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
river substrates
- Paul Healy (paul healy)
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- Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)
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Lydia
Lowtech Shrimps nano 30l
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...-lowtech-nano-shrimp
Lowtech Vision 180l Community
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...-lowtech-vision-180l
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- LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
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I think Lydia's suggestion is a wiser one
"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."
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- Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
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Are you talking about using gravel or muck from a lake? Either way, you'll have to boil whatever you use, to kill off any nasties. You could probably get away with using river/lake gravel, depending on the geological makeup and the requirements if your fish. If you're thinking of using the organic muck from a lake, I'd be inclined to think you're asking for trouble.
I think Lydia's suggestion is a wiser one
+1 for sure....
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- joemc (joe mc)
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(also make sure you are collecting from an area that is not protected or private property!)
FOR SALE
Catappa Leaves
PM FOR DETAILS
Ebay Fish Foods Click here!
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- Redser (Richard)
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In theory it sounds like a nice idea, but first, you say "if I went up the mountains as I normally do and dig up some substrate from the lakes above the farmland" do you mean there is no farming activity above this lake? Because if there is, there could be or have been fertilizer spread on the grounds that would have residues carried into the lakes, if this is the case your at risk of "high phosphates" being in this substrate and your LFS will not have a test kit for this. So the previous post regarding the shop bought substrate is good advice. As for the sand/gravel on top of this substrate I don't see much of a problem if you got (but hard to find) gravel from a fast flowing stream that was going to give you a specific effect that shop bought would not.
Hope this helps and good luck with your upgrade look forward to your posts and pictures as you go.
Richard
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- LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
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"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."
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- Redser (Richard)
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- JBL Manado Substrate. Approx. 15L. €5 for sale in the Buy and sell section.
And by the way none of the members on this forum "dumps in substrate" they carefully, lovingly, place substrate into their tanks to artistically create an effect that will bring them long term pleasure and enjoyment.

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- ABdarudeone (Mick)
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some time ago when i got my first tank, was thinking about a natural "Irish" type of tank setup (small pike and/or perch) , but ended up with tropical aquarium .
Just wondering if someone on this forum got something similar or
Does anybody know if it can be done ?
Cheers
**Neither a teacher nor a native speaker**
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- Paul Healy (paul healy)
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