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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

Gloss or Matt Black Vinyl background??

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07 Dec 2014 21:37 #1 by swai (Simon)
Hi all,

Just looking for opinions. I plan on getting a black background. I don't want to paint as its quite a big tank and won't be able to move if need to repaint etc.

I've decided to go with a self adhesive black background but i'm not sure of whether to go for gloss or matt. Is there any benefits to gloss or should I just go with matt black?

Cheers,

Simon.

Marino, Dublin 9

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07 Dec 2014 22:10 #2 by ger310 (Ger .)
Alright dude,personally i can't understand why people want to use them adhesive backgrounds over painting the back............you will have the same if not more trouble with the adhesive if water starts to go over the back,and it will be a lot harder to fix aswell..........and in my opinion the paint looks better............plus it's quite easy to fix a painted background......mini roller,job oxo!!

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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07 Dec 2014 22:15 #3 by swai (Simon)
Cheers for the input Ger, i would have no problem painting smaller tanks but this is 130 x 60 x 60 and will be against a wall so when its painted and filled it is not going to be moved again! Thats why i was thinking of vinyl so there shouldn't be any problems once its applied. I hear a hair dryer works the best for getting bubbles out.

Marino, Dublin 9

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07 Dec 2014 22:19 #4 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
+1 on that totally. A well done paint job will never need to be repainted, All of my tanks have painted backgrounds and it makes me wonder why I ever tried anything different.

"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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07 Dec 2014 22:24 #5 by swai (Simon)
will i get a +3 on paint, will bite the bullet if i do! and LJ want to come over and do it ha ha! I really don't trust myself.

Marino, Dublin 9

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07 Dec 2014 22:26 #6 by ger310 (Ger .)
you will get the bubbles out no problem but i guarantee they will reappear!!

you would only need an inch or two gap at the back for a mini roller to fit down and surely you will have that because of skirting board,external pipes at the back............or maybe not!!

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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07 Dec 2014 22:45 #7 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
You'll get +3 on it definitely.

And it's a piece of p!$$. if possible lay the tank down on its front and just use masking tape around the bit you want unpainted. if the tank is already filled and you need to do it in situ then just use a roller and make sure the tank it well covered and the room well aerated. I've done it both way. Trust me, easy peasy lemon squeezy... see what I did there? :lol:

"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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07 Dec 2014 22:49 #8 by ger310 (Ger .)

You'll get +3 on it definitely.

And it's a piece of p!$$. if possible lay the tank down on its front and just use masking tape around the bit you want unpainted. if the tank is already filled and you need to do it in situ then just use a roller and make sure the tank it well covered and the room well aerated. I've done it both way. Trust me, easy peasy lemon squeezy... see what I did there? :lol:


+1 on that

And just to make it even easier for yeh,i have half a tub (about 200ml) of black acrylic paint here + a mini roller you can have for nothing if yeh want.

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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07 Dec 2014 22:59 #9 by irish-zx10r (James feenan)
+5 Both my 6 ft and 5 ft tanks are up again the wall i always leave enough room for pipes for the extrrnal filters there is enough room to touch up the paint. I wouldn't bother with the vinal paint is better

Something fishie going on here

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07 Dec 2014 23:05 #10 by swai (Simon)
cheers lads, looks like i'm painting the back of the tank now! Next question was what should I use to paint but I think Ger just answered that for me. Acrylic? I'll take that off your hands if your not using it. Do you reckon it would do a 4 x 2 foot tank?

Marino, Dublin 9

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07 Dec 2014 23:08 #11 by swai (Simon)
And tank is not filled so will be able to paint it while its on the stand!

Marino, Dublin 9

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07 Dec 2014 23:10 #12 by Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
+ another 1

The adhesive will make you crazy as soon as a little water goes down the back it will bubble.

If I can manage to paint a tank anyone can. Will never use vinyl background again.

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07 Dec 2014 23:14 #13 by swai (Simon)
they are encouraging words comets, i never trust myself to do any fish related diy!

Marino, Dublin 9

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07 Dec 2014 23:24 #14 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
I should say, I've also used the backgrounds, even with the special gloop they sell to stick it on... and it never holds for too long.

"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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07 Dec 2014 23:46 #15 by ger310 (Ger .)

I'll take that off your hands if your not using it. Do you reckon it would do a 4 x 2 foot tank?


It's half of what i have left from painting a 5 x 2 (including a side) so i reckon it would be enough.........i'm logging off now ok but i'll be at home from 3pm tomorrow if you want to pop down for it........text my mobile ok

Ger

What do you call a three legged Donkey?

A Wonkey....duh ha :)

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09 Dec 2014 08:34 #16 by hammie (Neil Hammerton)
Ill be painting my Trigon 350 soon
plus Ill be painting my sons 190 and the currently cracked 4ft when i replace the arse in it!!!!!

Im sick of the sight of the vinal backrounds!!! Thankfully my 3ft has a 3d backround so I dont have to bother painting that one haha

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09 Dec 2014 08:53 #17 by swai (Simon)
I actually painted the tank last night, was a lot easier then expected. Ended up giving it 3 coats just to be sure.

Thanks for the info guys and to ger for the paint and roller.

Think I'll go and buy some more acrylic and paint another tank blue!

Marino, Dublin 9

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09 Dec 2014 09:28 #18 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Paint multiple coats..build the coats up slowly..allow some drying time in between coats..when finished painting allow plenty of drying time (a day or 2) before putting water in the tank..water splashes will ruin your paint job if ya don't allow it to dry properly

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