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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

Another question about water

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31 Aug 2012 00:39 #1 by danny25 (David Kay)
Hi all,
Having tested the water the other day, I have come up with the following figures - my tap water, which comes from my own well, shows Ph = 7.2, Kh = 20, Gh = 0. I have 3 tanks, i) is a 4ft tank which has no fish as yet, (following a major disaster a few weeks ago) :( . At the moment, it is planted with 1/3 live and 2/3 plastic plants, with a substrate consisting of 3/4 pea gravel and 1/4 'other' gravel. It is heated and has 4 airstones, but no filter as I am waiting for a replacement part for my new external filter. The readings are - Ph = 8.4, Kh = 20, Gh = 0. Tank ii) is a 2ft, with 1 x Pleccy. 1 x Gourami and 1 x Kribensis, (the remainder following the major disaster). This tank has 'other' gravel and a few live plants. The readings are - Ph = 8.0, Kh = 20, Gh = 0. Tank iii), is a small 12" tank, housing a few Cherry Shrimps. The readings are - Ph = 8.0, Kh= 20 and Ph = 0. Sorry to go on a bit, but what I would like to know is - are these figures within accepted parameters and as the 4ft tank will be the main one, what could I house in the tank without mucking about with the water chemically? Any suggestions and advice would be appreciated. David.

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31 Aug 2012 00:40 #2 by danny25 (David Kay)
Just as a rider to the above, would the gravel cause the increase in Ph values? Thanks.

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31 Aug 2012 00:57 #3 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
it could be the gravel, the ph is way too high for the fish you have, with this ph i'd be looking at malawi or tanganyikan cichlids, otherwise when you have your filter up and running you should add jbl peat pellets to it which will reduce the ph a little as would adding some bogwood, i would ask you to put tap water in a container and test it after a couple of days to see if it is the water or the gravel pea gravel SHOULD be inert ie not affect the ph but what is the OTHER gravel this could affect your ph, take out some of each gravel, let it dry and do the vinegar test if it fizzes when vinegar is put on it it Will affect the ph if not it wont
hope this helps somewhat
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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31 Aug 2012 01:10 #4 by danny25 (David Kay)
Thanks for the information Seamus. The 'other' gravel I got from a local DIY store in a big bag. It does state on the bag that it can be used in aquariums. I will do the tests you suggest and post the results. (Are we talking about normal Malt vinegar?). David.

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31 Aug 2012 01:15 #5 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
yep normal vinegar will do it, i suspect it is the other gravel as i got a substrate myself for tanks from a garden centre but it made my ph raise to 8.9 even too high for tanganikans, it probably has some lime element in it which will cause the rise, if this is the case it will need to be taken out for the health of your current fish, sorry about being the bearer of bad news, but you could use childrens playsand as a substrate which is a cheap alternative and is inert.. keep us posted

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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31 Aug 2012 01:27 #6 by danny25 (David Kay)
Aw Seamus - I had a sneaky feeling someone was going to suggest getting rid of the garden centre substrate :-(( :hammer: Oh well - I am not working this weekend!!

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31 Aug 2012 01:30 #7 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
well you are now lol, always better to ask here first one of us will generally have made any mistakes you will so its an easier way to learn

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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31 Aug 2012 01:34 #8 by danny25 (David Kay)

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