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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

First Marine Tank

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20 Oct 2008 21:57 - 20 Oct 2008 21:58 #1 by q547 (Joseph King)
Righto,

I'm getting my first marine tank next week, its only a little on (50l ish) as we're in a recession and all.

Anyway what can i stock it with? I had thought of a clown or two or maybe a mandarinfish?
Any suggestions?

Oh, while I have never kept marine's I've been keeping an assortment of fishies, (pond, coldwater and trops) for many many moons now. I currently have a malawi setup and a tanganyika setup.

All suggestions ideas will be taken on, as i said i know diddley squat about marines.:blush:
Last edit: 20 Oct 2008 21:58 by q547 (Joseph King).

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20 Oct 2008 22:44 #2 by lampeye (lampeye)
definitely not a good idea to put a mandrin in there. they rely on live food (copepods) that are only available in sufficient numbers in large mature (6month+) old systems with lots of liverock. i personally think its a bit small for clowns however most books will say its fine for a pair. if you chose to add a pair of clowns some gorgeous small tankmates would be a neon goby www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display...4+194&pcatid=194 and a coral goby www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display...1441&pcatid=1441 and/or a Hi Fin Red Banded Goby (shy) www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display...4+181&pcatid=181
+ a couple of snails/hermits. MAX! this is assuming you have adequate filtration and dont overfeed like you would a cichlid tank.
keep an eye on evaporation/salinity rising and temperature stability.

lampeye

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21 Oct 2008 13:03 #3 by Seany (Sean Phelan)
I agree with Lampeye,

Mandarinfish is a big No No for now. They require alot of live rock and/or an attached refugium to supply its dietary fare of Copepods etc. Most tanks should be at least one year old before adding such a specimen.

Firefish are another posibility as would a yellow watchman goby (Real Character).
Your biggest problem in such a small tank is the stocking limits and keeping temperature flucatations to a minimum. Is it a FOWLR of Mini Reef you are aiming for. If your thinking Minireef keep your coral list on the beginner side also. Softies, Mushrooms and Zoanthids maybe.

i know diddley squat about marines


Finally do plently of research on marine fishkeeping. There are plently of good books out there to point you in the right direction. Speak to the Guys/Gals in the LFS and visit a few websites. Marinefish/Inverts as does all aquatic life, deserve to be cared for as would any pet. Armed with the knowledge required, you will enjoy your journey, with less headaches and provide a suitable habitat for your charges.

Wishing you all the best in your project. Any help you require will most definitely be available through this forum.

Kind regards

Seany

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21 Oct 2008 18:16 #4 by q547 (Joseph King)
Right, No mandarins then.:(

I reckon i'll start with a bit of live rock and then maybe a snail or a shrimp then maybe add the fish after a month of so. (lots of fish ideas now!)

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21 Oct 2008 20:11 #5 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
My advise is common to both marine and freshwater....RESEARCH as much as possible before you even set the tank up. Get alot of opinions from people and ask questions. After that follow your heart and get the fish that you want but only if its going to be right for the tank.
If you follow peoples advise then you wont go far wrong,and this site is the right place for help thats for sure.
Gavin

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22 Oct 2008 18:50 #6 by q547 (Joseph King)
Ok,

I've been doing some reading up. I get the tank next week, so i was planning on starting with the water from there. Possibly some live rock, and then maybe a few snails with a shrimp or two in early december. Opinions?

Oh and on the subject of live rock, what kind of money am i looking at?

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22 Oct 2008 19:10 #7 by stevieg (ALAN FLYNN)
around 20euro a kg

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23 Oct 2008 17:11 #8 by nonie (leonie troy)
why not take pics as you go along so we can all see the progress. Best of luck with the tank - I am very jelous!!!

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23 Oct 2008 17:19 - 23 Oct 2008 17:20 #9 by q547 (Joseph King)
Thats a good idea, I'll do that!

It'll make it easy for people to point out if i'm gonna do something wrong.

It may even work as a beginners guide?
Last edit: 23 Oct 2008 17:20 by q547 (Joseph King).

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29 Nov 2008 18:57 #10 by q547 (Joseph King)
First pic, water and live rock all went in today.

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29 Nov 2008 19:05 #11 by q547 (Joseph King)
first pics, live rock and water all in.

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29 Nov 2008 19:10 #12 by q547 (Joseph King)
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29 Nov 2008 19:17 #13 by Orca (Eoin Walsh)
Looking good.When will you start to put fish in.I dont know much about marine setups.

