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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

sealing diy background

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21 Jul 2012 18:38 #1 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
well i went threw the 6 pages here in diy and im still none the wiser half the people not sealing it up and doing the fill and empty method to get the ph down a few people using g4 pond sealer which is mad money for what i need, its a juwel 125ltr tank can anyone who has done a diy background advise me what is best just leave it or seal it if sealing what can i use apart from g4

thanks guys

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21 Jul 2012 19:06 #2 by antoblfc (Anthony Behan)
I make a lot of backgrounds myself and i dont use a sealer.Normaly people do the fill and drain 10 times
method.But why bother if you have access to a bath.Use the bath for this proces. And maybe for the last one
you could do it in the tank.Works for me.Hope this has been helpfull. Would like to see a picture of your
background can you upload one.....

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21 Jul 2012 19:09 #3 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic Re: sealing diy background
For what it's worth Jeff, Salt water will speed up the curing without using a Sealer.

Kev .

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21 Jul 2012 19:45 #4 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
thats great news thanks lads so i take it the cement is totally safe?? after the curing


i will do a start to finish post when it finished so il have plenty of pics.

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21 Jul 2012 20:58 #5 by Axolotl (mark gethings)
Hi jeff,

Mind me asking what concrete you used for your background? I am planning on starting my own background in the next couple of weeks.

In regards to your question, I was hoping yo use drylok on mine but I have no idea if it is actually available in ireland as of yet. To my understanding it is a latex masonry sealant that can be used in ponds ,videos I have seen online recommend it.

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21 Jul 2012 22:27 #6 by jeff (Jeff Scully)

Hi jeff,

Mind me asking what concrete you used for your background? I am planning on starting my own background in the next couple of weeks.

In regards to your question, I was hoping yo use drylok on mine but I have no idea if it is actually available in ireland as of yet. To my understanding it is a latex masonry sealant that can be used in ponds ,videos I have seen online recommend it.


Hi, I used the Quikrete quick-setting cement, sez its human and animal safe so id say its ok (i hope)

yeah i was looking at the drylok but wasn't sure it was safe, if you can get it anywhere it would be in stillorgan decor centre they have everything like that

but the lads are saying you dont need it, and id say it will look better as a natural look im sure any sealant will make it shiny, but thats just my opinion i would rather a natural look

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21 Jul 2012 22:56 #7 by Axolotl (mark gethings)
I have seen a video where the fist ate through the background after using Quikrete and he recommends using drylok on its own, I will find the video, it is in 9 parts and the last part is where he is replacing the eaten background.

here it is, part 9:

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21 Jul 2012 23:48 - 21 Jul 2012 23:50 #8 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
good find but first of all your man was a tool for having 9" fish in a tank that small (poor fish) im surprised they didn't eat away the silicone to get out of the tank

i will only be keeping very small shoaling fish in my tank so maybe im ok

but yea im all up for making the b/r stronger so i will defo look into getting some of the drylok, i like the idea of messing around with the colours too to make it more realistic looking, and its cool thats its fish safe il look into it 2moro in the decor centre and see if the have it and il let you know

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.
Last edit: 21 Jul 2012 23:50 by jeff (Jeff Scully).

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22 Jul 2012 00:18 #9 by Axolotl (mark gethings)
Yeah I know it was because the fish were too big but still shows that fish can get through it and makes me think smaller ones may too just not as quickly! I look forward to hearing how it goes tomorrow, personally I would rather use drylok I think so hopefully it is available in Ireland.

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29 Jul 2012 19:20 #10 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
sorry ive been up to me eyes havent been on in ages cant seem to get the drylok anywhere i ended up just getting the g4

and made a mistake with the cement i was using i said it was Quikrete i had that name on the brain for a ages i actually used Jetcem quick-setting cement

still havent got around to sealing it yet hope to do it tuesday, and then start to get some pics up

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05 Sep 2012 22:03 #11 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
just a heads up for anyone using g4 sealer it sezz leave it 72hrs. to dry and then wash down a few times,
so i rinsed and rinsed,and filled and empted about 5 times 2 times leaving it over night
set the tank up and still the next day it was stinking of fumes when i opened the hood, so after alot of calls and research i was to set up a high speed air stone and leave the lid open for the first week or so
this would depress any gasses that still remain in the tank, and it worked a treat (no smell after a week)
and just to add i had sensitive fish in their while i done this and didn,t louse anything

just thought this might help the paranoid taught that i had that anyone else might have that go down this route of g4. at the end of the day its safe (when it smells dangerous)

pics. can be seen in the DIY section (First attempted on a DIY background)

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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20 Feb 2013 21:38 #12 by CrustyCrab (Peter Biddulph)
Thanks for that info Jeff, Just had a call from a mate with that same G4 smell problem, so you got it sorted for him. Thanks again. Pete

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21 Feb 2013 14:17 #13 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
No probs mate im glad it helped someone make sure he gets you a pint for finding this for him, haha

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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21 Feb 2013 14:21 #14 by CrustyCrab (Peter Biddulph)


Pint waiting for you in Clifden mate
Attachments:

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21 Feb 2013 14:24 #15 by jeff (Jeff Scully)
haha love it cheers mate

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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