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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 marine tank

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30 Sep 2013 21:49 #1 by ck1 (chris)
New marine tank was created by ck1 (chris)
I have just set up a 120 litre marine tank. I filled the tank friday and added coral sand. Added 19kg of nice 3 year old live rock saturday.I have a jbl 901 external filer with crushed live rock in one basket and crushed coral in the others with some floss on top. i have still to add a skimmer and wavemaker and i am looking to get some nice led lights.
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01 Oct 2013 21:00 #2 by carlowchris (chris)
Replied by carlowchris (chris) on topic New marine tank
Looking good...love the rock did it come from another one of your tanks????? Setting up a new myself and are wayong up all different methods of filtration...have ya used that way of filtering before????any good or bad points of doing that way????

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01 Oct 2013 21:13 #3 by theangryman (chris)
Replied by theangryman (chris) on topic New marine tank
Tank looks great can`t wait to see it finished

"I try to incorporate melody. Even though I'm screaming, I still like to think I bring melody into screaming."
Tom Araya

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read "President Can't Swim........Lyndon B Johnson

All my...

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02 Oct 2013 12:50 #4 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank

Looking good...love the rock did it come from another one of your tanks????? Setting up a new myself and are wayong up all different methods of filtration...have ya used that way of filtering before????any good or bad points of doing that way????

this is my first marine so learning as I go I got the rock from a member of another site it was in his tank 3 years and went straight into mine so hopefully won't have much of a cycle. As for the filter its what the guy at fish shop said to use I will probably change it

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03 Oct 2013 23:18 #5 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank
Welcome to the salty side man your filtration is grand but do add some of the micro mec balls that came with that filter they will help control the Nitrates infact they will bring it to zero and when you get a few more corals and your adding coral food it will raise them to were you need them 2-3 is perfect if it starts going over 4 reduce the coral feed till it comes back down but if you dose the right amount you need for what you may have you should have no probs

im glad to see in your first pics that we got to see that little #ecker star (asterina starfish) trust me remove him and any you find asap they multiply like rabbits and will destroy all you coralline algae and trust me it looks crap when you see spots of white all over the place so get them out sooner rather than later

other than that as you said small power head (wave maker) a skimmer and lighting and your laughing


and the proper clean up crew

??? how deep is the sand ive always been told that 1" is max i have less than a 1" sand bed and still get the odd clumpy bits even with 2 big sand sifting stars and a nassarius snail, so over 1" sand beds do worry me a bit

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03 Oct 2013 23:49 #6 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Thanks for the advice Jeff. I will put in the micro mec when I clean the filter tommrow. I'm not sure how deep the sand is i got a 20kg bag and didn't even use half would it causes problems, as for the star there is a few of them what's the best way to get them. I got the rock from a 3 year old tank straight into mine so I'm not sure if ill have a full cycle. There is 3 hermit craps and a peppermint shrimp in it that appeared out of the Rock. There is a mushroom and loads of pulsing xenia which all seem to be doing great

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04 Oct 2013 07:20 #7 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)

There is 3 hermit craps and a peppermint shrimp in it


I predict an ammonia spike :laugh: :whistle:

"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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04 Oct 2013 17:48 #8 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank
Yeah it will be fine catch the stars with a tweezers or your finger and thumb just go on a hunt for them you will see most of them early in the morning just before the light go's on and just measure the sand by putting a measuring tape against the outside of the glass or a ruler

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04 Oct 2013 19:51 #9 by Bohrio (Alex Rodriguez)
Trust me you dont have a deep sand bed

This is a deep sand bed

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05 Oct 2013 18:32 #10 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
Replied by Jim (Jim Lawlor) on topic New marine tank
Looks great already - actually looks bigger than 120l for some reason!

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08 Oct 2013 20:18 #11 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Having a problem with them little stars is there any other way other than manually remove them there eating all the algae

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09 Oct 2013 00:07 #12 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank
Their is only one proven method to totally remove them and thats to add a harlequin shrimp and only if you have no other star fish (which you dont which is good for now) sand sifting stars are a bonus in the future to help stir the sand around for you

and you must make sure your nitrates are very low to keep a harlequin and the iodine is spot on to help moulting

these shrimp are on the pricey side but worth it before the others take over

if you could get a deal with the lfs to bring it back in a month or so your laughing or you know someone that would lend one to you for a while on the rule if you kill it you pay for it lol

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09 Oct 2013 00:12 #13 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank

Trust me you dont have a deep sand bed

This is a deep sand bed



Thats just stupid, see the tank is number'd 6 its short for 666 :silly: :silly: :silly:

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09 Oct 2013 00:20 #14 by irish-zx10r (James feenan)
this is giving me ideas for my 110 L tank lol if I only had enough money great looking tank
looking forward to seeing your progress

Something fishie going on here

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22 Oct 2013 21:22 #15 by carlowchris (chris)
Replied by carlowchris (chris) on topic New marine tank
hows the tank coming on ?????? any up date???

