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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

Help with pond please

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04 Jun 2017 12:52 #1 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
I got myself a 500l pond. Not sure where to go on from here . Not sure about filtration or plants. I plant to keep fancy goldfish

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04 Jun 2017 17:25 #2 by robert (robert carter)
Hi Aldrin , presumeably the pond will be outdoor , if so i dont think fancy goldfish will get through the winter , ordinary goldfish would be fine .As for filtering all coldwater fish ,goldfish and koi are very messy fish , so i would recommend the filter system being for a 1500 litre pond , a good box filter would do the job at the right price , finally make sure you net the pond unless you are serving breakfast for mr heron

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04 Jun 2017 17:27 #3 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Would koi be okay in my pond???

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04 Jun 2017 17:29 #4 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
I was thinking of a pump of 2000l then make the filter my self, as I think it would be better than buying one

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04 Jun 2017 18:58 #5 by alan 64 (alan)
Is ur pond 500 or 5000 ltr

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04 Jun 2017 20:14 #6 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
It's 500, hence I am not sure if I can

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04 Jun 2017 21:32 #7 by robert (robert carter)
Koi could do but only a few small ones , they grow fast and need very good filtation , a 2000 litre pump would turn the water over four times an hour which is ok . My 4500 litr pond has a massive pressure filter plus a four tier trickle tower on it in order to get zero ammonia levels , i do a 50% weekly water change , i am also turning my water over 4 times an hour . In reality 500 litres is a small pond , is their any way you could even increase it to 1000 or better still1500 litres , it would give you more options. This is just my thoughts maybe some of the pond keepers here can help

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04 Jun 2017 21:42 #8 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Currently not, but maybe in 4-5 years when we get an extension to the house I will probably make a cement pond, same dimensions 6'x4' but make it 5' deep, but this can only be done in the future as the current budget is too small. I got a pre formed liner so won't be able to make it bigger. The water will be passed through a 150l tub, it will act as a filter. Fist it will pass through some barley straw and wool, then bio balls, and some lava rock, it will be forced to rise where I will grow plants and the the water will go back into the pond. I'll probably do 100l water changes weekly as I have no tub bigger than that to hold the water to make it lose chlorine.

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04 Jun 2017 21:51 #9 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
I was thinking of 2/3 butterfly koi, personally I think they are beautiful and look like dragons

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05 Jun 2017 16:12 #10 by robert (robert carter)
It sounds like a plan that will work . Why not just use a declorinater for your water changes , i use prime , it easy toget and cheap enought to use

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06 Jun 2017 11:18 #11 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
I'm hoping to do a hydroponic system aswell, if I use a something
Iike prime I think it will cut off the wastes

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06 Jun 2017 11:29 #12 by robert (robert carter)
What about something like biotol made by jbl .

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06 Jun 2017 11:33 #13 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
I might try that, it seems inexpensive compared to everything else. Should I try koi? Or should I stick to goldfish?

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06 Jun 2017 17:04 #14 by robert (robert carter)
This whole fishkeeping hoby is a massive learning curve , its your choice but personnally i would have a go with goldfish to start , they are hardy and cheap , once everything is up and running for a while without any problems then maybe try a couple of koi . To me the koi are the king of all fish .

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06 Jun 2017 17:50 #15 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Ye, I will probably do that, thanks for all the help, will update
Also pray for me, Jc starts tomorrow

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17 Jun 2017 09:22 #16 by paulv (paul vickers)
Hi Aldrin. I'm sure by now your exams are nearing the end. My son is also doing the jc, he is way too chilled out about it. I have 2 pond pumps for sale here. A 4000l/h and an 8000l/h. Check out my for sale here under tank break down. I also have 2 and 1 inch pipe work, some very large blue/purple flat rocks. I'd be happy to do a very good deal knowing it's going to a young fish keeper.

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17 Jun 2017 09:24 #17 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Ok will have a look, exam finishes on Tuesday

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01 Jul 2017 18:58 #18 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Does anyone have any experience using barley straw to prevent algae growth?

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02 Jul 2017 00:37 #19 by robert (robert carter)
Hi ,my own experience is that is doesnt work , i have a 55 watt uv on my pond and crystal clear water. If i ever get an a lot of blanket weed , which i havent in the last few years i have used a product called blanc-kit with good results , it is available from ebay

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03 Jul 2017 21:06 #20 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Thanks Robert, just wondering is it safe for the fish.
is lava rock a good biological media?

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04 Jul 2017 14:23 #21 by robert (robert carter)
Hi , never used lava rock but believe it is ok . I am as you have probably seen on my previos post a firm beliver of using bio home ultimate i find this media brilliant and use it in my canister filters , my sump , my pond pressure filter and my diy trickle tower on my pond , however its not cheap but will last a long long time

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04 Jul 2017 15:35 - 04 Jul 2017 15:37 #22 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan)
Hi Aldrin,

Barley Straw, I have some in the pond filter box and this year I'm not running any UV and I have not (yet) had any green water OR any of the algea problems I had last year so it must be doing something. Admittedly this season I've not had time to do much with my pond bar water changes so perhaps nature did it's thing and balanced itself. One of the worst things you can do I find is meddle and "try and make things better"!! The more you intervene with good intention the more damage you can do......my own personal experience thus far.

Java Rock, I have it in there, it wouldn't have been my first choice but it came with the filter and with that said, no UV, minimal intervention by me in the day to day running and maintenance of the pond so it must be doing something. Have foam and some bioballs in there also.....

Fish are all healthy, swimming and eating.
Last edit: 04 Jul 2017 15:37 by FR85 (Gavin O'Sullivan).

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07 Jul 2017 14:51 #23 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Thanks for all the help, I think I will avoid barley straw, it seems like a hit or miss thing. I have a plan for my filter, could someone confirm if it will work?

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07 Jul 2017 14:56 #24 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)

This is what I was thinking .
I get a 110l tub
Get a 35l planter pot.
Water gets pumped in from one side of the tube where it goes into a piece of pvc piping with holes in it.
Therefore the water is forced to go down into the planter pot. First the water will meet a large piece of aquarium sponge, then go into the lava rock, after it through the lava rock in will goto the bottom of the tub. The rest of the tub would be filled with oxygenating plants such as anacharis. The exit hole would be level withe the input.
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07 Jul 2017 15:49 #25 by robert (robert carter)
Just remember so called oxyegenating plants take back in oxygen at night time

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07 Jul 2017 15:57 #26 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
I understand that but it's a lot less than what they produce. All plants take in oxygen at night.

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07 Jul 2017 17:03 #27 by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Some plants reverse that and only take in Co2 at night.

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07 Jul 2017 19:41 #28 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)
Ok, I never knew that, well u learn something new every day.
Also could this filter work?
Or will the plants deplete the oxygen at night?

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07 Jul 2017 20:10 #29 by Aldrin (Aldrin Martin)

Is this true?
Does this mean that pot scrubbers are cheap and extremely efficient bio media?
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07 Jul 2017 22:04 #30 by paulv (paul vickers)
It is true that pot scrubbers are good bio medium, they have being used for many years. You have to use lots of them, as much as your filter can hold.

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