5G Fluval Spec V Tank - New tank

[i-see-you]

This is my first reef setup.
I currently house a 20G freshwater and decided to take a step in the direction of some saltwater. Loving every second thus far!

I am running a Fluval Spec V(as title states), with live rock, live sand(Caribsea Arag-Alive Fiji Aquarium) and Nutri-Seawater. One of the live rocks(4lb) was from a local shop. The other two were from Petco, because, $10.99 for about 4-6lbs.. why not. My local shop charged $6.99/lb so I made out there. For lights I am running the Current USA Orbit LED's 18-24 inch. Very nice lights, light the tank perfectly and evenly. I have created some shadow points in my aquascaping. I also replaced the stock pump with the Aqueon Quietflow 600, much high GPH and much better flow in the tank. My rear filter almost acts as a skimmer at this point, also I replaced the stock filter media with the Fluval Intank basket which is currently loaded with, top layer - filter floss, second layer - biomedia(Seachem Matrix), third layer - carbon. The biomedia will eventually be changed out to rock rubble and the carbon will be changed out with Seachem Purigen and Chemipure Elite.

The tank has been running for about a week now. The live rock I got from my local shop is the white whereas the other two darker ones are from Petco - I also did manage to get a hitch hiker. Little baby starfish found his way into my tank

Monitoring the tank levels, I have not seen any spikes in anything. All levels have been perfect, although my PH is a little lower then I'd like (7.5). I will be performing a water change this evening.

Anyhow, I did jump the gun on some fish - a different local shop has a sale going on. I got a turbo snail, cleaner shrimp, a blue manderin, a yellow watchman goby and a bullet goby. I do plan on getting a Clown fish later after I get an anemone down the road.

I will post updated pictures with the fish - these were taken before I got the fish.

Filter::


This is how my tank WAS setup until the goby dug a hole and knocked the rocks over ::



Starfish hitch hiker:

 

[i-see-you]

One thing I do ask, I will be doing a soft coral setup. What is recommended for a first timer? I would like something that will a) look great in the tank and b) flow with the current. I just love watching corals blow around

 

[bribo12]

You have 3 fish in a 5 gallon that is barely cycled?!?! And one of those is a mandarin? Did you do any research on this fish?

I have 6 fish in a 40 breeder and I feel I'm slightly overstocked...

Also a nem is out of the question for a tank that small. My rbta is huge and takes up a decent area on its own in my 40b. Plus nems require very stable tanks which a 5 gallon can be tough to maintain.



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[i-see-you]

I discussed in detail with my local shop. How long the tank has been running as well as the cycle state. He told me the Mandarin should be no problem. I am starting to get the feeling he was just trying to push a sale.

Eventually I will move to a larger tank. Petco has a sale going on currently, 1$ per gallon. Thinking I should pick up a 40gal for $40 and work on building that tank. Maybe make the fluval a refugium for the 40.

You have 3 fish in a 5 gallon that is barely cycled?!?! And one of those is a mandarin? Did you do any research on this fish?

I have 6 fish in a 40 breeder and I feel I'm slightly overstocked...

Also a nem is out of the question for a tank that small. My rbta is huge and takes up a decent area on its own in my 40b. Plus nems require very stable tanks which a 5 gallon can be tough to maintain.



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[i-see-you]

At this point with where I am.. it will make more sense for me to do a 20gal with 5gal refugium. I am picking up a 20gal tank tomorrow and will be working on a project to run the refugium directly below as a "sump" style setup.

 

[54seaweed]

the tank isn't established for a mandarin they require a mature tank of at-least a year
mandarins eat pods and I know that tank don't have any , they can eat 1500 to 2000 pods a day that can get expensive fast stocking pods ,

the tank itself is to small to even establish pods as they would be eaten as fast as they are added ,

glad to see you decided to go with a bigger tank but the same goes for this tank a mandarin will starve , a week old tank should have no fish in it or even inverts , should add fish slowly not everything at once ,

never listen to pet shop staff half the time they look at the sale not the welfare of the fish and if they sold you everything you listed , I would avoid that shop in the future ,

I hope your doing daily water changes as with that stock in a 5 g till you upgrade you probably have high levels of ammonia ,

I would hate to see you loose your stock as I'm sure the pet shop don't have a guarantee if a fish dies in the next day or so , and I hate to say it that's a lot of money
you'll loose .

I do hope you you buy some pods to feed that mandarin as he will starve otherwise it only takes 3 days with no food for that poor guy

...I'd like to buy a Mandarin!

