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
best filters
- tonycfc (Tony O Connor)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 30
- Thank you received: 0
but was just wondering in peoples oppinion and experience what is the best filter or filters on the market leaving out the undergravel
ive got fluval 405 on turtle tank
2*f;uval 405 on 6*2*2 ft tank
fluval 305 on my community
ive never used any other type of filter so dont have really that much knowladge on others in the market
used under gravel
used internal canister
thanks guys tony
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- scorphonic (Kieran Crosbie Staunton)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 158
- Thank you received: 1

Please Log in to join the conversation.
- arabesque (Mick Veale)
- Offline
- Senior Member
-
- Posts: 315
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
-
- Offline
- Moderator
-
- Posts: 2309
- Thank you received: 127
The Tetratec and Ehime are IMO a hell of a lot better then the Fluval or the Cascade.
I would go with the Tetratec. You get more for your money and an easy filter to maintain.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- yellow (yellow)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 13
- Thank you received: 0
Frank
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- KenS (Ken Simpson)
-
- Offline
- Elite Member
-
- Posts: 940
- Thank you received: 10
I have an internal Interpet filter that hasn't put a foot wrong in three years and I would highly recommend. Many recommend the Ehiems which seems to justify their price premium.
Regards,
Ken.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Peter OB (Peter O'Brien)
-
- Offline
- Senior Member
-
- Posts: 410
- Thank you received: 0
Smoke me a Kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- hh5 (hh5)
-
- Visitor
-
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Macca (Niall Joyce)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 16
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Macca (Niall Joyce)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 16
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
-
- Offline
- Moderator
-
- Posts: 2309
- Thank you received: 127
External filters are basically just a large plastic box with a pump inside.
IMO what make a good filter stand out from a bad one is the quality of the pump, parts (seals,primer,etc) and how easy they are for maintenance.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- serratus (Drew Latimer)
- Offline
- Elite Member
-
- Posts: 937
- Thank you received: 14
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- nomad (pat murphy)
- Offline
- Senior Member
-
- Posts: 340
- Thank you received: 17
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
-
- Offline
- Platinum Member
-
- 086 8442267
- Posts: 2740
- Thank you received: 274
Seamus
Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild
currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- komalley (K OM)
-
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 82
- Thank you received: 3
To add my tuppence worth........
Have a couple of Eheim 2226's and a 2229 and never had a days trouble. OK the kit (filters & media) is expensive but just for peace of mind that it will work the extra investment is well worth it.
kom
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Macca (Niall Joyce)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 16
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Macca (Niall Joyce)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 16
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- darragh (Darragh Sherwin)
-
- Offline
- Administrator
-
- Posts: 389
- Thank you received: 0
On my newer tanks, I am using Eheim filters. They are bloody expensive but they feel like they are built to last.
Just my 2 cents
Darragh
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- Posts: 1420
- Thank you received: 2
just a small note i added 205 to my tank in December i did have one temporary problem a pH drop so just for a while watch for this it should settle down after a few weeks and return to normal.
I just added some bread soda which brought it back up to acceptable levels till things returned to normal. i used the the trail and error method to find the correct amount a measured amount of water in a jug and added the soda till i got the right reading then worked out the amount i need for the tank. which i added slowly over a few hours to avoid pH shock.
PH shock


Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods
Please Log in to join the conversation.
- pointer28 (Noel Lambert)
- Offline
- Junior Member
-
- Posts: 62
- Thank you received: 0
It's a TetraTec EX600, and I would quite happily give it 10 out of 10 and I will definitely be buying a TetraTec EX700 for the 4' tank I have waiting to set up.
A child could install and start it.
It's completely silent, in fact I'm constantly paranoid that it's not working because I can't hear anything. I now have an airstone near the inlet pipe so I can see the disturbance in the bubbles and know what the flowrate is like.
I had a Fluval internal before this and I won't ever be going back.
Once again, I really can't believe the difference it has made. I just wish I had taken a picture of the tank before and after the filter change.
Please Log in to join the conversation.