# Fluval Spec V vs Edge 6



## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

I am trying to decide between a Spec V and an Edge 6. I can get one tank or the other for free, so price is not really a factor even though the edge being more expensive is a better "deal". I like them both and know they both have their limitations but would like some feedback to help me decide. Anyone who has had both would be especially helpful.

I would run either as low tech, shrimp and\or nano fish tanks with the stock filters, lights etc. It's new, so I assume the edge will have the newer lights but I will confirm before deciding. I'm ok putting in Excel and fertilization but not a CO2 system.

I like the unique look of the edge but have heard about the hassle of accessing inside through the opening, but with low tech I won't be messing around in there too often.

I'll look through the threads here as well but hundreds of posts will take awhile so that's why I'm starting this one as well.

Thanks


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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

Should have added a poll but I think that now that I have posted it's too late.

It would have been : 

What would you choose our recomend?:

A) Spec V

B) Edge 6

C) Both good, so pick what you think looks better.

D) Both poor, but pick what you think looks better.

Also, anybody who can post a link to posts showing heaters in the filter compartments of either filter would save me a lot of time digging for what models fit.

Thanks


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## pweifan (Nov 2, 2006)

I've had both. the Edge is by far prettier but a bigger pain in the neck to aquascape, like constructing a ship in a bottle difficult. However the finished results make it worthwhile. The Spec V is too narrow to convincingly create a deep-feeling scape. Edge all the way.


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## Vino (Jan 19, 2014)

I have both of them, and have had equally wonderful, and frustrating, experiences with both. I suppose it all depends on what you want to do. 

Currently my edge 6 is in the midst of a transition, otherwise I'd provide a pic. 
As for the spec v:



























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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

pweifan said:


> I've had both. the Edge is by far prettier but a bigger pain in the neck to aquascape, like constructing a ship in a bottle difficult. However the finished results make it worthwhile. The Spec V is too narrow to convincingly create a deep-feeling scape. Edge all the way.


I was thinking the same about prettier but more difficult. If I went with an island shaped layout with wood and no, or few, rocks, there would be less standing on your head to reach the corners aquascaping.


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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

Vino said:


> I have both of them, and have had equally wonderful, and frustrating, experiences with both. I suppose it all depends on what you want to do.
> 
> Currently my edge 6 is in the midst of a transition, otherwise I'd provide a pic.
> As for the spec v:


I like the riverbank slope look you've done here. It looks good from both sides, sort of a mini peninsula tank. I've thought about doing something similar with a regular 5 gal tank before.


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## AlecFish (Nov 26, 2011)

IMO go with the Spec V

Maintenance is a breeze, water changes are worry free, you don't have a huge slab of glass in your way. Scaping is easy as well, I currently have something similar to Vino where it's like a branch spanning the length of the tank and planted to look like a stream bed. In my previous setup I had an island-type layout going on and it looked pretty dang good. It has the length and height of a 10g with a slight reduction in width and it looks quite aesthetically pleasing. I'm currently running with some amano shrimp and some snails, this is the ideal shrimp tank imo. 

The only downside to the spec v is the stock light. I'm currently rolling with the stock light but it's very low light. I'm only able to grow the very hardy and growth is super slow. Great thing about this is that you could easily upgrade to a Planted+ and get med-high light and get a nice high tech going. 

I feel like your experience with the spec v will be much smoother, it's a more modular kind of tank with endless opportunities to mod it depending on what you want to do.


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## davinci27 (Jul 27, 2010)

The edge is a nice tank, but placement can be difficult and lighting is weak. I added a couple of spot lights to the sides and it really improved my plant growth. I do run a small co2 setup, but I ran it with just excel for a pretty long time.








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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

AlecFish said:


> IMO go with the Spec V
> 
> Maintenance is a breeze, water changes are worry free, you don't have a huge slab of glass in your way. Scaping is easy as well, I currently have something similar to Vino where it's like a branch spanning the length of the tank and planted to look like a stream bed. In my previous setup I had an island-type layout going on and it looked pretty dang good. It has the length and height of a 10g with a slight reduction in width and it looks quite aesthetically pleasing. I'm currently running with some amano shrimp and some snails, this is the ideal shrimp tank imo.
> 
> ...


Good points, thanks. I don't really want to upgrade the light though. If I was going to be investing in good nano lights I would want to be putting them on a Mr Aqua 12gal long.



davinci27 said:


> The edge is a nice tank, but placement can be difficult and lighting is weak. I added a couple of spot lights to the sides and it really improved my plant growth. I do run a small co2 setup, but I ran it with just excel for a pretty long time.
> View attachment 531866
> 
> 
> Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk


That is a good solution for lights. I wonder how the new lights on the edge 6 compare to the Spec lighting. 