 

[i-see-you]

I appreciate your help and input. Unfortunately, the sales rep was the one who told me the Mandarin would be fine to have in this tank at its current cycle. Either way, I am going to baby this tank the best I can for the next couple months while I cycle and prep my new tank. The new tank at this moment is either going to be a 20L or a 30g. Haven't fully decided yet(petco has a sale going on 1$/gallon). As of now I have 20lbs of "Life rock" on the way to be put into the new tank. I have ordered 20lbs of live sand as well.

As of now i feed frozen pods to the fish and frozen algae for the algae eaters.

The spec will become a refugium sitting below the display tank, as a sump I guess. My plan will be to leave the fish in the 5 for at least a month or two while the new tank cycles or longer if needed.

One question I have, will it be ok to use the water taken out of the spec and put that into the new tank to speed up the cycle?

Another question, between the 20L and 30, which would be best to run in your opinion? This will be a display tank in a living room. The room does see fair amount of activity but nothing crazy.

the tank isn't established for a mandarin they require a mature tank of at-least a year
mandarins eat pods and I know that tank don't have any , they can eat 1500 to 2000 pods a day that can get expensive fast stocking pods ,

the tank itself is to small to even establish pods as they would be eaten as fast as they are added ,

glad to see you decided to go with a bigger tank but the same goes for this tank a mandarin will starve , a week old tank should have no fish in it or even inverts , should add fish slowly not everything at once ,

never listen to pet shop staff half the time they look at the sale not the welfare of the fish and if they sold you everything you listed , I would avoid that shop in the future ,

I hope your doing daily water changes as with that stock in a 5 g till you upgrade you probably have high levels of ammonia ,

I would hate to see you loose your stock as I'm sure the pet shop don't have a guarantee if a fish dies in the next day or so , and I hate to say it that's a lot of money
you'll loose .

I do hope you you buy some pods to feed that mandarin as he will starve otherwise it only takes 3 days with no food for that poor guy

...I'd like to buy a Mandarin!

 

[bribo12]

What are the dimensions of the 30? And yes you can use the water from the spec and the Rock and sand. Since the tanks pretty new there won't be a buildup of any nasties.


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[i-see-you]

The rock and sand I plan on leaving in the spec. Unfortunately I do not have any dimensions at this moment since I have not physically seen the tanks yet. Thats my next stop after work.

What dimensions would you recommend that I could look for?

 

[bribo12]

Well 20L I believe are 30" x 12" x 12". And I think a standard 30 is 30" x 13" x 16". If you can find something that is a bit wider like 16" that makes a really nice space to have a reef. The extra width gives a lot of aquascaping space


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[i-see-you]

Awesome. I think I would much rather go with a 30 also just because of the stock I already got. Much more room for them - they'd be a lot happier.

I do appreciate both your input and I appreciate this forum is not one of those "you're an idiot why'd you do that" type of forum.

Thanks guys, I'll post an update on what I find and go with.

 

[54seaweed]

unfortunately just adding water to the other tank from the spec won't help your cycle ,
it's not the water that starts or promotes the cycle it's a ammonia source you add , you will need some rock to help hold the bb as the tank cycles .

/cycle-your-salt-tank/

 

[i-see-you]

Right, that's why I have rock on the way and will be spiking ammonia with either fish food or shrimp.

 

[bribo12]

We've all been there at one point! Sounds like you have a good footing on where the tank is headed. Just ask away if you have any other questions.

Also, you can try and train the mandarin into frozen, I've heard really good things about feeding them nutramar ova food.


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[i-see-you]

I ended up picking up a 29g. The manufacturer the sale was for doesn't create 30g tanks. But the dimensions were 30.3" x 12.5" x 18.8" figured it would look nice and be a good display tank. The guy at petco was 100x more knowledgeable then the guy from the other shop. I told him my story about the Mandarin and he told me straight up to never go back to that place, if it were him he would have told me I will not sell you any fish until your tank has been running longer. He also gave me some recommendations for some other local shops that he worked at previously.

 

[i-see-you]

So, I am curious. I am dry fitting all my parts where I want things. Got the live sand in and some water. Need more live sand which I am getting tomorrow and getting a butt load of salt water until I get my RODI setup. Live rock will be put in once more sand is in.

What are you guys opinion on this setup?

Skimmer/overflow(rated for 200gph) in top left, hose will run under to sump/refugium. Return is top right will be angled more towards surface for surface o2 exchange. The powerhead in top right is a 240gph hydor, not sure how I will be angling that yet. Depends on how I set my rock. Heater is probably going to be changed to the refugium. Not sure yet, it's a 100w. Return pump is the aqueon silent 600 moded to fit spec V so will be running full blast at 150ish gph. Should be enough to return the water back up to the display tank with a little push to it.

All hosing will be clear nylon or whatever it's called. Not running any pvc piping.

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