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29 Nov 2008 19:21 #14 by q547 (Joseph King)
i wont bother with any fish til after christmas i reckon. I'll leave it for a fortnight or so to cycle and then maybe a few soft corals. No plans for fishies till 2009

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30 Nov 2008 01:50 #15 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
At the 4-6 week mark you can expect a diatom algae bloom (brown algae). This is when you should add a clean up crew. 2 snails and 2 red leg hermit crabs should do the job. The algae bloom should pass quickly.
I would leave the shrimp for the moment. They can be a bit sensitive to new tanks. Maybe the end of January would be soon enough to add one.

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30 Nov 2008 22:14 #16 by q547 (Joseph King)
cool, so crabs and snails for christmas it is then!

I also noticed a few tiny soft corals (or something like that) which came in on the live rock, makes for somehing to look at in there anyway.

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01 Dec 2008 04:29 #17 by Loggser (Loggser)
Replied by Loggser (Loggser) on topic Re:First Marine Tank
Best a luck with it ;)

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26 Jan 2009 18:40 - 26 Jan 2009 18:48 #18 by q547 (Joseph King)
UPDATE

Ok I got around to doing something with this tank. First things first, at the tail end of November I bought 3 red leg hermits and 6 Turbo snails. I left them in there on their own til Yesterday. Yesterday, I picked up a little piece of soft coral and my first fish! A nice little cardinal to get things going.

The plan for now is to see how he gets on this week and maybe give him some company by the weekend. Pic attached.
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Last edit: 26 Jan 2009 18:48 by q547 (Joseph King). Reason: pic

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26 Jan 2009 20:27 #19 by LimerickBandit (Donal Doran)
Looking good keep us posted ;)

LB

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26 Jan 2009 20:35 #20 by q547 (Joseph King)
any suggestions as to what to add next?

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26 Jan 2009 21:33 #21 by Seany (Sean Phelan)
Depends on what size the tank is? Water Volume? Sump? etc

Let us know

Seany

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27 Jan 2009 00:04 #22 by q547 (Joseph King)
its a 55 litre tank, so allowing for the rock etc probably 45 litres of water. No sump, its only little. Has a protein skimmer though. I was thinking maybe (in no particular order) an anemone, pair of clowns, cleaner shrimp, and maybe another cardinal or a goby (or similar)

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28 Jan 2009 21:54 - 28 Jan 2009 21:54 #23 by paulbohs (Paul Doyle)
I'm going to be honest and you wont like it. 55 liters is approx 10 gallons. stocking of a marine tank is 1" of fish per 2-5 gallons (depending on who you ask). Your allowed 5 inch of fish. occelaris clowns are 4" each. Your already at your limit. Bangai cardinal fish are 2.5" so maybe get a 2nd one of these and hope for some breeding behavior.
Last edit: 28 Jan 2009 21:54 by paulbohs (Paul Doyle).

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29 Jan 2009 08:52 #24 by Seany (Sean Phelan)
Also forget about an anenome. A tank that size cannot possibly offer the stable parameters that are essential for keeping these animals alive. They are difficult in a 600L system! The light you would need for this animal would greatly overheat your tank as well

May be a few Zoa's / Mushrooms / Yellow Polyps. Even Toadstools / Colts are out of the question as they grow to big.

Google "Nano Marine Tank". It wil give you a better idea of what your limitations are.

Kind regards

Seany

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29 Jan 2009 11:39 #25 by q547 (Joseph King)
Ok, i spoke with someone yesterday and the anemone idea is gone out the window, as are the clowns.

The plan for now is either a 2nd cardinal or remove him altogether and get more soft corals and some smaller stuff!

I need more money to get a bigger tank :(

I may possibly convert one of my african tanks though.... Hmmm....

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30 Jan 2009 00:44 #26 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
hmmmm if you are converting one of your african tanks, and if it is the tanganyikan one let me know what your getting rid of and price your looking for, always looking for good tanganyikans

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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30 Jan 2009 08:00 #27 by q547 (Joseph King)
i'd prefer to do the malawi tank, i'm very fond of my tangs

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02 Feb 2009 08:22 #28 by q547 (Joseph King)
some new arrivals
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02 Feb 2009 08:25 #29 by q547 (Joseph King)
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02 Feb 2009 14:53 #30 by lampeye (lampeye)
did u convert one of your bigger tanks?
that looks likea maroon clownfish (correct me if im wrong) they are very agressive and get huge.

lampeye

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