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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

DIY Aquarium Substrate

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14 Sep 2014 17:17 #1 by komalley (K OM)
Folks,

I have a 200l tank in which I'd like to have a proper go at a 'planted aquarium'.

Lighting will be 78 watts via 2 T5 tubes with reflectors and I will be using liquid Co2.

Has anyone got a suggestion on a DIY planting substrate or are the shop brought materials my only option ?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

kom :)

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14 Sep 2014 17:37 - 14 Sep 2014 17:40 #2 by Aroshni (Lydia Olivera)
Hi kom

I used a coat of john innes no3 under the manado in my first tank and so far so good. I use easy carbo too and my lights are t8 and I'm pretty happy with the look of the tank.

The last tank I've set up is only manado and the plants seems to be thriving.

Some people are using only bonsai substrate akadama but dunno how it goes.
Last edit: 14 Sep 2014 17:40 by Aroshni (Lydia Olivera).

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14 Sep 2014 17:39 #3 by JohnH (John)
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic DIY Aquarium Substrate
I'm not a 'plant' person myself but several people have recommended this route for a successful planted aquarium:

www.theaquariumwiki.com/Walstad_method

Doubtless the 'proper' plant people/person will have a better answer for you but in the meantime you can look at that (above).

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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14 Sep 2014 18:09 #4 by Homer (Kevin)
I use a light coat of peat moss on the bottom, then 1 cm of Tetra Pond soil, really cheap and a layer of manado to cap it off.

Kev.

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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14 Sep 2014 19:45 #5 by Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
I think I saw someone write on here that tesco own brand cat litter was identical to manado but cheaper. Did I imagine this? Can someone else confirm?

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14 Sep 2014 20:16 #6 by Homer (Kevin)
Where Cat Litter is concerned, you must be very careful not to get that which has clumping agents, Deodourisers and perfumes including Babypowder.

Kev.

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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14 Sep 2014 20:56 #7 by komalley (K OM)
I'd imagine that cat litter would be vermiculite of some description with various 'pee' neutralizing agents added to it....

Would that be a fair assumption?

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21 Sep 2014 08:08 #8 by meleftone (Kevin Usher)
I use J Arthur Bowers aquatic compost with aqua basis plus capped with manado. The aquatic compost is low in nitrogen unlike the likes of organic miracle grow or John innes that some use. I dose with Easy carbo and have great growth The tank is running about 3 months now, no problems so far.

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28 Sep 2014 03:57 - 28 Sep 2014 03:59 #9 by Zebrapleco (samuel wasson)
I went to an area of a local field that was chemical free for years and filled a fertlizer bad that was used for peats with the soil.
In the tank I put about a 1cm thick layer of this in then a few mills of garden potting compost a light sprinking of miracle gro all purpose continous relase plant food ( people use it for root tabs ) and capped with manado. Planted the tanl and filled.
Its starting to really take off. I also use pressurized co2 and liquid ferts. For the first week did 2 50% water changes and now am doing them every second week. There a lot of great tip online and on YouTube.
Last edit: 28 Sep 2014 03:59 by Zebrapleco (samuel wasson).

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14 Oct 2014 13:39 #10 by vaschro (john fitzpatrick)
Yes, you can use Tesco own brand litter, you need the dust free version in the pink bag, its a clay made in Denmark, similar in colour to Manado
but not size , I have used in one of my planted tanks, have also used Top soil from woodies, and John Innes no 3 successfully all capped with gravel of some sort

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