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
Few questions (from a newbie)
- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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Thanks a Mill
Astrid
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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I bought a few plants today and tonight planted them in my aquarium ,
I hope it is not too early seen as I only started my tank last tuesday,
Still haven't figured out anything for a hood/canopy, and the closest thing I come across on the internet is a condensation tray.
I have another question to ask (again)
Do I need to do any waterchanges before I put fish in my tank, in a few wks or should I just leave it.
Thanks
Astrid
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- Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
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I didnt do a water change when I first setup my tank and I had no problems at all when I introduced the fish. Im guessing maybe it will be alright? Can someone else confirm this?
Gavin
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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seen as I have no fish in my tank should I be fertilizing plants,
I know they need lights but that will hopefully be sorted by friday if they can order the new hood.
Thanks for all the replies
Astrid
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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there has been a bit of a development in my fishtank situation...
I found out that to buy a new canopy for ny 70 liter tank would be more expensive than to buy a new tank of the same size:blink:
So.... I went and got myself a juwel 180:woohoo:
It is of course 2nd hand, but it came with a canopy, the filter that came with it has been taken apart by the previous owner, and I havent got a clue if it is complete or not, but the filter i had bought for the other tank is big enough for a 200 liter tank so that will do the job until I have the original filter sorted out, I propably will have to buy an extra heater, but don't tell my other half that.
I am going to the lfs tomorrow on my lunch and get some new plant substrate and another bag of gravel and once that is in my tank I will try and syphon the water out of my 'old' tank in to the new tank. I would love to say i'd keep both tanks up and running but 1st I don't have the room, and 2nd that would still leave me without a hood for the smaller tank.
So that is my update on the progress,
I am still awaiting the arrival of my test kit, and some people say (not on this forum) the way I am doing it with my stress coat/zyme the tank will never cycle and I really should be adding either ammonia or hardy fish, I am confused.
Thanks for reading and your comments
Astrid
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- organicsteve (steve whiteside)
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Have you put fish in your tanks yet?
Seems like you were full of enthuseism as most people are in the initial stages of fishkeeping but I don't see anything newer than a month old on this thread.
I hope you didn't have a bad experience as some people keeping fish in the traditional ways often do.
Word to the wise- Organic Aqua works. I sell thousands of packs of it all over the world to thousands of people who keep thousands of fish in top condition using it.
Please contact me directly for a list of suppliers in your area.
Hopefully things have gone well for you using the traditional methods suggested by the good people of this forum but please don't lose faith if it hasn't.
Don't panic, it's Organic ;D
Cheers,
Steve
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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a few corydoras and 6 odessa barbs.
My tank was cycled about 10 days ago, unfortunately my internal filter clogged up and I had to clean it and I went a bit mad, cleaned the tank too much and it had a relapse so at the moment I am dealing with daily waterchanges to keep my fish happy and healthy.
I am still as enthousiastic about this hobby as I was when I started it.
I love looking and caring for my fishies and hope this relapse is over soon.
Thanks for your interest
Astrid
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- organicsteve (steve whiteside)
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Didn't mean to come across as being funny with you it's just that I've seen so many people have bad experiences and wanted to make sure that someone, who obviously wants to make a real go of it by doing research, succeed.
As a general rule when keeping fish traditionally it is advised never to wash the media (sponge) out in tap water as the chlorine kills the good bacteria off. Instead use water from the tank to gently unclog the media leaving a thriving colony behind to continue in their nitrification!
Let me know when you tire of regular water changes and I'll look after you on Organic Aqua!
Best of luck,
Steve
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- mrsFishpatrick (Astrid Fitzpatrick)
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Plus I installed an external filter days before that, and added 6 barbs in one go.
It was just a bit too much for my newly cycled tank to take.
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- organicsteve (steve whiteside)
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I set up a brand new Trigon 350 two weeks ago with a simple Tetra Tec external, two extra circulation pumps, an airpump and Organic Aqua for marines.
Put €2,500 worth of stock in on day one and have lost nothing! Seahorses, Nemos, corals, critters, urchins, sea apples etc ALL thriving!
Best of luck with the tank!
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- sagwadloup (serge aphanacieff)
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Oups ! just saw you are a professional after reading more post.

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- sagwadloup (serge aphanacieff)
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- organicsteve (steve whiteside)
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Traditionally speaking of course you are right.
Just makes what Organic Aqua does seem even more impressive tho doesnt it?!
No waiting around, no skimmers, no hassle...
Gimme a PM if you want to try some...
Cheers,
Steve
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