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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

Marines?

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08 Nov 2009 11:24 #1 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Hi all,

I have been thinking about mabey converting my vision 180 into a marine setup. Im thinking starting off with a Fish Only With Live Rock setup as I really dont think I could manage a reef tank as this is my first foray into marines. I read somewhere that I should start with a Fish Only tank but I think I can manage live rock. Anyway, does anyone have any advice on where to start? I have done a lot of reading on it and Im getting a lot of conflicting information. My main concerns are the lighting needed and other things like do I need a protein skimmer if Im not keeping corals, can I use ocean rock as a base rock to be seeded by live rock? If so, what ratio 50/50?. Im planning on using a Fluval 405. Do I need powerheads and how many for a tank this size? The lighting unit is the one that came with the tank. I have seen bulbs for it that claim to be good for corals but seeing as I am not keeping corals do I need them? I know its a lot of questions but Im a bit perplexed so any help is greatly appreciated.

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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08 Nov 2009 18:23 - 08 Nov 2009 18:25 #2 by paulbohs (Paul Doyle)
Replied by paulbohs (Paul Doyle) on topic Re:Marines?
The Fish only tank that you read about starting is a Fish only Live rock set up. You cant keep them without live rock or your going back years to when they died after a few months. You need live rock.

A protein skimmer is not essential as long as you are brilliant with your water changes. If you sometimes miss them on the frshwater set ups then I would get a protein skimmer. If you get this far send me a pm and i'll let you know who does the cheapest TMC skimmers. If you cant afford a deltec then get a TMC. You could try it though as I've seen loads of small tanks without a skimmer and they are fine.

You cannot use ocean rock as a base rock to be seeded by the live rock. Your tank will be a horrible algae mess.

Any lights will be fine for a fish only system. It it were me and I was investing in that live rock then I would change the bulbs to marine types as you'll get alot of positive growth on your live rock.

For 180 liter tank you'll need approx 18kgs of live rock. A box is 20Kg. I got 20Kg for 350 euro before the recession so i'd expect you'll do slightly better than this now.

2 powerheads is a good idea. to create flow around the live rock. I think 2 rated at 2000-6000 liters would be a good size for your tank.
Last edit: 08 Nov 2009 18:25 by paulbohs (Paul Doyle).

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08 Nov 2009 19:30 #3 by Viperbot (Jason Hughes)
Replied by Viperbot (Jason Hughes) on topic Re:Marines?
Thanks a lot, you really cleared up a few things for me there. Was out today pricing live rock and both the places I visited were selling it for 10 euro a pound. Seems like things are failing upwards price wise. Thanks again.

Location: Finglas, North Dublin.

Life
may not be the party we hoped for, but while we
are here we might as well dance.

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11 Nov 2009 09:04 #4 by nailsgrant (Steven)
Replied by nailsgrant (Steven) on topic Re:Marines?
Exotic Aquatics in Belfast are seeling live rock for circa 10 punds per kg if that helps

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11 Nov 2009 15:35 - 11 Nov 2009 15:39 #5 by gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
hey man, i have my rio 180 into it's 2nd week of cycling at the moment, 18 kg of live rock in it and bought th water from lfs, i was the same about the live rock but when you consider it as your filter and your decor it isn't as bad as you think. i think the cheaper option is to mix the water up yerself. nice to know someone else is in the same boat
Last edit: 11 Nov 2009 15:39 by gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle).

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11 Nov 2009 22:51 #6 by Deeco (Deeco)
Replied by Deeco (Deeco) on topic Re:Marines?
recommenced getting skimmer if you don't have already also take your time don't be to anxious i left tank mature for 6 months with just live rock before putting anything in it's a bit extreme but i wasn't in a rush

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11 Nov 2009 23:23 #7 by gardoyle27 (Gareth Doyle)
gonna give it 6-8 weeks before i put anything into mine

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