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22 Oct 2013 22:13 #16 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Not much to update yet i have ordered a maxspect razor 16k from america which i should have by the end of the week, i also am waiting for a skimmer to come into the lfs. The water is testing perfect so i think its cycle. I will give it another while before i add anything tho.

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22 Oct 2013 22:22 - 22 Oct 2013 22:22 #17 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Last edit: 22 Oct 2013 22:22 by ck1 (chris).

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22 Oct 2013 23:20 #18 by carlowchris (chris)
Replied by carlowchris (chris) on topic New marine tank
looks fantastic......

was looking at those razor lights as well look like a good light...im kind of still trying to choose though thers the 10 k and 16k and then there's the ai hydra. And then there the vega and the wr30w and while ordering from America is defiantly the way to go and some saving....how did ya choose?????

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22 Oct 2013 23:32 #19 by andrewo (andrew)
Replied by andrewo (andrew) on topic New marine tank
Tanks looking well mate; keep an eye on the parameters; its ok if the number goes high as long as you are on top of it; Im sure you are going to have a lot of joy with the tank; good luck! :)

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23 Oct 2013 09:47 #20 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Thanks looking forward to stocking it. I picked the 16k because I had seen both and I preferred the look of the 16k but I read 10k is slightly better for coral growth. I choose the maxspect over other lights because of the slim design and the mounting legs

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25 Oct 2013 20:27 #21 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Added a tmc v 300 compact skimmer today. Lights are in the post office have to collect tuesday missed the post man today

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29 Oct 2013 21:21 #22 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
new lights
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30 Oct 2013 00:57 #23 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank
Like the New lights look great

What's your stocking plans

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30 Oct 2013 09:37 #24 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
I'm not too sure to be honest will have to get a pair of clowns first the young fella is asking every day when are we getting nemo other than that I'm not sure I saw a red stripe angel in my lfs last week that i liked . I'm going to move the toadstool and take out a good bit of the pulsing xenia

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30 Oct 2013 15:09 #25 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank
Haha I know the ffeeling with the kids and nemo went through it around this time last year
If your up near Dublin I'd take the corals for the right price hehe

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09 Nov 2013 14:51 #26 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
I added carbon to the filter, and i also added a tmc v2 300 compact skimmer 2 weeks ago which is still putting alot of bubbles into the tank but is pulling a nice bit of gunk out and the water is crystal clear.
i added the first 2 fish today i wasnt going to but i was in my local petmania and they had great prices and nice healthy fish i got a royal gramma for 20e and a yellow clown goby for 8e. i am looking to upgrade to a 3ft with sump so i wont add anymore until i decide
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14 Nov 2013 18:52 #27 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank
Hey man can't believe you got the fish that cheap, cool, most sskimmers go threw the bubbles stage it's a pain one thing that helped me was to put some sponge at the outlet to help break the bubbles just make sure their is still good flow you dont want it to back up on you

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14 Nov 2013 20:44 #28 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Ya they were a bargain I would have got more but for once I used my head. The skimmer is going 3 weeks now still loads of bubbles and there is a bubble stop already sick of it now noisy too

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15 Nov 2013 10:32 #29 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic New marine tank
Even with the bubble stop thing you should still add some sponge it does help allot 3 weeks is nothing took mine about 3mts use to wreck me head hated it If your adding corals before the bubbles stop be careful what you get cause some of them hate the bubbles it irritates them and they release slime that will irritate other corals

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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16 Nov 2013 22:17 #30 by ck1 (chris)
Replied by ck1 (chris) on topic New marine tank
Cheers jeff i wont be adding any corals for a while.Im looking at getting a bigger tank with a sump until i decide i wont add any. i was messing around with the rock work tonight im not sure if i prefer before or after what ye think
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