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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

New year / New Projects (Project 1 - 240 Litre World Tank)

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10 Dec 2016 14:45 - 10 Dec 2016 14:47 #1 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
As this year has been a major year of change and upheaval in my personal life I am finally coming towards the end of 2016 and in the position where I can redecorate my man cave and start afresh with my tanks and long awaited fish room...

Having been inspired by alot of you guys on here and other tanks online Im basically starting from scratch with all my tanks but I still have all my fish in temporary homes..

So after I redecorate the man cave Im gonna start in the new year on my first tank project which is my 240 Litre Fluval Roma World themed tank which will house fish and plants from all continents of the world......

So here goes! Hopefully you guys and others find this interesting....

All tanks, equipment and fish are now temporaily homed in the spare box room
i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0150_zpstokdgvwv.jpg

Fluval Roma 240 with black painted background........ (The top framework has been carefully removed to allow the background to be painted right to the top. This eliminates the possibility of light gaps coming through from the rear after the framework is replaced...It takes about 6 coats of acrylic paint to coat the glass properly with sufficient drying time in between each coat..Also it is vital to use good quality rollers (not brushes) and to alternate the direction of rolling on each coat)
i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0136_zpszvwx3okj.jpg
Last edit: 10 Dec 2016 14:47 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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10 Dec 2016 15:03 #2 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
The standard T8 floursecent tubes in the lamp unit have been replaced with Arcadia T8 replacement LEDs for energy efficiency, to create the shimmer effect and also because they have a much longer lamp life before their light output starts to deteriorate...I have combined 2 different tubes...Tropical for colour enhancement and Sunlight for plant growth...(I will only be growing easy to mid difficulty plants) There will be no advanced plants and hence no need for Co2 injection...The tank will though be dosed daily with Easy Carbo and three times weekly with Profito...

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0138_zpsiyobxcc3.jpg

www.arcadia-aquatic.com/classica-led-lamp/

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10 Dec 2016 15:07 #3 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Egg Crate cut to size in preparation for initial rockscape...Vital when using heavy rockwork...Otherwise you are just asking for trouble and a possible flood LOL :P

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0139_zpscknocqsy.jpg

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10 Dec 2016 15:27 - 10 Dec 2016 15:35 #4 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Initial Rockscape/Hardscape Ideas (All rocks came from Bray beach and have been thoroughly washed and bleached and then rinsed) (Make sure if ya go to the beach to collect rocks the tide is gone out :P and nobody is watchin :P Its actually a criminal offence from what ive been told)

Using the tank stand and eggcrate as a template I have began initial hardscape ideas...Dont know if im gonna stick with it though...
i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0143_zpsg9fyenep.jpg

Eggcrate can be cut to sizes to form areas of height instead of piling tonnes of heavy rocks on top of each other (Note the left hand side under the archway...

This is the final initial rockscape idea (Not certain on it yet...Gonna play around with it a bit)
i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0149_zpsroh7kwhv.jpg

The tall rock structure on the right is a plastic realistic hollow rock ornament...This will conceal the intake and out flow pipes of the filter which come up throw the bottom of the tank in the Fluval Roma 240...

The rockscape is photographed in stages so I can remember how to reassemble it once the tank is in place and ready
Last edit: 10 Dec 2016 15:35 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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10 Dec 2016 16:38 #5 by BillyB (Billy B)
Very cool :-). Have you decided what fish you are getting yet?

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10 Dec 2016 17:42 - 10 Dec 2016 17:43 #6 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Have a load of different fish species already (temporarily housed) but not exactly sure which ones im keeping and which extra species im adding...Im in no hurry to be honest...Patience is crucial in fish keeping...Ive learned that over the years...
Last edit: 10 Dec 2016 17:43 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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10 Dec 2016 17:50 #7 by robert (robert carter)
Good luck with the new project , looking forwards to seeing pictures

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10 Dec 2016 18:32 #8 by BillyB (Billy B)
Yeah, that's definitely the right way to do it... if I was to advise you on the easiest plants to keep it would be anubias and cryptocoryne. Although they are slow growers, they are very hardy and don't need a load of light.

Anyway good luck with your project, looking forward to seeing how it develops!

Billy

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10 Dec 2016 23:44 - 10 Dec 2016 23:46 #9 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
4 LED Spotlights and an LED strip light installed in tank rim above the water level to create a night mode...Almost reef like even though this is a fresh water tank...Installing the spotlights above the water line will create a night shimmer effect...

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0153_zpsbwi7bkmq.jpg

Night mode (Hopefully much more effective when the tank is filled)
i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0154_zpstr9t1wqf.jpg
Last edit: 10 Dec 2016 23:46 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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13 Dec 2016 16:13 - 14 Dec 2016 08:58 #10 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Tank will be double filtered....Both filter intakes are placed at the right hand end of the tank along with the outflow pipe from the first filter which is connected via the tank bottom connections...

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0157_zpslkgmhud8.jpg
Last edit: 14 Dec 2016 08:58 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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13 Dec 2016 16:16 - 13 Dec 2016 16:24 #11 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
The spray bar inflow from the second filter is positioned at the left hand end along with a power head near the bottom to increase flow behind the rock structure....

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0158_zpsqp9iojld.jpg

Hopefully this will create a circular flow in the tank and help to avoid deadspots..
Last edit: 13 Dec 2016 16:24 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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13 Dec 2016 16:17 - 13 Dec 2016 16:24 #12 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Replaced the rockscape to see how all the pipework and other equipment has been disguised

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0159_zpsjdd6vceb.jpg
Last edit: 13 Dec 2016 16:24 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered).

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19 Dec 2016 13:05 #13 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Black airline siliconed in place in the corner to disguise it...An air curtain will be run beneath the sand bed to create a bubble wall...

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0161_zps6hj7jn82.jpg

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19 Dec 2016 13:06 #14 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)

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08 Jan 2017 09:49 #16 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Water tightness test and air wall/curtain test...

i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t620/gunner...0253_zps1vudouee.jpg

If a tank has been empty for a while and dragged around a bit its a good idea to retest water tightness...Sometimes when a tank has been empty for a period and moved around silicone seals can fail...Better to be safe than sorry...24 hours will be enough to prove its still water tight...

The air wall/curtain also got tested to make sure it was producing enough air before its buried under the sand bed...Sometimes they need additional holes poked in them...Also sometimes the end connections leak too much air resulting in one big air bubble and no wall of air (Silicone around the end connections counteracts this)

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08 Jan 2017 19:24 #17 by gerryberry (Jeff Daly)
Tank is coming together great looks really impressive. You said you are running 2 filters, does the tank have a sump or are they both externals? The hard scale looks great, even better that the rocks were free

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03 Feb 2017 14:22 #22 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)

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03 Feb 2017 14:23 #23 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)

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