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Matt's Fluval Spec V - First Freshwater Tank

9K views 54 replies 10 participants last post by  Clavius 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all!

I've been a member for a number of years but have only posted a handful of times. Ever since I joined, I've had plans to do some sort of small/nano planted tank since I got out of reefing. Keeping up with a reef tank, while challenging and a lot of fun, ended up getting too costly and time consuming. So I got out of the hobby for the foreseeable future. In the meantime I would like to try a small, simple planted tank and see if I can have any success with it. I just ordered a Fluval Spec V from Petco ($67 shipped!). I really like the dimensions of the tank and am looking forward to getting it. I'll post some pics when I do. Until then, here's a video on YouTube of my reef tank when it looked its best:

http://youtu.be/P0vYmCABryk

-Matt
 
#3 ·
Your reef is absolutely beautiful! Subscribed to your youtube, hoping to see videos of the Spec V when you get it! I have videos of mine I try to do a Vlog weekly.

The Spec V is a great tank but might require a light upgrade depending on what you are looking to do with it.
 
#4 ·
Thanks! The reef tank was taken down about 2 years ago. It was a hard thing to do but I'm glad I don't have the stress of taking care of it right now (even though it was mostly automated with a ReefKeeper, ATO and other electronics). After that I had a JBJ 3g Pico reef for a little while but eventually lost interest in that and took it down as well. So now I'm in a position where I wish I hadn't sold off all my equipment. But I guess it's not that big of a deal. I'm planning on making this planted tank very simple. I don't have the interest or the money right now to get complicated with high lighting and CO2, etc. I actually just got back from PetSmart, having a look around to see what I might need in the future to get this thing up and running. But I will probably end up ordering most of what I need from Drs. Foster & Smith.
 
#7 ·
I'm working on a list of items I'm going to need. Here's what I have so far:

Substrate - CaribSea Eco Complete or CaribSea Floramax

Heater - Hydor Theo (50W)

Water Treatment - Seachem Prime

Cleaning - Mag Float (small)

Driftwood - Unsure of where to get a couple of pieces... ??

Miscellaneous - Two 5g buckets, a short hose for siphoning

I know I'm missing/forgetting stuff! Help me out?
 
#14 ·
Very excited!
Where are you putting your heater? I have the 50 Watt Hydor Theo in the small compartment where the powerhead is and it is at 83 F while the tank is at 75 F. Afraid I might need to put it in the tank.
Planning on putting it where the pump is. But as I have never physically examined one of these tanks, that is still up in the air. Once I get the tank in my hands I'll have a better idea for sure about where the heater will end up going.
For such a small tank it might be worth the money, IMO, to just spring for a small bag of one of the enriched substrates.

ADA Aquasoil or Up Aqua Aqua Soil or Shrimp Soil.

If you are already going to spend $25 on Eco-Complete I would recommend just spending a bit more and getting a nutrient rich substrate.

Take it from someone who bought Eco-Complete when starting out and then quickly realized that I should have either saved my money or spent a bit more and gotten the 'good stuff.'
Where do you find these enriched substrates? Thanks.
 
#13 ·
For such a small tank it might be worth the money, IMO, to just spring for a small bag of one of the enriched substrates.

ADA Aquasoil or Up Aqua Aqua Soil or Shrimp Soil.

If you are already going to spend $25 on Eco-Complete I would recommend just spending a bit more and getting a nutrient rich substrate.

Take it from someone who bought Eco-Complete when starting out and then quickly realized that I should have either saved my money or spent a bit more and gotten the 'good stuff.'
 
#20 ·
Well, got the tank today! Only problem is the top that goes on the tank is broken on one corner. Not that big of a deal though as I didn't plan on using the top. The bigger problem was that I did not have a stand for the tank or anywhere to really put it. So I went out and bought a cheap table to set it on. Cheap... like, real cheap. So cheap I'm not sure it will hold the tank. So I may have to find another piece of furniture or something else to place the tank on. But for now, while I'm still acquiring everything I need, this is what the tank will sit on. Going to leak test it today or tomorrow and see how well it sits on the stand. Here is a picture:



More updates to come!
 
#23 · (Edited)
I have two Spec V and I don't think I would trust one on a stand with 3 legs.

