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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

Filtration

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25 Sep 2013 20:50 #1 by Debrick (Ciaran barrett)
Hi guys ,
In the next 6 months I'm hoping to up grade from a 450 litre tank to a 800 litre tank so I'm just wondering what people think ,
Sump pump or 2 big external filters ,
I wud like to know what ye think , thanks

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25 Sep 2013 21:06 #2 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Filtration
A sump has the great advantage of really simplifying water changes and one pump could well be more economical electricity-wise than two externals.

This could well turn into a worthwhile debate - can anyone add pros and cons for Debrick?

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.

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25 Sep 2013 21:12 #3 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
I've never had a sump, but from what I know of them I think it'd be the better option on a tank this size. Plus the fact that part of it could be set up as a refugium... two tanks! :cool:

"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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25 Sep 2013 21:20 #4 by Debrick (Ciaran barrett)
Replied by Debrick (Ciaran barrett) on topic Filtration
Hi ,
At the moment I have 1 big external 2000 litre p/h with uv light built in xtra filtration for African cichlids ,
When it cums to cleaning it , shut off taps take it outside very easy clean ,no mess in the hse ( keeps the wife happy) gud powerful water flow from it aswell

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25 Sep 2013 21:31 #5 by hammie (Neil Hammerton)
Replied by hammie (Neil Hammerton) on topic Filtration
Sump all the way IMO

Better all round system when you get to that size of tank really
Plus if you have fry or whatever, you can keep them in the sump temporarily

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25 Sep 2013 22:41 #6 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
sumps have the advantages laid out above as well as adding water volume to your setup (the bigger the volume the more stable the parameters) but 2 externals have the advantage of mature media in each so you can clean one normally (lets say week one)and cleaning the second in between your regular cleaning (say week 3) so you can generally avoid media crashes or loss of a big amount of beneficial media during cleanings... just my opinion i am sure others will join this discussion i could get very interesting

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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26 Sep 2013 07:13 #7 by paulv (paul vickers)
Replied by paulv (paul vickers) on topic Filtration

Hi ,
At the moment I have 1 big external 2000 litre p/h with uv light built in xtra filtration for African cichlids ,
When it cums to cleaning it , shut off taps take it outside very easy clean ,no mess in the hse ( keeps the wife happy) gud powerful water flow from it aswell

I've a 1000l tank with a sump it adds another 300l of water to the system, I think its best to go sump as with your external doing 2000l per hour, you will need 2 of them. A sump gives you much better choice of material to use.

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26 Sep 2013 13:34 #8 by theangryman (chris)
Replied by theangryman (chris) on topic Filtration
Have to agree with all the above, sump is the only way to go, from the extra water to the fry holding tank,I have 3 external filters under the counter in the shed as I`ve put sumps on all my tanks no matter what size they are

"I try to incorporate melody. Even though I'm screaming, I still like to think I bring melody into screaming."
Tom Araya

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read "President Can't Swim........Lyndon B Johnson

All my...

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14 Nov 2013 20:47 #9 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic Filtration
Never had a sump, always a canister filter so I'm interested in the advice you're getting. Couple of questions though: you didn't mention if it's freshwater or marine and I understand equipment like protein skimmers are redundant in freshwater tanks. Are sumps commonly used for freshwater tanks? Also, while I can understand the increase in water volume stabilizes a system,I don't see much need when you have a colossal tank to begin with. Is there also a greater risk of flooding with a sump or is the overflow and return pump completely reliable?

