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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

need help again

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19 Mar 2010 19:26 - 26 Mar 2010 22:46 #1 by noeleire (noel)
hi i set up my new tank 9 days ago its a 500 ltr i had to set it up with organic aqua start up kit as i had fish from my old tank the problem is i noticed 1 or 2 fish looked a bit off so i done a 6 in 1 test strip and it read my nitrite and nitrate were sky high . when i bought the organic aqua i was told not to do a water change for the first month,,, what should i do
there are around 25 african cichlids and the tank has a sump in it. need help if anybody knows what to do please let me know or even could you call me noel 0833096067




hi all my fish survied and my thank is running fine using organic aqua .....
Last edit: 26 Mar 2010 22:46 by noeleire (noel).

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19 Mar 2010 19:59 #2 by Rummy (Stephen)
Replied by Rummy (Stephen) on topic Re:need help again
Hi Noel

What kind of filter are u using, wen using OA your ment to clean your filter medium under tap wather if you didnt maybe now im just guessing the additives u put into ur tank from the OA along with the already dirty filter medium is causing levels to spike.
you could try clening out ur filters but 25 malamis is alot to risk hopefully someone can add to this and help.

best of luck,
stephen.

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19 Mar 2010 21:45 #3 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
Only 9 days old and sky high nitrate readings?

I'd expect sky high ammonia and, at a push, nitrites in that time.....of course the sky ammonia would be = dead fish.

That is all to do with the normal time for establishment of a proper biological system. The media-bound nitrifying bacteria tend to be slow growers in a normal system.

But, you have used Organic Aqua.....I know a lot swear by it, but I'm not convinced by it all.

Firstly, re-do the tests....and check that all procedures are followed. No point panicking unduly.

What is your ammonia like? and the pH?

900 litres is a lot of water with which to deal. If your nitrate and nitrite levels are as high as you say, then not even a partial water change will do much denting on the concentrations.

There is too much 'mystical' science with OA, and that makes it difficult to suggest a solution that is not a contraindication of OA.

Normal, I would suggest take immediate action and get the nitrite down using a suitable zeolite resin (the resing should also remove ammonia as well) and some partial water changes each day over several days and then work on sorting the filter system for long term effectiveness.

Reduce feeding, increase aeration.

900 litres and 25 fish is also a lot to consider a complete water change.....there are dangers in that.

re-do the test
check for the contraindications of using nitrite removal resins with OA.

ian

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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19 Mar 2010 21:54 #4 by gerryberry (Jeff Daly)
Used OA before and there is no point in testing, as you have seen the results do be off the chart and you end up thinking OH sh*t i screwed up here big time.
In my experience you just have to place your trust in the product, following the directions as instructed and you must use an airstone, preferably on the opposite side to your filter. Make sure you leave the hood slightly open if you have one to vent gas.

HTH

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19 Mar 2010 22:28 - 19 Mar 2010 22:29 #5 by Tetra (Tetra)
Replied by Tetra (Tetra) on topic Re:need help again
Did you remember to do your weekly dosing to the tank? is the airstone providing enough surface movement? did you use the correct size OA for your tank? It wouldn't do any harm to pick up say a 100l OA pack and add it to your tank.Oh as was said pointless testing as it gives wackey numbers are your other fish doing ok?
Last edit: 19 Mar 2010 22:29 by Tetra (Tetra).

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19 Mar 2010 22:57 #6 by noeleire (noel)
Replied by noeleire (noel) on topic Re:need help again
hi i have 18 inch airbar in the tank and i have the lid open all the time i put the corect amount of oa in the tank the fish look ok i hope the tank settles down soon....

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20 Mar 2010 00:13 #7 by Tetra (Tetra)
Replied by Tetra (Tetra) on topic Re:need help again
Sounds like its doing its job just keep an eye on it but don't stress out people seem to panic cause they can't test and have no way of controlling or knowing whats going on in the tank and thats totally understandable but if the fish are looking good and your doing what OA says to do your good. My motto is if its not broke don't fix it.

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20 Mar 2010 09:48 #8 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Test strips will show off the wall readings if your using organic aqua...I wouldnt read anything into the results,just keep a close eye on the tank and continue to do as the package says.

Gavin

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20 Mar 2010 18:51 #9 by noeleire (noel)
Replied by noeleire (noel) on topic Re:need help again
hi just got home from work no fish dead but one dose not look to good his eyes are all cloudy and he is on top of the tank,, still dont know if this is ok most people say its normal for organic aqua

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20 Mar 2010 19:41 #10 by Tetra (Tetra)
Replied by Tetra (Tetra) on topic Re:need help again
Can you get a pic up of the fish OA may be dealing with the filtration side of things but can't see why the fish could not get some sort of bacterial infection this could be the early signs of a bacterial infection or maybe even popeye (a infection not the actual character :P ) a pic would tell us allot Hopefully one of the more experienced guys could tell ya a bit more then.

Padraig

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