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
Pictures of my tanks
- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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- hammie (Neil Hammerton)
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Always so many options and possibilities with a new tank
looking forward to seeing new developments
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- LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
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my 540l project that's keeping me awake at night, I've that many idea's running thru my head
That's part of the fun

"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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- Jim (Jim Lawlor)
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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So far I've decided to go with silica sand substrate ( only took 4 weeks to make that choice

I'm in the process of painting the cabinet and tank ( back and righthand side on the pic) black. I've ordered l.e.d. lights, white and blue.
I've my sump tank ( another 4 week decision) got, just have to make a few adjustments to it.
It's slow progress but I don't mind, as I've said I want to do the tank right.
Have been to seahorse aquarium + online looking at fish and that threw a spanner in my thoughts for want I wanted.

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- Jim (Jim Lawlor)
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Even with a tank that size you can ignore large species and theres still the potential to keep small tetras - but hundreds of them !
Good luck with it & please do post pics as you develop it
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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I'm leaning towards neon/gold tetra's + barbs of some type for top level. Really like clown loaches, probably get 6+ for bottom level. Middle level is where I'm still undecided. It's a tall tank, was recommended discus as a showpiece but don't know. More decisions to wreck my head.
I'll throw up some pics when I finish painting

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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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Im looking forward to seeing your progress.
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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I don't feel to bad now taking so much time. But you're right, I think it will be worth it when I finally finish.
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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Gavin
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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- LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
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Women, eh? Always wanting to use the rooms we keep our fish in for something daft like cooking, watching tv or sleeping... tuh!That's the women for you

"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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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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Women, eh? Always wanting to use the rooms we keep our fish in for something daft like cooking, watching tv or sleeping... tuh!

LOL
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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Crack is actually in-between the glass. So tank is out the back, full to the top with water since yesterday. No leaks to report. I'll post an update in the next few days. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thanks guys
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- alan 64 (alan)
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- LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
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"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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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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Thanks guys
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- LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
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"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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- Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
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It's hard to see in the pics but the way the light is hitting it, without water in the tank, looks very much like a crack. The tank has been full for nearly 3 days now and no leaks or the crack/scratch hasn't got bigger. Im thinking it's more of a scratch now. Just didn't fancy filling the tank inside and dealing with 540l of water everywhere
Thanks guys
That would be my worst nightmare and I personally wouldn't fill it until I was sure it was a scratch versus a crack - if it's the former, the water will put incredible pressure on it. I just always think of the hassle Stephane had with the slipped water feed that ended up flooding his apartment and many below it too....I would rather be safe than sorry when playing with 540l of water...
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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Just thought I'd share some photos of my progress with the tank. Finished painting the cabinet and I wasn't happy with the strength of it, so I built a metal frame. Sump fits perfectly, I have glass coming next week for the sump. Slowly but surely it's getting there but I'm happy with the way it's looking so far. Any thoughts or suggestions for the background, I was going to paint it black but I'm not sure now. Any feedback or suggestions are more than welcomed
Thanks
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- helix8008 (Tomas Novak)
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In regards to background I have frosted glass sticker. I didn't like the blue anymore, but it's all about personal preferences.
Tom
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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When you add the weight of the water + sand + ornaments, you're looking at over 600kg, so the extra frame is needed imo.
I'm thinking of the black background to make the colours of the fish really pop.
Hopefully I'll have it cycling by the end of the main. Then the real fun and games begin, deciding on what fish to put in

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- irish-zx10r (James feenan)
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Something fishie going on here
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- Bazd99 (Barry Delaney)
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I think it is a scratch but as I've said, the way the light was hitting of it, it looked like a crack.
It's slow progress at the moment. Just alot going on. Got tank painted. Went for black background, looks good. Have glass got, so hope to have sump sorted within the next 2 weeks. That's really all I've left to do. Then cycle the tank for a few week's and decide on fish
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