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39 Posts
So maybe this is premature but what the heck. Mods will move it if this doesn't belong here yet. I'm going to be setting up a planted Spec V! It will be awesome! I know it!
Lol, all kidding aside it will be awesome to me regardless of how it looks to the rest of the world. I'm pretty excited to see how this turns out. It will be a slow burn project due to a number of circumstances. Recently relocated from Maine to Atlanta. I've had tanks for most of the last 20 years, with a gap here or there. My experience has been mostly FW, but I did have a SW tank that was mostly the inverts that came on the LR, hermits, snails, and just a few fish. I don't tend to stock heavy. My last tank was a 120 that was moderately planted, dirted, low tech. I gave it away prior to the move and didn't expect to be setting up anything in Atlanta. The smallest I have ever done is 20 gallons, so I will be branching out from what I am used to.
Now if I haven't bored you or chased you off with the mini background here goes...
I was lurking on these forums and ran across the Spec V. I have a home office and it will be moving down to the first floor right off the foyer. That room was meant to be my office when we bought the house but the basement finishing is behind schedule and it's making a mess of things all around. I have been thinking of a small tank in my office. I feel that the tank itself should look good since it will be in a very visible place in the house. The Spec V has good reviews and looks more finished that a standard glass tank. Because of my office moving within the house, I don't know when the actual setup will start. Hence my comment about being premature to start this thread off with.
I have the tank, bought it yesterday and it's still in the box. I ordered the API freshwater master and the GH & KH test kit. I am curious to see what my water is like out of the tap. That will likely play a role in what type of livestock I have. I also ordered a few items for a DIY CO2 setup. I've never tried it before and thought it might be interesting. It'll be the citric acid version, not yeast.
Plants will be low to moderate light. I've never dabbled with high light plants and I'm not sure I want to upgrade lights and deal with them yet. I'm thinking java fern, java moss, and crypts. I've had decent luck with them in the past. Also a floater of some sort. It's a small tank so less will be more with regard to the species. Crypts would probably be a center piece plant like the amazon sword i had in the 120
I'm leaning towards BDBS for my substrate. No dirt this time. Probably some driftwood and smaller rocks. I'll have to see how it goes. I'm not going to try to get fancy with an aquascape like I see some people do. They are very pretty but I don't see myself trying to replicate a tree growing next to a stream as an example.
Livestock is an unknown. I'd like to try shrimp but need to see what my water looks like and do more research. I found a LFS that carries pygmy corries, and I like corries. I also like snails. The favorite part of my SW tank was watching all of the wildlife that came on the rock, the pods, and small worms, etc. Kind of funny in a way since it was a 120, yes my 120 SW tank became my 120 planted, but the ecosystem was cool. So I'd like some biodiversity if possible.
My game plan is to setup the tank and plant it. Do a fishless cycle. Let things run for a couple of months before I add livestock. Let everything stabilize and have the biofilm grow. If I do have shrimp and fish, the shrimp will go in first and I'll give them time to get established before adding any fish. It's not the end of the world if some baby shrimp become snacks. I just don't want them to get wiped out, if you know what I mean.
Enough of me writing a 'book' here. I'll get pictures posted once I reach a point in time where there's something worth seeing
Lol, all kidding aside it will be awesome to me regardless of how it looks to the rest of the world. I'm pretty excited to see how this turns out. It will be a slow burn project due to a number of circumstances. Recently relocated from Maine to Atlanta. I've had tanks for most of the last 20 years, with a gap here or there. My experience has been mostly FW, but I did have a SW tank that was mostly the inverts that came on the LR, hermits, snails, and just a few fish. I don't tend to stock heavy. My last tank was a 120 that was moderately planted, dirted, low tech. I gave it away prior to the move and didn't expect to be setting up anything in Atlanta. The smallest I have ever done is 20 gallons, so I will be branching out from what I am used to.
Now if I haven't bored you or chased you off with the mini background here goes...
I was lurking on these forums and ran across the Spec V. I have a home office and it will be moving down to the first floor right off the foyer. That room was meant to be my office when we bought the house but the basement finishing is behind schedule and it's making a mess of things all around. I have been thinking of a small tank in my office. I feel that the tank itself should look good since it will be in a very visible place in the house. The Spec V has good reviews and looks more finished that a standard glass tank. Because of my office moving within the house, I don't know when the actual setup will start. Hence my comment about being premature to start this thread off with.
I have the tank, bought it yesterday and it's still in the box. I ordered the API freshwater master and the GH & KH test kit. I am curious to see what my water is like out of the tap. That will likely play a role in what type of livestock I have. I also ordered a few items for a DIY CO2 setup. I've never tried it before and thought it might be interesting. It'll be the citric acid version, not yeast.
Plants will be low to moderate light. I've never dabbled with high light plants and I'm not sure I want to upgrade lights and deal with them yet. I'm thinking java fern, java moss, and crypts. I've had decent luck with them in the past. Also a floater of some sort. It's a small tank so less will be more with regard to the species. Crypts would probably be a center piece plant like the amazon sword i had in the 120
I'm leaning towards BDBS for my substrate. No dirt this time. Probably some driftwood and smaller rocks. I'll have to see how it goes. I'm not going to try to get fancy with an aquascape like I see some people do. They are very pretty but I don't see myself trying to replicate a tree growing next to a stream as an example.
Livestock is an unknown. I'd like to try shrimp but need to see what my water looks like and do more research. I found a LFS that carries pygmy corries, and I like corries. I also like snails. The favorite part of my SW tank was watching all of the wildlife that came on the rock, the pods, and small worms, etc. Kind of funny in a way since it was a 120, yes my 120 SW tank became my 120 planted, but the ecosystem was cool. So I'd like some biodiversity if possible.
My game plan is to setup the tank and plant it. Do a fishless cycle. Let things run for a couple of months before I add livestock. Let everything stabilize and have the biofilm grow. If I do have shrimp and fish, the shrimp will go in first and I'll give them time to get established before adding any fish. It's not the end of the world if some baby shrimp become snacks. I just don't want them to get wiped out, if you know what I mean.
Enough of me writing a 'book' here. I'll get pictures posted once I reach a point in time where there's something worth seeing