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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

PH8.5

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05 Feb 2007 17:01 #1 by Gary.K (Gary.K)
PH8.5 was created by Gary.K (Gary.K)
Hi all

A friend of mind is setting up his tank and when he tests his water both in tank and from tap it has a ph of 8.5. What would you suggest is the best way to bring this ph down as he wants to keep a basic community tank with plants???

Regards
Gary

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05 Feb 2007 17:09 #2 by Mr Algae (mralgae mralgae)
what size tank is he going to use? most plants prefare lower ph. a good and more natural way to lower ph is to use bogwood instead of chemicals, and more pleaseing to the eye in a set up. in a jewel 60 size tank with two/three pieces of bogwood i reduced ph from7.2 down to 6.8. but depends on size of tank and how much wood you use.

May your fish be with you:

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05 Feb 2007 17:40 #3 by KenS (Ken Simpson)
Replied by KenS (Ken Simpson) on topic Re: PH8.5
My pH out of the tap is 7.8 but rises to 8.0 after a couple of days. I have a 230l tank and added a sizeable piece of bogwood (about 18in). It brought my pH down to 7.4. It has been stable for the last 6 weeks. Ideally I'd like to get it closer to 7.0, but it's a start.

Another option is to filter through peat. However, you need to ensure that it's pure peat (with no additives). I've been trying to locate some peat specifically for filters, however, none of the shops here seem to stock it. I'm dubious about using garden peat as it difficult to be sure that it's suitable.

The third option is to us RO water. Probably not something you want to get into if it's only a small community tank.

Regards,

Ken.

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05 Feb 2007 18:24 #4 by lampeye (lampeye)
Replied by lampeye (lampeye) on topic Re: PH8.5
fluval sell it ... its pricey though.
eheim aswell

Eheim Torf Peat Pellets
A specially treated media, which makes the water more acidic and lowers the carbon hardness.

The peat filter is recommedable for soft water fishes in order to achieve a tropical aquatic environment.

Just like in the case of all other additives the changed water property has to be regularly monitored.

Eheim 251205 Ehfi Torf peat has now been superceeded by these new Torf Pellets

Comes complete with net bag

1 Litre pack contains approx 490gms Peat Pellets


Eheim Torf Peat Pellets 1 Litre £5.69

www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue/eheim-filter-mediums.asp

FLUVAL Peat granular 500gm £13.00

Fluval Peat Granular
- 500 g
- Polybag within display box
- Fluval Peat Granular offers a highly effective, natural method to soften water and achieve proper pH values for many tropical fish. Use to control, manipulate and satisfy the breeding requirements of many softer water, lower pH loving, ornamental tropical fish and is known to promote luxurious live plant growth.

A-1465
www.fishandfins.co.uk/fluval-filter-media.htm

this looks the cheapest

www.aquaristic.net/shop/shop.php/sid/a92...b72eb6db235.33494331

check ebay also and buy in bulk to save on shipping thats if of course you decide to use peat.

lampeye

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06 Feb 2007 02:32 #5 by apistodiscus (apistodiscus)
Replied by apistodiscus (apistodiscus) on topic Re: PH8.5
Moss peat is ok to use. Just give it a quick rinse before you put it into the filter. Been using it for years for some of my apistos.

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06 Feb 2007 13:35 #6 by McQuaid (Mark McQuaid)
Replied by McQuaid (Mark McQuaid) on topic Re: PH8.5
does peat colour the tank???

240 litre mixture of cichlids

55 litre marine tank currently holding a few coral and clean up crew

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06 Feb 2007 14:25 #7 by apistodiscus (apistodiscus)
Replied by apistodiscus (apistodiscus) on topic Re: PH8.5
Your water will be slightly yellow. A lot of fish like tetras and dwarf cichlids will show much better colours. The glas or silicone won't be stained

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06 Feb 2007 15:19 #8 by KenS (Ken Simpson)
Replied by KenS (Ken Simpson) on topic Re: PH8.5
Thanks for the info Lampeye.

The bogwood I added did taint the water, but it's very slight so doesn't bother me. You can remove the tainting with carbon, but I won't bother. I'm sure the peat will have the same effect.

Regards,

Ken.

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06 Feb 2007 16:11 #9 by Gary.K (Gary.K)
Replied by Gary.K (Gary.K) on topic Re: PH8.5
Thanks Guys

His Tank is Big A Rio400, he has bog wood in it but is second hand. Will tell him to get some peat how much would he need ?? or does it matter


Regards
Gary

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06 Feb 2007 16:23 #10 by Mr Algae (mralgae mralgae)
rio400 will need a good bit of bogwood to lower the ph. but could still color the water depending how old the wood is, it does tend to leach for a long time.

May your fish be with you:

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