New Fluval Spec V Planted Build

[Huffers]

Hello all,
It's been about 3 years since I've had an aquarium setup so I'm very excited to begin this build. I've got a small corner in my house that will be perfect for a planted tank. After some research, I settled on the Fluval Spec V for my tank. I liked this tank due to the all-in-one design, glass construction and 7500k lighting system. I'll be using CaribSea Flora-max for the main substrate along with a base of pea gravel. So far, Ive got a couple of Amazon swords and some hair grass to plant but will be adding more as I go along. Will be picking up materials tonight and hopefully will have some pictures to post soon!


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[Barliman]

Sounds like fun! What kind of swords? There are a few that could get way too big for that aquarium.

 

[Huffers]

Well I've gotten everything setup now. I've got 1 and a half inches of Flora-max so far but I'm thinking about adding another half inch. I've got my Amazon swords added and later today I'll be adding Wisteria and Anubias Nana. I'm got to begin my search for a driftwood centerpiece also since I'm not happy with the smaller piece in there now....its just to fake looking. One question, what additives to you all use for the water column to promote plant growth?


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[Barliman]

I use the full seachem line, but my tank's high light has some demanding plants. The one's you mentioned I think (and I could be wrong) would be fine with Flourish for a general fertlizer and Excel for some carbon, and a root tab for the sword. Buy the small bottles because, with that tank, you won't need much and they'll last you a long time.

 

[Huffers]

Ok cool that's some good info, thanks! I did go out this evening and find me a small piece of driftwood for a centerpiece and also added some Anubias and Wisteria. I think that's all the plants I'm gona add for now and just see how it goes. Here's a pic's after i got everything setup....


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[Barliman]

Looks good to me. You're off to a great start.

 

[DanB80TTS]

Specs are great little tanks, what were you going to stock it with?

 

[Huffers]

Well I just added a baby angelfish that I was given from a breeder I know. This will be the only fish I keep in it until he outgrows this tank and then I'll move him into a larger aquarium.

I have a question for anyone with experience regarding API's liquid C02 additive.....has anyone used this stuff with any success? The bottle describes it as a liquid carbon. I don't have to desire to buy a real C02 system for a tank this small so I was looking at liquid alternatives. I'll leave a picture of it at the bottom along with a picture of my baby angel! Thanks people!


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[DanB80TTS]

That fish will only be able to live in there a very very short amount of time.

 

[Barliman]

He'll (She'll) outgrow that tank real fast.

As for the API carbon, I've not used it. I use Flourish Excel and have very good results; I assume the API product is similar. You probably only need a few drops each day or so to feed your plants. What dosing instructions are on the bottle? 20 drops =1 milliliter, so you can make calculations from there.

 

[Huffers]

Yes I've already got plans for the angelfish. He will be going to a friend of mine that has a 90 gallon community tank.

Originally I had wanted to just keep this tank as a planted tank without any fish. However, if I do decide to introduce some fish for a long term period what species would you all recommend?

PS - I'm not interested at all in the betta fishes. Thanks


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[DanB80TTS]

Yes I've already got plans for the angelfish. He will be going to a friend of mine that has a 90 gallon community tank.

Originally I had wanted to just keep this tank as a planted tank without any fish. However, if I do decide to introduce some fish for a long term period what species would you all recommend?

PS - I'm not interested at all in the betta fishes. Thanks


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Well for fish you are more than a little bit limited. I wouldn't keep fish in a tank that small, I do own a Spec V. Your best option is shrimp, if you have never kept shrimp before then look at red cherry shrimp. I enjoy shrimp more so than I do fish, they are very easy to keep and care for as long as you have a cycled tank.

 

[Barliman]

Originally I had wanted to just keep this tank as a planted tank without any fish. However, if I do decide to introduce some fish for a long term period what species would you all recommend?

Several smaller species would do well. The neon green rasbora comes to mind: https://youtu.be/DNLoEFnnwWg

 

[Huffers]

Well the tank has been up and running now for a couple of weeks. Got the angelfish out of there and added another Anubis. No fish currently but enjoying starting to see the plants take off. I've added API root tabs and C02 booster to help aid plant growth. Here's a couple pics!


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[Huffers]

I've been enjoying good plant growth especially with the Wisteria during the last couple weeks. Starting to get a bit of algae growth so I have added a couple Otocinclus to combat the algea. Thinking about possibly adding a few neon tetras to have some mid-dwelling fish in there.


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[Barliman]

Wisteria will grow fast, almost like a weed. Beautiful plant, but you'll be trimming it a lot.

 

[DanB80TTS]

Wisteria will grow fast, almost like a weed. Beautiful plant, but you'll be trimming it a lot.

Yes and no. Most people have it growing like a weed, personally I can't get this stuff to grow at all, I just threw my 2 remaining 4 inch stems in my Co2 tank, one looks like it might be growing a little now.

A similar plant is water sprite, this stuff I have growing out of my ears. I have so much of this stuff, I have it listed on here if anybody wants some.

The cool thing with Wisteria is how it grows under different lighting conditions, lower lighting it produced bigger more solid flat leaves. Under higher lighting it gives the spindly, intricate looking leaves that we all like. For that reason though it could be said water sprite is better in lower light conditions.

 

[Caliban07]

I've had wisteria take over a tank and die within days in another. Again this is the problem with generalising plants when we choosing them for our setup.

It took over the tank in a 15 gallon with gravel, no co2, no nutrients and a built in LED light. It was one of three plants in there.

It failed in a 46 gallon soil tank, no co2 under 2 x T8 flourescents. They were many different plants in this tank. None apart from the usual crypts and Anubias did particularly well.


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[Huffers]

Well thankfully the wisteria is taking off in my tank. I don't know that I've done anything special, although it really seemed to start growing when I started using API's C02 Booster. Next week, I'm going to add some crypts and possibly some hairgrass to the foreground areas. But first, I've got a weekend trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Gota get some inspiration!!


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[Huffers]

You guys can ignore these pictures I'm posting - I'm just kinda trying to document the progress of the tank by using pictures of the plant growth.

One question I do have.... I believe I'm ready to try and add a couple small fish. I've got 1 Otocinclus in there now to help with algea control. I'd like to add a couple small fish but would need something that can handle higher temps. Inside my house can get up too 85 degrees during the day and I don't have a way to keep the tank cooler other than to run the AC when I'm not home which I don't really wana do. Is there a small fish that could handle the higher temps ok? I've got a heater that won't allow the temp to drop below 80 at night...... Thanks for the insight!


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