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
Made the usual newb mistake...
- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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I am thinking that I will definitely have to get rid of something. 2 of the guppies seem to be nipping the fins of the mollies so they would probably be top of my list to go. How many fish do you think I should get rid of altogether? All the inhabitants seem to be fine apart from the fin nipping. The shrimp are doing well, despite being shy when I first got them they are doing great now.
I'm in work at the moment so not 100% sure what my ammonia, nitite, nitrate etc readings are but should be able to post them tonight.
Also the tank I have is one that my girlfriend bought me from Aldi. I'm guessing the filter that came with it isn't going to be that great so was thinking of buying a new one. Any suggestions as to what would be good for my size tank?
Oh and just got some java moss on some driftwood in there as well if that makes any difference to anything!
Again please be gentle!!
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- JohnH (John)
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Tell us, please, that you didn't put them all in at the same time?
Ideally your tank would just about sustain the stocking level if added gradually - to slowly increase the load on the filtration system...perhaps even a few more Fish, given the passage of time
Anyhow, damage is done now (if it was done at once?).
Please, some more details about how long a] the tank has been set up and b] how long have the Fish been in it?
A bit of aggressive behaviour is to be expected until the Fish find a 'pecking order' but once again the time factor is the one to consider.
Some floating plants (Water Lettuce if you can get any is excellent as would be Indian Ferm left unplanted) would help in providing 'safe havens' for the bullied Fish but even planted plants grown up to the water surface would help.
As to the filter, I'm not aware of which model came with the 54ltr tank from Aldi - perhaps you can tell us that too? I will suggest that since this was a 'set' from Germany it is likely to be either an Eheim, or Eheim derivative and these are generally excellent filters, I use them myself and swear by them. You should find it to be sufficient for the tank's needs, given its size.
Please return later with your water data and someone will be able to help you better then, once they have the right information.
John
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N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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Here is the filter - ch-layal.en.alibaba.com/product/20076256...rium_Water_Pump.html, not too sure its that good!
My readings are - Nitrates 5.0, nitrite 0, ammonia 2.0. I know that the ammonia is far too high, have been doing regular water changes. 50% followed by 25% a couple of days later but still struggling to get it down. Using prime to condition the water. As I said the fish don't seem to be too bad although could the fin nipping be a result of the high ammonia level? Although from what I have read about shrimp they are very sensitive to ammonia and they are moving around scavenging as normal which is strange?
Any suggestions? I know the fish are suffering with the ammonia thats why I need help! Is there a possibility that the ammonia readings could be off?
Sorry about the long posts just want to get this sorted!
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- dar (darren curry)
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Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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- David (David)
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Firstly in relation to the test kit you are using is a liquid one or a dip one
dip one's can be a little lest accurate that the liquid Type
in my own opinion i would have said your tank is over stocked
guide line for the amount of fish in a tank is around 4.5 liters per inch of fish
in relation to you filter i cant view this but i would imagine its being overworked due to stock levels and cant cope giving the amount of waste generated by the fish
Just my thoughts
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- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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- tina.d (Tina Doyle)
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LE GUPPIES. I HAVE FOUND EXTERNAL FILTERS ARE GREAT IF YOUR OVER STOCKED, HOWEVER WOULD ALWAYS RECOMMEND EXTERNAL FILTER, EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH IT. GOOD LUCK.
TINA.
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- David (David)
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Have you thought about a Filter system a bit larger than the one you already have
and see if you can use the media from your existing filter
pack the new filter with as much if not all of your existing media on top it with the new media
the larger filter should be able to cope with the bio load plus you get to keep most of your already existing bacteris
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- JohnH (John)
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I'm pleased to hear you didn't fully make the 'newbie' mistake and built up stock levels gradually.
I think the filter, from its name, sounds like an 'unheard of' one of Chinese origin so that can be no.1 on your replacement list!
To replace it? - I'm biased, go for an Eheim, but wait for other recommendations - Fluval internals are good, in fact all of the 'established' makes have their good-and not-so-good points so wait for everyone's views then decide. The Eheim wouldn't be the cheapest one around so let's throw this open to everyone's opinions.
I think Darren has a point, by changing so much water so regularly you aren't giving the poor filter time to build up a proper cycle. Consequently the ammonia is constantly being replenished and the cycling is going on, and on, ad infinitum almost.
Actually I'm a little surprised your nitrites are at zero - generally API kits are very good. Could you bring a water sample to have a 'second opinion' test somewhere?
One last question, I ask this hesitantly...are you either feeding the Fish a little too much? - Or conversely is anyone else doing a 'sly' extra feed? - It does happen, you know - and I can say this from first-hand experience!
Your observation about your filter sounds pretty accurate to me...
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- wolfsburg (wolfsburg)
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- tina.d (Tina Doyle)
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GOOD LUCK WITH IT.
TINA.
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- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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Oh and I might bring a sample to the LFS for a second opinion as well John
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- JohnH (John)
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Remember you would have to 'modify' your hood too.
I think the 2010 suggested by Wolfsberg will be fine as long as it isn't higher than the internal depth of your tank (with substrate) if it is go for the 2008 - it's more or less the same filter but with one less module on it, making it less deep. Sounds like a bit of measuring to be done.
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- wolfsburg (wolfsburg)
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They take reduce the amount of "ugly" equipment inside the tank.
They have more media in them for better biological and mechanical filtration.
They have more space in them to allow for chemical filtration such as adding activated carbon.
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- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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Not dismissing your advice by the way John, just trying to explore all the avenues! I really appreciate all the advice from everyone
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- wolfsburg (wolfsburg)
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Just remember to leave the old filter running for a week or 2 when you introduce the new one to avoid a bacterial "crash"!!!
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- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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I know it is probably more than enough for my tank but I am thinking if I ever want to upgrade my tank can use this filter on the bigger tank.
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- dar (darren curry)
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Check out the angling section, it is fantastic
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- dyco619 (steve carmody)
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i seen a smaller external filter, but i cant remember the name of it, suitable for 80ltr tanks i will try and find out the name later,, tho the 105 is fine.
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- wolfsburg (wolfsburg)
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You are on the right track anyway. Keep an eye on the "for sale" section here, you might pick up a good second hand filter for good money!
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- PompeyBill (Killian Walshe)
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A quick question re the filter - will I need to cover the intake some how to protect my 2 amano shrimp? Don't want them being sucked up. Also there are ammonia remover media that you can get for this filter. Would they be worth throwing it in initially to get the ammonia down or just let the bacteria mature naturally to get rid of the ammonia?
On the positive side myself and the missus were up in Pet Store in Carrickmines and she was not totally against getting a bigger tank once she saw them (she has got the bug as well, happy days!!

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