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
Hello
- prospect (Brian Kenny)
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I am basically a newbie to fishkeeping. I got a present of a lovely Jewel 190L tanks at Christmas. I always stop for a look at any aquariums in garden centres & pet shops, so my family got the idea from that.
So, since Christmas I have been looking around and surfing the net etc.
I have still not put any water in the tank, although it is set-up on its unit. I bought the background and stuck it on the backing glass, but I put in on the inside, presuming the pressure of the water would hold it in place! ?

I also bought a bag of gravel from Aquatic Village and a lump of bog oak, or similar. It has beel steeping in water for about 2 weeks now. I change the water every 2 days.
So, that is where I am at. I am currently debating with myself about live plants...
Also, I hear great things about using the gunk from another 'established' tank to help cycle mine. Anybody living near Sallins that would be willing to throw gunk my way?
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- paulbohs (Paul Doyle)
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- Cardnim (Andrew Hanley)
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Great pressie mate, im definately jealous.
Just wanted to say well done. You have obviously done your homework, as you have done everything right so far (apart from the background hehehe

Keep up the good work and responsible fish keeping.
You could go ahead and start your tank cycling now (use a fishless cycle by adding ammonia) while you wait for your \"filter gunk\"

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Welcome to the site. I am sitting here green with envy!






It is great to see you are taking small steps to start with if you add some flake food to tank water it will help start the cycle also.
keep us post how you get on!
Mickey
Mickey Wallace & Cath Woods
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- Valerie (Valerie)
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Obviously someone was good last year to get oneself a nice tank !

Welcome to the forum! There are many hours of reading on this site regarding setting up a new tank. However, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask!

Let us know how you get on and don't forget, we always like to see photographs

Valerie
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- prospect (Brian Kenny)
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Thanks for the warm welcome.
I am still feeling a bit silly about the background 'issue'. My excuse is that I was so busy concentrating on the other stuff, I had a momentary lapse.
Anyway, I had an idea. I was considering getting that smokey grey reflective material you see on modified car windows. I figured it would make the tank look bigger, yet it would not be so reflective as to distract or upset the fish. Anyone ever tried anything like that?
Cheers,
Brian.
P.S. I am going to take photos of the set-up, start to finish, so I'll post them when I have some stock in it.
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- goldy (goldy .)
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even though some of us have been keeping a while we all still make mistakes so dont worry about the background and keep asking questions. good luck
nessa
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- prospect (Brian Kenny)
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why not start documenting your progress and put it up in the article section.
I think I might do that.
Brian.
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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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I would say that tank was uncomfortable for Santa to carry around in his sack.

There is a good article you should read on setting up your first tank. See link;
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/content/blogcategory/29/75/
Whichever background you go for make sure you seal across the top so you dont get water between the glass and the background.
The water makes the background look blotchy.
I use electrical insulating tape. Just tape the top of the background to the glass.
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- Cardnim (Andrew Hanley)
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Great idea about the article and recording how you set up your tank.
That is always fascinating reading.
Cheers mate

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- pierce (pierce)
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- Tom (Tom Brecknell)
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I am working in Intel and could bring you some dirty water if you are still looking for it. I will be in work February 20th to 23rd – Wednesday to Saturday and could drop it in to you on my way home from work. I normally pass through Sallins about 7 – 7.30 in the evenings. PM me if you want to meet and I can give you my details…............Tom.

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- prospect (Brian Kenny)
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I have started recording my progress for an article. I am not sure how to post it onto the website, so I'll probably e-mail it to a mod to proof read first (in case I write something that could result in a lot of fish deaths

Tom, thanks, that would be great. I am still not ready for it though. I have some prep work to get done first, including moving the cable from my Sky dish, which means re-drilling an external wall (don't want to be drilling walls when the Fish are in, they might not like that). So, I am not sure when I'll be ready, but I'll keep in touch via PM. Cheers for the offer

Brian.

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