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
thinking of a new filter ....
- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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cheers ..
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
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Also good to get a good size filter so that when you upgrade it will suit just be carful that is will not be to power full for the 100L
Sean
Sean Crowe
ITFS Member
Location: Navan
Always Remember Surviving Is Not Thriving
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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for 100L tank i'd recommend a jbl e701 external or maybe an eheim classic 2213
ok , thanks dave .. so both of these are external and quiet ? and am I just taking my current filter media pads out of my internal filter and sticking them in to the new one ?
I have NO idea how an external filter works , zero , zip , nada ...
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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I'm with Davey on this Eheim all the way,
Also good to get a good size filter so that when you upgrade it will suit just be carful that is will not be to power full for the 100L
Sean
Thanks Sean , so is the above eheim the way to go for the 100 litre ?
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- pit (Piotr Urbanski)
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Rather not.am I just taking my current filter media pads out of my internal filter and sticking them in to the new one ?
Check this one. Looks good.
www.eheim.com/en_GB/products/technology/...nal-filters/ecco-pro
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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i don't know what internal you have but if the sponges fit into a basket in the external by all means stick it in... might even speed up the process... otherwise you will need to run both simultaneously till the external seeds
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www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- CaptainSlow (Martin)
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not sure what your budget is, but eheim is a bit expensive.
general rule for external filters is bigger=better. more filtering medias in a filter means more bacteries.
If you cant afford eheim (one of the best on the market) try tetra ex700. I have ex700 and ex400 in my tank, they both do well their job.
bigger filter doesnt mean bigger water flow as ypu can always reduce it.
I find my tetras silent, but after start it takes time to get rid of air from the filter and it is littke noisy for the first 2 days.
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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otherwise you will need to run both simultaneously till the external seeds
dohh !! of course
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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@Op
not sure what your budget is, but eheim is a bit expensive.
general rule for external filters is bigger=better. more filtering medias in a filter means more bacteries.
If you cant afford eheim (one of the best on the market) try tetra ex700. I have ex700 and ex400 in my tank, they both do well their job.
bigger filter doesnt mean bigger water flow as ypu can always reduce it.
I find my tetras silent, but after start it takes time to get rid of air from the filter and it is littke noisy for the first 2 days.
thanks captain , I am thinking the eheim though ..
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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- pit (Piotr Urbanski)
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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yes, but its not necessary. Smaller will be strong enough.
ok , but but bigger is better no ? and then I will have the proper rated filter if i ever upgrade the tank etc ..
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- mossy (gavin blanchfield)
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yes, but its not necessary. Smaller will be strong enough.
ok , but but bigger is better no ? and then I will have the proper rated filter if i ever upgrade the tank etc ..
now your talking

i have 4 eheims running,2 for about 12 years and still going strong
they are worth the extra money
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- Ma (mm mm)
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yes, but its not necessary. Smaller will be strong enough.
ok , but but bigger is better no ? and then I will have the proper rated filter if i ever upgrade the tank etc ..
If you buy an ecco 2000 never ever even remotely force the lid down. Put no pressure on the parts when you are doing maint, none whatsoever or you'll be looking at a cracked canister.
Super quite filters though
Location D.11
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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another question regarding the external , say the eheim classic ...
Can i create good surface agitation with one or do i need to buy additional equipment to achieve it ?
I do not like using airstones or extra pumps if possible , and i do like the way I can use my current internal for good agitation easily and quietly ..
cheers
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- Gilly (Sean GIllivan)
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Anyone any advice on which external to run with a juwel bio flow 3.0?
Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.
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- Tigger (Abe Bardez)
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You should try:
JBL CristalProfi E901
www.jbl.de/en/aquatics-freshwater-produc...-e901-greenline#info
or
the ye old faithful Eheim Classic 2215
Both are good brands and available with the sponsors.
Eventually you'll end up removing the internal...
Cheers
Abe
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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Bmcg ive been asking myself the same question all week, i just got a 180 litre tank and it has a build in , internal filter.... but i want to get a external too.... cause i hear the juwel internal filters cant handle bio-loads very well. I hear eheim is the way to go.... more expensive initially but well worth it in the long run.
Anyone any advice on which external to run with a juwel bio flow 3.0?
all depends on stock!! i had my 120L jewel on the standard internal for about 4 yrs without any problems and it seemed well capable!!
Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- Gilly (Sean GIllivan)
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Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.
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- Gilly (Sean GIllivan)
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Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.
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- Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
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Aquaworld.ie have the e901 at what looks like a good price.
Leave one for me though my fish need an Xmas present

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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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Davey id love to tell you about stock but ive literally no idea as of yet. am open to some suggestions for the tank though? preferably compatible with a betta?
don't get me wrong but its to my understanding that bettas don't do will in average sized tanks. its like they aren't or don't feel safe in them and are vulnerable or something. plus you are realy limiting your possibilities of tankmates!!
i have an unused jbl e1500 for sale for 100e if it suits anyone?? didn't want to sell but kinda have to

Below tank is for sale
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www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- zabol001 (Marcin)
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It is quiet, efficient and has all the filter media
Cost me 105e about 2 weeks ago online.
They change price now but still ok
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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hey yall ..
another question regarding the external , say the eheim classic ...
Can i create good surface agitation with one or do i need to buy additional equipment to achieve it ?
I do not like using airstones or extra pumps if possible , and i do like the way I can use my current internal for good agitation easily and quietly ..
cheers
anyone any ideas with the above regarding surface agitation and an external eheim ?
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- davey_c (dave clarke)
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hey yall ..
another question regarding the external , say the eheim classic ...
Can i create good surface agitation with one or do i need to buy additional equipment to achieve it ?
I do not like using airstones or extra pumps if possible , and i do like the way I can use my current internal for good agitation easily and quietly ..
cheers
anyone any ideas with the above regarding surface agitation and an external eheim ?
i previously had a classic 2213 and it had good flow, i had the bar pointing up at the surface and it created good movement. you will get better movement if the spraybar is just below the surface instead of a bit further under the surface.
Below tank is for sale
my plywood tank build.
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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i previously had a classic 2213 and it had good flow, i had the bar pointing up at the surface and it created good movement. you will get better movement if the spraybar is just below the surface instead of a bit further under the surface.
thanks Dave . Does the spraybar come with classic series ? im thinking of a 250 classic .
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- bmcg38 (Brian McGrath)
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- Tigger (Abe Bardez)
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Eheim have a wide range of models and the Eheim 2217 is should we say ...a traditional model ...doesn't have a self priming button. If you want a self priming button & other bells and whistles you would need to move up the range in Eheim. I have an Eheim 2217 for a number of years and it still runs smoothly.
JBL are not expensive. The top of the range JBL 1501 (which would be OTT for your tank) costs €170 max at some sponsors. The e901 as noted by Q_Comets would be substantially cheaper. Try Seahorse/Aquaworld.
The user feedback on both Eheim Classic & JBL is good. Stay away from the Eheim Eccopro models though (just my own opinion).
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- Gilly (Sean GIllivan)
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Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.
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