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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

Liquid carbon poor substitute for CO2

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14 Apr 2015 21:15 - 15 Apr 2015 08:35 #1 by Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
So I have been using EI and easy Carbo for several months using double the max dose of easy carbo and my plants were doing OK I thought but I have recently switched to DIY CO2 and there is no doubt that it has made a hugh difference in a few weeks.

The leaves on this plant are twice the size and look so much more vibrant.




And the hygrophila has gone a bit nuts



Just though I would share
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Last edit: 15 Apr 2015 08:35 by Q_Comets (Declan Chambers).

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14 Apr 2015 23:05 #2 by Fishowner (Gavin fishowner)
Plants look v healthy...however i use liquid carbon and it works fine as the sump i have would gas off most of the co2 if i was adding to it.
No doubt for a truly planted tank then co2 is the way to go I would agree.

Gavin

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07 Aug 2015 17:29 #3 by tyler1221 (Tyler Sheridan)
any chance we could see a picture of your tank with liquid CO2, i might start using it myself, would you say its worth it ?

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07 Aug 2015 20:11 #4 by Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)

any chance we could see a picture of your tank with liquid CO2, i might start using it myself, would you say its worth it ?


I'm sure there are some pics on here somewhere I'll see if I can find a thread. I am happy with my DIY co2 I have a simple setup now with:

3l fizzy drink bottle for the sugar and yeast
.5 l fizz bottle as gas separator/bubble counter
Some silicone air line and a check valve
And have recently moved from just an air stone to a JBL taifun CO2 reactor which cost more than everything else but together.

The silicone air line seals itself in the bottle tops which is very handy.

I get a monthish from a mix of cane sugar and bakers yeast.

Rgds
Q

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07 Aug 2015 20:59 #5 by Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)
Here is a thread with some pics, not very good pics tho. I didn't think to take close ups as I was not expecting much difference

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php?optio...id=135577&Itemid=200

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11 Sep 2015 17:46 #6 by Chromis (Ollie Price)
Only getting back into fish keeping so a lot of this is new to me,but I have been using both DIY co2 and liquid carbon. I use the DIY method of citric acid in one bottle and bicarbonate of soda in another in a 54l tank with some good results,standard 11w bulb and in-vitro plants . The liquid carbon I can't comment on because I've only started to use it in the last week so it's much too early to notice any difference. So far , one mix of DIY co2 has lasted about 7 weeks, just started a new batch. Got the kit and diffuser from China for about €20.

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12 Sep 2015 11:42 #7 by MarkTipp (Mark Ryan)
I have been using liquid carbon for years without issue, however I find its most effective at double dose just before the lights come on.

I also find its magic at removing algae with some spot treatment.

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12 Sep 2015 20:18 #8 by Q_Comets (Declan Chambers)

Only getting back into fish keeping so a lot of this is new to me,but I have been using both DIY co2 and liquid carbon. I use the DIY method of citric acid in one bottle and bicarbonate of soda in another in a 54l tank with some good results,standard 11w bulb and in-vitro plants . The liquid carbon I can't comment on because I've only started to use it in the last week so it's much too early to notice any difference. So far , one mix of DIY co2 has lasted about 7 weeks, just started a new batch. Got the kit and diffuser from China for about

.


I was thinking of getting one of those kits. Are you happy with the build quality etc?

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12 Sep 2015 20:59 #9 by Chromis (Ollie Price)
I haven't got much experience with these kits but this one is quite robust.There are more expensive options like metal needle valves and release valves on the pressure gauges ,but if you're going to spend the extra cash, I'd probably go for the regular systems.As already stated there is no shut off with DIY, but as long as there is enough oxygen produced during the night cycle .there doesn't seem to be a problem.

Here is a link to where I got mine
www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-DI...-pro/2021465251.html

www.aliexpress.com/item/1Pcs-Fashion-New...ystem/32362526492.ht

Not sure if it's against the rules to post links ,if so ,apologies and could the mods remove them please,thanks.

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