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

seeding a filter

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mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)
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20 Apr 2008 18:48 #1 by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)

seeding a filter was created by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)

My 3Ft undergravel has been compromised by snails and empty shells keep blocking the power head and sooner rather than later it will be dead too so i decided to replace it with an spare internal filter I had. The reason for this is because I can't remove the fish to clean underneath the undergravel.

Thus I got my bits and pieces together

First I put a home use sponge in boiling water to remove any loose colouring and to ensure it was clean and suitable

This was done two times to be sure, the fork was to move it around, weight it down and squeeze safely. After this I checked to see best way to use it.

I decided to cut and place it this way

Then filter cotton

and then the cap

Next I placed some seed cotton from another tank

On top of that I placed bio ceramic rings which have been in the water from the tank for the last week

I then topped it off with sponge

Put the pump together and away she went.

For the next few days I will use both
but then I will remove the powerhead and leave the internal to do the work and the under gravel will still be working but not to the same extent

Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods

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KenS (Ken Simpson)
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20 Apr 2008 23:56 #2 by KenS (Ken Simpson)

Replied by KenS (Ken Simpson) on topic Re:seeding a filter

Hi Mickey,

Looks good. I think you're far better with an internal rather than an under gravel filter. The internal will cause you far less problems in the long run. You've set it up perfectly so shouldn't have any problems. Test the water every day for the next week to be sure.

Regards,

Ken.

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mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)
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21 Apr 2008 00:10 #3 by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)

Replied by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods) on topic Re:seeding a filter

i have to say no problems for three years tills snail arrived.( forgot to boil bucket after cleaning an infected tank) and if i had place to relocate plec i would not change a thing. the only reason i have not changed to an air stone it would not have the power.

but we could argue pros and cons but we all have our preferences. but what will be interesting to see how this copes with snails and watching the clowns feasting.

Mickey

Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods

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sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
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21 Apr 2008 01:20 #4 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)

Replied by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie) on topic Re:seeding a filter

Hi Mickey,
probably a weird suggestion but have you tried putting the hose of a gravel syphon over the outlet pipe and sucking those blasted snails out, i had your problem years ago when i used undergravel filtration and it was my old man who suggested it, got a lot of the snails out and lessened the problem a bit, might be worth a try... on another note looking at the sponge your using it seems a bit on the fine side for a filter i may be wrong but i can see you changing that a lot due to clogging..try those tuffa or lufa sponges women use to exfoliate their skin better by far i found, but don't let the missus find out where hers went or i'll deny all knowledge of this post:lol: :lol:

Seamus

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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mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)
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21 Apr 2008 09:30 #5 by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods)

Replied by mickeywallace (Michael Wallace Cath Woods) on topic Re:seeding a filter

Hi Seamus,
i would agree the sponge is fine and will clog a lot! but it will also catch the snails while they are still at the earliest stages thus reducing the problem. it will in the long term help remove them. As for the extra work involved well to get things right you have to but the work in.

normally i would only use this type of sponge as the last barrier before the impeller. when you use a got filter cotton it really polishes the water but some can make its way to the impeller housing and get rapped round it thus reducing its effectiveness or pass through in to the tank and i had to remove it from a fish thus this is ideal as a final stage barrier to avoid this.

As for putting the hose in the up lift that was part of regular maintenance. I also worked the power head in reverse (pushing water down the up lift). it just got to the stage i would have to recycle the tank or use an internal. i chose the latter as there is a common plec in there and in all honesty the tank is not big enough for him. It is 36 x 15 x15 he is about 15 also there is another plec golden? 7 3 x 3 clown loaches.
rather than risk losing fish Just my maintenance on this tank has already trebled and with this fine sponge maybe more? but the end justifies the means!!!!!!!

Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods

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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

seeding a filter