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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

Undergravel filters

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03 Apr 2009 19:02 #1 by alkiely (alan kiely)
Im re-searching different filters for my new tank dont want an internal and have been lookin at external and under gravel filters, have been looking at the tetratec 600 for my 60l tank but ive been reading mixed reports bout under gravel filters.

Can anyone give me some good advice on under gravel fliters and also with the spray bar on the external does it have to be out of the water or can it be submerged under water.

Alan

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03 Apr 2009 20:11 #2 by Zoom (Zoom)
Replied by Zoom (Zoom) on topic Re:Undergravel filters
Hi Alan,

I've never used undergravel filters, I just dont like the way they work + it rules out plants for the best part.
Yeah its fine to use the spray bar under water on an external , just be careful if you ever disconnect the hoses it will syphon out the spray bar too!!
I swear by eheim externals myself , recently got a fluval fx5 haven't used it yet so can't comment on it. Still trying to figure out the best media option for it.
A good little filter for the price is the eheim classic 2213 about €45 , Its an external for tanks up to 250ltrs be ideal for your tank(alot of filtration on it) just need to buy a tap for it to slow down the out flow if you want they are about €4 + media another 15-20 euro. So about 60-70 euro would get you everything + a huge filtration for that tank.

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03 Apr 2009 21:41 #3 by alkiely (alan kiely)
Hi Zoom,

Just read about have no plants thats a real pain in the arse..................:angry:

Yeah its some filter that, i said over kill but thats taking it to the next level.... ha ha ha but then it can be used for other tanks in the long run ( much bigger tanks ) ill keep the bigger tanks part quite for now dont wanna piss the missus of even more

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04 Apr 2009 01:05 #4 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Under gravel filters are fine for a couple of months then they become nitrate factory's and after a year or so need to be taken out and cleaned. It's a dirty smelly job. Also as said no plants or fish that might dig like some loaches, Goby's, eel's etc.
The Eheim 2213 is a fine filter. I use one on a 60L tank. As suggested you can control the flow by using a tap on the return to reduce the flow. It is better to over filter than under filter.
I would much prefer this basic filter to the Tetratec.

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04 Apr 2009 17:38 #5 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
hey Alan, i use the eheim 2213 on my small 60l shellie tank, brilliant bit of kit and more than capable of your size tank, and the advantage is you can have plants as well which dont really thrive with undergravel filters, and re spray bar you can submerge or put above the waterline, i have mine submerged with the flow directed to the surface so as to get maximum water movement for aeration.. but its your own preference on my 6x2x2 i have it above the water as you can see in the clip on my post "my tanganyikan biotope" but its your choice

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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04 Apr 2009 20:53 #6 by cardinal (Lar Savage)
Alan
...........As far as I'm concerned.....UG filters went out with the indians...... stick with external filters .....much easier to clean for one thing..........Lar

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04 Apr 2009 21:44 #7 by alkiely (alan kiely)
Yeah the eheim is the way to go i can use it for other large tanks that im planning. Also i like that way ill be able to control the rate of flow for my own needs by adding the tap.

My sister found and 15L spongebob tank i no stupid kids tank but im gonna strip the thing bare and use it for fry or my even red cherry shrimp its just a plain rectangular tank dont see why not its free:laugh:

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