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14 Nov 2013 21:10 #10 by irish-zx10r (James feenan)
This is really simple to answer just pop down to seahorse and get two Fluval FX6 Canister Filter
@ €299 and your sorted, i will buy your external for €50 and that will help cut the caust of the two FX6
:cool:

Something fishie going on here

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14 Nov 2013 21:13 #11 by Debrick (Ciaran barrett)
Replied by Debrick (Ciaran barrett) on topic Filtration
Hi mr b,
I'm same as urself I've never used a sump , so I'm goin to use 2 big filters , I was thinking as shag said I wud clean filters week 1 and 3 seperatly ,I think ur rite with such a large body of water it wud take a long time for things to go pear shaped , tank is goin to be a freshwater , for Malawi cichlids , hopefully tank will arrive in the next 3 weeks

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14 Nov 2013 22:10 #12 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic Filtration
How's it goin' there. Here's another question that bothers me about the sump: If I don't drill my tank and rely on a siphon overflow, every flood problem I've read about talks about power-cuts and I can understand that when the water level in the display tank drops below the overflow then no water can flow to the sump and there'll be no flooding of the sump but what if it isn't a power-cut but a siphon failure and that sump pump continues to pump away, happy as a clam, while no water drains to the sump! Have I got a display tank flood on my hands?

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14 Nov 2013 22:43 #13 by Debrick (Ciaran barrett)
Replied by Debrick (Ciaran barrett) on topic Filtration
That seems plausible alrite, but I wud'nt know much abt sumps , but all the shops use sumps so they must be gud , so I'd say each to there own

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14 Nov 2013 23:55 #14 by theangryman (chris)
Replied by theangryman (chris) on topic Filtration
I see where your worries come from here and I suppose there is no way of 100% saying you will never have an accidental overflow either in the tank itself or the sump, but there are ways of minimizing the risk and introducing redundancy such as an over-sized siphon pipe (50mm instead of 25mm as an example)or a second siphon pipe.As I say above my tanks are drilled with two holes, one higher than the other and at opposite ends of the tank, if the primary (lower) overflow pipe blocks the second will take care of the extra water in the tank, also the pipe coming from the primary overflow is the full depth of the tank with holes drilled all the way from top to bottom and the end capped off, this means I get water from every level of the tank into the filter and a simple few holes drilled at the top as a siphon air break means if the power does go off the amount of water drained into the sump is minimal,because of the amount of holes drilled in the pipe the chances of it blocking are almost impossible, as above, for me, sump all the way...... B)

Chris

"I try to incorporate melody. Even though I'm screaming, I still like to think I bring melody into screaming."
Tom Araya

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read "President Can't Swim........Lyndon B Johnson

All my...

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15 Nov 2013 16:01 #15 by davey_c (dave clarke)
Replied by davey_c (dave clarke) on topic Filtration
A sump all the way from me too B)
A secondary overflow as said that is above the waterline is whats usually used to help against blockages. As for an overflowing sump, a sump is designed with enough room above its regular waterline to hold the max amount of water that will drain from the tank. No equipment is foolproof so always prepare for the worst and you'll be fine.
The extra volume is always beneficial for countless reasons regardless of tank volume so thats why I say sump B)

Below tank is for sale

my plywood tank build.

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768

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15 Nov 2013 21:19 #16 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic Filtration
I'd have to agree Debrick. It's certainly the next step.

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22 Nov 2013 22:20 #17 by Mr B (C B)
Replied by Mr B (C B) on topic Filtration
Hey Debrick, Just spotted this on amazon: 'Aquarium External Fish Tank Filter 1400L/H + 9W UV Light Free Filter Media All Pond Solutions 1400EF+' It certainly got my attention as it's a fraction of the price of other large canister filters. There's also a review on you tube worth checking out.

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22 Nov 2013 23:04 #18 by irish-zx10r (James feenan)

Hey Debrick, Just spotted this on amazon: 'Aquarium External Fish Tank Filter 1400L/H + 9W UV Light Free Filter Media All Pond Solutions 1400EF+' It certainly got my attention as it's a fraction of the price of other large canister filters. There's also a review on you tube worth checking out.


I think there is quite a few of us here with these filters
The next one up is even better the 2000 with uv light they can be sold under different
Names. Seen some new 1400 going for 75 euro

Something fishie going on here

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22 Nov 2013 23:44 #19 by Debrick (Ciaran barrett)
Replied by Debrick (Ciaran barrett) on topic Filtration
I'm a big fan of these all ponds filters , I have the 2000 ef with 9w uv , it's running about a year now I find it great , very quiet , it's easy enough to clean , I'd recommend these for sure

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