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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

Just Started!

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16 Mar 2014 19:28 #1 by joylazarus (MG Lazarus)
Just installed my 450 liter tank :)
Started the cycling process... hope all goes well :)

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16 Mar 2014 19:58 #2 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
Welcome to the forum. What do you plan on stocking it with?

"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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16 Mar 2014 22:22 #3 by gregor1983-83 (gregor1983-83)
hi in forum!! whats your plans for new tank??

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16 Mar 2014 22:30 #4 by irish-zx10r (James feenan)
hi and welcome nice tank to start out with.

Something fishie going on here

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16 Mar 2014 23:15 #5 by luas (Lewis Johnston)
Replied by luas (Lewis Johnston) on topic Just Started!
Nice and juicy tank to start with fair play.
What set up are you going for?
luas

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22 Mar 2014 20:42 #6 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic Just Started!
Great size of a tank. Welcome along.

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22 Mar 2014 21:15 #7 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
Replied by jeff (Jeff Scully) on topic Just Started!
Hi welcome to the forum, great size tank to be starting off with

Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth.

A life making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.

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22 Mar 2014 22:26 #8 by joylazarus (MG Lazarus)
Thank you all for your good wishes!
I started with 6 platies and 7 cardinal tetras... They are so joyful in the big tank! Has some natural plants as well.

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23 Mar 2014 07:49 #9 by paulv (paul vickers)
Replied by paulv (paul vickers) on topic Just Started!
Welcome along joy. Your giving yourself a great start with a big tank. Dont be shy to ask questions here.

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23 Mar 2014 09:00 #10 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Welcome along joy. Your giving yourself a great start with a big tank. Dont be shy to ask questions here.[/quot

Welcome on board! You are way ahead of most of us already! Most beginners start with smallish tanks and once bitten by the bug start upgrading to bigger and bigger tanks....or you hear "I wish I just had of bought a 400l or whatever". Larger tanks are much more stable than smaller volume ones and in fact easier to keep your fish healthy in. It's also cheaper in the long run to have gone straight for a large tank as you won't have bought the inevitable intermediary sized tanks and equipment along the way....certainly the way I would do it if I had my time back! Loads of very knowledgeable people on here and I've learnt tonnes from them....

No question is a stupid question........best of luck!

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23 Mar 2014 10:23 #11 by hammie (Neil Hammerton)
The only stupid question ive ever come accross on here, is the question never asked!!!!
As a result of not asking a question mistakes can be made and then issues can be had

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23 Mar 2014 17:49 #12 by joylazarus (MG Lazarus)
Let me ask a few questions here... not sure if this is the right place to ask though...
People talk differently about these. Would like to get some clarity around this as you guys are very experienced and helpful here...
  1. How often should I change water? I have water softening system installed at home due to high limescale content in tap water in our area. Can I use soft water when I change next time? (Let me remind you, my tank is 450L).
  2. How often should I clean filter media, or change the media altogether?
Thank you for your help :)

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23 Mar 2014 18:14 - 23 Mar 2014 18:19 #13 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Just Started!
A question:
Is your water filtration system the one which makes the water kind of salty?
There are some difficulties with using water from a domestic water softening unit but I don't know for certain what they are.
Of course, if it's either a reverse osmosis system or one which uses ion exchange resins this should be OK.

Perhaps someone with more knowledge - or that old stand-by, goggle, can help you.

Alternatively get in touch with John at Western Green (look in Sponsors Section for his email address)('Index' tab, then scroll down - for some reason the 'Sponsors' link on the left no longer works) for advice - he's a very helpful chap and is very knowledgeable where water softening issues are concerned.

As far as water changing goes I always change around 15/20% weekly and only ever clean filter media when the flow from it slows appreciably, but then only using tank water and never thoroughly cleaned - you need to leave some 'gunge' to keep the bacterial system going.
I, again personally, only ever change media when it starts to degrade. This advice does not include Filter carbon (which, again very personally, I never use) as this needs changing at fairly regular intervals.

John

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.
Last edit: 23 Mar 2014 18:19 by JohnH (John). Reason: amendments

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