Fluval Spec V UPDATE 1-6-14

So I just had a Fluval Spec V fall into my hands, and decided to whip this together all in one night using leftovers from the auction and some other goodies from the AC plant swap on Sat. Current stocking is a handful of RCS and one Bamboo Shrimp.

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Planning on maybe grabbing a Betta, or some CPD. Not sure yet

Nice looking tank. Especially the wood placement.  Like that. What kind of wood or stone is that holey looking one?

Thanks all! That's some random petrified wood stone that I got a long time ago and was in an older tank at one point and was just sitting in the closet.

Anyways, this tank is a testing ground for me to try out some new spieces of plant I received.

I'm really digging the Lindernia Rotundifolia 'varigated' (mislabelled as S. Repens at the auction?!) in the back. The leaves look like little watermelons!

Anyways, special thanks to Cory and Angelo for sweet hookups. Stargrass, Riccia, Hydrocoytle all for freeeeeeeee  

Very nice find. I will have one of these complete set up for sale at the swap meet if you want another one.

Very cool, bronzefighter! It's awesome what you can do with stuff just laying around, and leftover stuffs... kinda makes you work with what you've got. I like it!

Neat lil' set up. Like the picts, thanks for sharing!

You're off to a great start!  

Thanks! So, I'm wanting a nice small centerpiece fish, and really like the look of Pseudomugil gertrudae, or Spotted Blue-Eyes. Anyone have experience with these or know where to snag some?

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bronzefighter wrote:Thanks! So, I'm wanting a nice small centerpiece fish, and really like the look of Pseudomugil gertrudae, or Spotted Blue-Eyes. Anyone have experience with these or know where to snag some?

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had some of those before.. really nice but pretty hard to get and a little pricier than other dwarf Rainbows..

We do have Gertrude's Rainbows at the store..or at least, we had some. But they didn't look anything like that. My guess is because they were still young and haven't matured yet. But yeah, maybe if you ask Cory, he'll see about getting more.

Keep an eye on aquabid, but look closely. All are not equal. The only decent looking ones there now are in Taiwan.

Figured that after 2 months I should provide an update!

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Current stock is 3 CPD's, 5 Pseudomugil sp. "Red Neon Blue Eyes," 2 Oto's, a bunch of assasin snails, and too many RCS.

I continue to be surprised at the quality of the kit that Fluval has provided. The filtration is great, and the light is acceptable- at least the plants seem to like it!

One thing that I do need to do is pull that Riccia out. I can see the appeal in using it ties down, but damn that stuff is high maintenance!

Feel free to ask any questions!

Great looking tank and setup. Seems that the standard kit setup worked wonderful. Are you supplementing the plants with anything (ferts?)? Do you have any pics of your fish? Share share share...LOL

cichlid-gal wrote:Great looking tank and setup.  Seems that the standard kit setup worked wonderful.  Are you supplementing the plants with anything (ferts?)?  Do you have any pics of your fish?  Share share share...LOL

Well, I do have a root tab or two in there somewhere, and every so often I'll put a little bit of Flourish and Flourish Excel in there, maybe once every week or two. It's a bit of a hassle since I have to measure it out with a syringe since the tank is so small. I learned that the hard way after I tried to guesstimate the amount of Excel and accidently nuked half the shrimpies. Oops.   

Anyways, I've tried to get some good pictures of the Rainbows, but they like to dart around too much. I'll be trying again soon enough though   

NICE!


I too pulled out the Riccia out of my nano tank. It looked good at first, grew to a big ball then detached itself to float. Weird plant.

wow! your tank is looking amazing!!

Bronzefighter, What kind of wood is the stick? What is the substraight? Do you have the pump on full or half setting? Hey you said to ask questions. I need to set one of these up for my boyfriend soon.

fishNAbowl wrote:NICE!


I too pulled out the Riccia out of my nano tank. It looked good at first, grew to a big ball then detached itself to float. Weird plant.

  Indeed; the tank is looking great. Keep up the good work!

From what I've read, Riccia rarely stays put for long; it's a floating plant by nature.

i have been temped to try riccia but i had a feeling there was a reason not many people use it...

edit; also i forgot to say, looks great

LuminousAphid wrote:i have been temped to try riccia but i had a feeling there was a reason not many people use it...

edit; also i forgot to say, looks great

Thank you!

The ricca went through 3 distinct phases:

I can't wait for it to grow out and cover up this string and driftwood!
Wow that filled out and looks so nice!
HOLY HELL IT'S EVERYWHERE OH GOD IT'S IN EVERYTHING HOW DID THIS HAPPEN


I suppose with more maintenance it looks lovely tied down, but like I said, that too much work for my lazy butt.   

hi a newbie here are you using the filter media supplied , and will you change in the future for another type thanks

Livebearer wrote:Bronzefighter, What kind of wood is the stick? What is the substraight? Do you have the pump on full or half setting? Hey you said to ask questions. I need to set one of these up for my boyfriend soon.

Sorry for the late response, I just saw that you had posted! The wood is just some manzanita, and the substrate is EcoComplete. The pump is at full but I have it aimed at the rock so it slows it down quite a bit in the rest of the tank.

lasher wrote:hi  a newbie here are you using the filter media supplied , and will you change  in the future for another type thanks

Hi! I'm using the stock sponge, and replaced the carbon with another bag of ceramic media. I also placed a bag of purigen under the sponge before the pump. I also blocked the bottom intake with a piece of plastic.

could you tell me your maintianance routine onthe tank , thanks for quick reply
  

lasher wrote: could you tell me your maintianance routine onthe tank , thanks for quick reply
  

No prob   you only learn by asking questions, right?

When I first set it up I did a 30% water change everyweek, just using an airline to siphon water into the kitchen sink. Now that the plants are well established I do a 30% water change every 2 weeks or so, and just top it off every few days.

Every so often I'll trim the stargrass, and I don't use any ferts, aside from a couple of root tabs I put in there when I set it up.

I feed them Hikari algae wafers once a day, frozen daphnia or blood worms maybe 2-3 times a week, and Hikari Micropellets 2-3 times a week.

I haven't to clean the sponge or pump at all either.

Oh, and if you're looking to get this tank setup, this [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] from petco fits into the pump chamber perfectly.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Also, you should post in the welcome forum and introduce yourself!

thanks for help bronze fighter,will put some pic up

bronzefighter wrote:Sorry for the late response, I just saw that you had posted! The wood is just some manzanita, and the substrate is EcoComplete. The pump is at full but I have it aimed at the rock so it slows it down quite a bit in the rest of the tank.

How do you like the ecocomplete? I am thinking of ordering some for my shrimp tank i'm setting up..!

I love it! It's a fair price, easily available, looks good enough to me, and the plants seem to like it, so I can't complain about that.

bronzefighter wrote:I love it! It's a fair price, easily available, looks good enough to me, and the plants seem to like it, so I can't complain about that.

Thank you!! Going to pick some up I was pretty much sold on it already, but that seals it. Super excited to get my 25g shrimpy tank going!