I had a piece of glass cut that is 3 inches bigger than the tank is all the way around, and I put the tank on the glass. It sure makes it easier to have the tank on the glass then on the wood table top. Before the water would get under the tank when I would dribble a bit doing water change or cleaning... and I had no way to get it out. I worried that the wood would warp or become wet and loose it's strength under the tank. Actually, the 2nd Spec has a piece of plexiglass from Lowe's under it because it was a LOT less expensive than getting a piece of glass cut to fit. $22 for glass, $3 for plexi.

One of my tanks sits on an antique cupboard I bought at an estate auction. It is solid wood, but has a decorative veneer front that is peeling so it is not worth much. But it is really solid. The other one sits on a small chest of drawers that is not fiber board, but it's the old "unfinished" furniture with a coat of enamel paint on. Still, it is more sturdy feeling than the small aquarium stands that I was finding for 10-20 gallon tanks.

I don't use the small magnet glass cleaner in my Spec - the tank is so narrow, the magnet was tearing up the plants as I swiped the glass. If you plant the plants all an inch from the glass, you would be ok - but then that leaves a lot of the Spec without plants. I just get in there with my hand and a piece of 3m scrubby that I cut in a narrow strip (the kind without any chemical!). I have really, really hard water. The magnet cleaner was not getting the scale off from the water, but the 3m does. I am careful with it though, not to scratch to hard. I also use half RO water and that helps a lot!

I don't use the carbon bag in the filter area... I have a small Purigen that I stuffed in there in one tank. I need to order one for the other tank. In the second one, which I just set up a few weeks ago, I have a 2nd bio sphere bag.

I am having pretty good luck growing low and medium light plants in my Specs with the stock light. I put the lower light plants on the ends, and the medium light plants to the middle. I just had an Anubias Nana bloom, so it must be happy! I leave the lights on for 11 hours. I don't do CO2, and I dose Flourish Trace, Flourish Comprehensive, Flourish Potassium and 1/2 the amount of Excel every week to 10 days, with a water change every 10 days.

Plants are green and growing, so must be doing ok! I'm growing Wisteria, Pennywart, Hornwort, Cryptocoryne wendtii sp 'Green Gecko', Java Fern, Anubias Nana, Windelov Java Fern, Crypt Wendtii Bronze, Rotala rotundifolia, Lindernia Rotundafolia, nymphoides sp. Taiwan, dwarf water lettuce and Slavinia minima.

I had my heaters in with the pump, but the tank with the betta did not get warm enough (wanted it 78-80) so moved it out into the main part of the tank. The other tank has 3 pygmy cory, cherry shrimp and one Endler. The other 3 Endler's made a jump for it. :-( And, I use the lid! Oh, and one Oto temporary because I had a few diatoms in it. He's just about done cleaning them up, then he will go back in my larger tank.

I have found that the fish are happier if the pump is set on low and has a small piece of pre filter over the outlet. I make it in a strip, so it doesn't block the flow all that much - just keeps it from shooting straight out across the tank.
 
#26 ·
That does look better, and you can put some heavy books on the shelf to even out the weight.

I should have said above that although the glass is a few inches bigger than the tank, it is just a little bigger than the cupboard it is on. Just enough so any water I spill won't go underneath and be on the wood, it will drip from the edge of the glass.

I've not seen others mention this with tanks and wood stands/cupboards - so maybe this is not a good practice. Don't know, but it seems to be working great for me.
 
#27 ·
Bought a bottle of Prime and a 15lb bag of CaribSea Flora-Max. Put about half the bag in the tank and it's a cloudy mess right now. I probably put too much in and will have to remove some. Looks like I have about a 2" deep bed of it at the moment. Anyway, pics when it clears up!
 
#29 ·
good stuff! spec v's are nice lil tanks :)

one thing is if you get heavy into the planted thing (we are on TPT afterall) you will want to consider removing the carbon part of the filter because of its affect on ferts... I cut my foam block off where it held the carbon and stacked in some filter balls in the well to compensate - only side effect is that with the carbon gone the pond smell comes on easier ;) but that is natural and really not intense - if it does get intense its an overt reminder to change the damn water!
 
#33 ·
Picked up a small piece of malaysian driftwood today at a LFS. Letting it soak right now to leech out some of the tannins. But I may just put it in the tank to soak as I don't plan on cycling this thing for a little while longer. Will post pics if I do put the driftwood in the tank.
 
#36 ·
Went out to a few pet stores today in search of a new substrate. No luck and I think I'm just going to stick with the FloraMax. I did, however, finally buy a 50w Fluval M heater, a Mag-Float mini, a floating glass thermometer and some fish food. Gonna try to cycle this thing with the Fishless fish food method.
 
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