gravels though,
you will hate them within about a week
get something natural looking,

rgds

4

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15 Jan 2010 08:02 #15 by Katherine (Katarzyna Glebocka)
Hi 4,

Obviously, I won't buy coloured gravel as I cannot look at it :laugh: At the beginning I bought a natural-like slightly brownish gravel but I didn't buy it enough. Currently it's out of stock as most of gravel in Portlaoise apart from these blue, red or fluorescent green.
You're absolutely right that I'll be reorganizing, replanting my tank (I move my furniture quite often so why shouldn't I do it in the tank?). My ideas are changing everyday and obviously mixing soul with gravel wouldn't give a good result at the end.
Probably I am not an example of a pedant but I don't like mess. :laugh:
So, if soul is not necessary for plants good-being, let it stay in a shop. :)
Thanks and regards,
Kate

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