Just set up my new Fluval Spec V. Very cool tank, love the dimensions, build quality is nice. Unique floorplan to work with.
2019 Update
I changed the water before putting in a new betta my kids wanted. Sponge filters in intake and output right now to deal with flow. I changed the pump out to a higher output version a couple years ago, which was fine with no betta. Have a few bucks worth of parts coming in to build a spraybar to distribute flow better but keep current down. Tank continues to be almost no maintenance and has been through three moves now. The Anubias Nana Petite is the original plants from 2013. I pulled them all from the wood, washed it and redistributed the anubias in 2018 after the most recent move and replaced the substrate with Fluval Stratum. Everything settled back in nicely.
Fluval Spec V
Hydor Theo 25w
Current Satellite LED+
FLuval Straum (2018)
Mopani driftwood
Anubias nana petite
2015 Update
This has turned into an ultra lazy tank. No water changes, only top offs with RO for nearly 2 years now. No ferts, no filter cleaning, just occasional trimming of the moss and java.
New light came in. Lots of fun settings. Manual settings are very bueno as you can manually adjust the RGB and the brightness of the white LED's. Very flexible for future if I ever CO2 or carpet the tank. Replacing the java fern with trident fern when it comes in.
Little over a year later. I have not cleaned, trimmed, added fertilizer or changed the water in 8 months. This experiment was not born from purpose, but laziness I am afraid. That being said, everything is doing fine.
You should add a carpet of some sorts to change things up. Maybe some DHG Belem, or some Downoi would look really nice on the empty space on the right.
With the Current USA LED+, I am doing Microswords, which are very slow growing, after 6+ months its just starting to carpet the area it was initially planted in. I use eco complete for the substrate with root tabs every now and then, no Co2, once a week Seachem Flourish. Even tho it says the Lighting requirements are "High" its fine in medium light, just grows a little slower.
2015 Update - did my first real trim today, mostly moss removal and some java trimming. Top offs with RO only still. Still no ferts. Everything is happy.
I'm curious as well, since I'm nearly done setting up a tank with the same light.
DHG Belem should grow at a snail's pace with no co2. Would look great in your tank. It's a slow grower even WITH co2! Shouldn't add much, if anything, in the way of maintenance.
Where are the fissidens mentioned in the OP? I don't see them in the photos.
Of course, it's sort of cheating to say you're not adding any ferts, since the AquaSoil Amazonia brings quite a bit to the table.
I changed the water for the first time a couple weeks ago. All the fish have since left this world and I was starting to see BGA build up. I changed the water, re-scaped a bit and started low light EI dosing nitrates and doing half a cap of Flourish Excel daily. BGA disappearing after manually removing most. I think I was getting nitrate deficient with no feeding/waste buildup. Everything is great now.
Went, essentially, 5 years with only trimming and no water changes/ferts added. Water top off only.
Sorry for your lost. I too have lost my fishes after a water change.
I have battled many people on this forum about water changes. It's me vs the world here. Everyone's telling everyone else to do 50% water changes weekly. I'm glad you can be an example of someone who has found a balance.
I found that the Spec V has great biological filtration. I want to say it's a 30 ppi sponge foam, but I'm not sure. I have some 15 ppi foam laying around that appears much more coarse. The fluval sponge foam rarely ever clogs and filters great to not have any polishing pads in there. It's like a HM filter behind a wall essentially. I'm guessing it attracts more than just nitrifying bacteria, most likely has a large colony of bacteria that's feeding off organics (lacto bacillus and such) due to all the plant matter that gets's stuck in there. It pretty much balances itself out. I still like to change water myself, but I'm not fussy with percentages and frequency when it's running in a low tech environment.
Been about a year. Changed the water once when I added a new betta a couple weeks ago. Will be doing some water changes now that I have fish again, not many, but some. I put sponges on the overflow and outflow, but will be building a spraybar for the outflow when parts get here.
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