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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
New planted tank project. Finally has water in it
- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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I am starting a vision 180 planted tank and I will need help of course.
So far I have put in a substrate divider, a piece of light acrylic siliconed in place. Behind this will be aqua basis topped with a dark gravel and the rest will be a light coloured gravel still shopping for these. I'll add a pic when the substrate is in and if I can find suitable stone a kind of stone wall effect.
Next on the shopping list is new t5s and reflectors.
So to the inevitable questions.
Are the juwel high lite day tubes suitable for plants or is there a standout brand in tubes?
I want to avoid an algae bloom early on, how best do I go about this? I do have plants in another tank if I plant lots at once will they out compete the algae? I will be using easy carbo. Would a uv filter be a good idea?
For planting/cycling can I plant first and cycle after? Just thinking it would be easier to work in a not full tank.
Thanks in advance for the help I'll try to get pics up at various stages.
Rgds
Dec
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- JohnH (John)
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It's a pity you're so far away from Dublin,
The speakers at tonight's 'get-together' at the Red Cow,organised by Seahorse Aquariums, include someone from Dennerle who would have been eminently able to answer any questions you might have with regard to planted tanks.
No good for me, however, I would need someone to talk about killing plants - although I seem to have this function pretty well honed already.
Hopefully someone here can answer your questions - or send you a link or two for other websites dealing with the subject.
John
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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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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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- JohnH (John)
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yeah John living in kerry has its advantages but a surplus of fish shops is not one of them.
Much the same as here in North Tipp, but I guess my Dublin trip takes me 2-1/2 hours, it's probably longer for you!
John
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- hammie (Neil Hammerton)
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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PH 7.4
Current stock that will be moving from current tank
10ish rummynoses
2 apisto 1 adult 1 juvi
2 medium angels
2 ottos
1 Pleco, LFS said would only get to about 5 inchs max but will be rehomed if getting too big
All suggestions welcome
Dec
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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Don't know why I. Is upside down you'll have to turn you computer upside down I guess

Image inverted - I really don't know why it changes image orientation - will have to look into this at some point.
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- JohnH (John)
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John
Location:
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We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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- JohnH (John)
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You will probably find that some of the sand will float in the meniscus of the water, but this can be easily sunk afterwards.
John
Location:
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We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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- LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
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Lemon jelly warned me about the substrates mixing but no one told me gravel floats. Spent a while getting bits of green out of sand already.
HA! Surface tension is a bugger!
Tank looks really good. Nice sharp lines. What's going in it?
"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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Currently in other tank rummy noses 1 angel 1 apisto caca 2 ottos 1 Pleco. Hoping to add male angel female apisto and a small group of something for higher in the tank. Pleco will have to be rehomed depending on how fast it grows
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- hammie (Neil Hammerton)
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It will look fantastic in a few weeks when it settles more and grows a bit
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- JohnH (John)
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Give yourself a big pat on the back - you deserve it.
As Hammie says, once the plants start reproducing and filling up the spaces a bit more you'll have a better idea of how the completed aquascape will look.
John
Location:
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We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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Hmmm let me try that on the PC
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- fionakoi (Fiona Wynne)
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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Was having no luck with iPhone or PC
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- jeff (Jeff Scully)
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Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth.
A life making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.
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- JustinK (Justin Kelly)
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then your tank would be ready for fish.
You dont need to worry about cycling if plant only.
Its a nice layout and gave me an idea for my tank too

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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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very nice tank
Thx all the Vallis is gone now, decided I don't like it. Hoping to get something nice next week while I'm in Dublin
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