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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

plants seem to wither???

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16 Apr 2013 06:31 #1 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
.my plants never seem healthy I use liquid fertilizer and they get enough light the bulbs are old should I change them ?

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16 Apr 2013 09:05 #2 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)
I think you just answered your own question.
What plants do you have ?
Low light plants will get by on older lights, but any
medium to high light wont.
You'd be best replacing the lights to get the required spectrum.
Are you adding liquid or gaseous CO2 ?
Ferts on their own may not be enough,depending on content.
When you do a water change your adding small amounts of trace elements
and CO2 (or something to that affect)
It about getting the balance of these right too.

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16 Apr 2013 19:45 #3 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
It's liquid co2 and I change 20percent every 2 weeks ,what bu Bulbs should I get?I have no idea of the names I will put up some pics

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16 Apr 2013 19:47 #4 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
I saw tablets the other day but to be honest I don't like putting anything UN natural in the water .is it worth getting co2 system.?

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16 Apr 2013 22:01 - 16 Apr 2013 22:03 #5 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)
What size tank do you have?
What level of planting is in it ? You might have to change the dose.
Put up some pics to ID if you can. Check in future when buying.
Liquid CO2 is fine. Easycarb is very popular.
Is there any fish in it ?
Change 20% every week. You might be running low on micro/macro nutrients
Bulbs: I think tropical? it should say on box if for plants.
Last edit: 16 Apr 2013 22:03 by JustinK (Justin Kelly). Reason: Bulbs

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17 Apr 2013 06:00 #6 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
I have a 260 ltd wit an external external eheime 350 filter mando substrate with 4 rams3 angels 3 dwarf gourami small pleco some hippies and neon blacks and the feet is easy carbo and I only add 5 ml daily as it says 1 ml per 50ltrs

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17 Apr 2013 06:29 #7 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
Sorry that was supposed to be guppys not hippies the angels will be gone tomorrow the water quality is bang on and my rams are doing great they regularly spawn but the pleco and sae keep eating the eggs

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17 Apr 2013 10:43 #8 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)
My reply didnt post again.
The main plant in the centre is an Anubia
on the right is a java fern.
cant think of left side plant.
theres also Cabomba centre right and some java moss
dont know the other ones, though I have a plastic one
If you have a carbon filter pad or media in the filter then remove it.
You could also up the dosage to 7.5ml
Add it just before lights on if possible.
Have you lights on for approx 8hrs?
Plants look well in photos.

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17 Apr 2013 15:01 #9 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
i used to have the lights on for 8 hours but i upped it to 10 to see if it would make a difference
the rams spawn all the time and the water quality is fine for the fish but there must me something missing the bulbs are 2 and a half years old i bought the whole set up second hand about 3 months ago

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17 Apr 2013 19:40 #10 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)
Its recommended to change them every year.
So theyve had a good run.
You could turn the lights off for a hour in that 10hr period.
I read that recently.
Reflectors (clean ones) really help increase the light penetration into the tank.
Water quality can measure good, but still be lacking in trace minerals for the plants.
Having fish also helps to feed the plants with nitrates.
Main three factors are light, CO2 & nutrients.
Your lights are on long enough, but are they emitting the right spectrum now that theyre old?
Your adding CO2 so that should be good.
You dont know the nutrient level but weekly water change will help this out.
What water do you use for changes, any adjustments ?

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18 Apr 2013 05:07 #11 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
Just tap water I let it sit for a few days first ,il change the bulbs and I never even thought of reflectors is there another test kit for water quality for plants ?

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18 Apr 2013 10:16 #12 by blade (Michael G)
Poor water flow can be another reason for symptoms described , installing a spray bar to filter can help spread flow evenly , id start there

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18 Apr 2013 13:41 #13 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)

Poor water flow can be another reason for symptoms described , installing a spray bar to filter can help spread flow evenly , id start there


Well spotted.
I thought I had said it already, but was in a different post.
Check the flow of the filter too, just in case it needs a clean.

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19 Apr 2013 05:52 #14 by Homer (Kevin)
A couple of things spring to mind, most plants are sensitive to the depths at which their bases are buried, if the crown is planted too deeply, the base will rot off and the plant dies. This is particularly evident with Anubias , Cryptocorynes and Echinodorus species.

Poor lighting isn't always a reason for the quick death of a plant, older hobbiests will tell you of the days when only incandescent Bulbs were available and even with such poor lighting, low level light requiring plants thrived.

A plant should show some degree of growth very soon after introduction from the LFS as they would have a decent reserve of nutrient from the time of importation , unless they have been on display for a few weeks in the store.

A vital thing to do when planting some plants, not all mind you, is to trim back the roots, this will cause the cut ends to grow multiple rootlets, speeding up establishment and growth.

H.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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20 Apr 2013 02:39 #15 by Paul Healy (paul healy)
Thanks everyone and I thought the plants were the easy part lots of reading to do

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20 Apr 2013 10:07 - 20 Apr 2013 10:18 #16 by JustinK (Justin Kelly)
You can read up on Tropica website.
Dennerle have one too but I havent looked yet.

I have plants thriving in a 54l tank.
The same plants are slow growing in my 190l.
Light penetration was an issue, I added reflectors and an extra light
I can see the difference in light hitting the bottom, but still crypts laying low.
working on flow/circulation too.
Higher level anubias are fine.
Windelov doing better than before but not as lush as in small tank.
Theres alot of variables to contend with as your finding out.
Last edit: 20 Apr 2013 10:18 by JustinK (Justin Kelly). Reason: added to

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