Those look kind of like Ikea lights. Do you know their Kelvin raring/range?


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## TheDoofWarrior (Oct 11, 2015)

if its for free get the edge and cut the top off and invest in a better light. i have the edge and holy crap is it a pain to aquascape in. i like the way it looks the filter is pretty good although i want a small canister.but if its free chop the top and it will be soooooo much easier to do tank maintenance and it will still look really sweet.


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## AlecFish (Nov 26, 2011)

TheDoofWarrior said:


> if its for free get the edge and cut the top off and invest in a better light. i have the edge and holy crap is it a pain to aquascape in. i like the way it looks the filter is pretty good although i want a small canister.but if its free chop the top and it will be soooooo much easier to do tank maintenance and it will still look really sweet.


Doesn't that top piece hold the tank together? I could've sworn I heard that someone's tank busted because of that. Haha. If you can take that glass off then get the edge.


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## bereninga (Mar 18, 2006)

Many people have taken the top off the Edge and used it as a rimless tank. It'll definitely make your life easier.


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## TheDoofWarrior (Oct 11, 2015)

yea you just gotta be careful when doing it, not to pry at it. gotta let the razor blade to the work and take your time. its doable. usually tanks this small don't need the rims the bigger you get i think you at least need a rim at the bottom. i want to cut the top off my fluval but i paid full price and if i cut the top it like defeats the purpose of me getting it. (might as well got a topless tank.) but now that i have one i know how it is to work with, and wish i would of got like a sweet ADA tank. they look so sleek. live, you lean.


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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

I've seen a thread somewhere where someone took the top off of an edge by using dental floss, so no prying, and it was pretty effective.

I wouldn't want to deal with the increased evaporation from that. My flora has a glass top and even with that on it still needs to be topped off too often for my taste. If I had a reverse osmosis system to use for top offs I wouldn't mind as much.

Also 6 gallons of water on the living room floor wouldn't go over well if I did have tank failure.

Ironically, I have spent a few months picking away at a DIY project where I put an Aquaclear filter and heater behind the foam background in my floral and boxed in the back and sides to hide the filter. I used both the Spec and Edge as inspiration for this. Just as I am cycled and stocked I get this tank offer. Not complaining, as it feeds my MTS, but it could have saved me some time if I had known I was going to get this new tank.


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## davinci27 (Jul 27, 2010)

Jeff B said:


> Good points, thanks. I don't really want to upgrade the light though. If I was going to be investing in good nano lights I would want to be putting them on a Mr Aqua 12gal long.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


They are actually Deep Blue Solar Flare 6700k LED (



) They work pretty well to get light out to the outsides of the tank. The front center is still a little low/mid level, but the rest of the tank gets good light coverage and there's lots of pearling. The dwarf baby tears on the right are growing like crazy and really enjoy the lighting.


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## Mumford (Nov 12, 2012)

I've had experience with both tanks before. Do yourself a favor and go with the Fluval V. The maintenance hassles with the edge alone are worth switching to the spec, but after mentioning that you don't want to update the lighting definitely go with the spec. The edge is prettier on the outside, the spec is prettier on the inside.


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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

After seeing this mod the Spec V is looking better.









http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/20-diy/485225-hood-stand-fluval-spec-v-pic-heavy.html


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## Vino (Jan 19, 2014)

davinci27 said:


> They are actually Deep Blue Solar Flare 6700k LED (Amazon.com : Deep Blue Solarflare Micro LED 6700k Light : Aquarium Lights : Pet Supplies) They work pretty well to get light out to the outsides of the tank. The front center is still a little low/mid level, but the rest of the tank gets good light coverage and there's lots of pearling. The dwarf baby tears on the right are growing like crazy and really enjoy the lighting.


Pardon my lack of knowledge regarding the aftermarket lights, but how are they powered? Does the cord have a plug on the power end? I cant seem to find a pic.


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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

Vino said:


> Pardon my lack of knowledge regarding the aftermarket lights, but how are they powered? Does the cord have a plug on the power end? I cant seem to find a pic.


One of the Amazon reviews said no switch, just a plug that you plug in or unplug to turn on or off. Most of us would be using a timer anyway, so maybe one less thing to break. The comments about suction cups failing and the light falling into the tank are a bit concerning. I would be worried about it falling onto something flammable. You could probably ziptie them securely though. 

It is nice that you can get 6700k lights for cheap though.

I'm leaning towards the Spec V a bit more now. It's too bad it wasn't a bit wider to add a gallon or two without changing the look much. Using the same filter/and as the Spec 2.6 gallon instead of the 2 gallon could have done that.

I'm kind of breaking my personal rule going below 5 gallon. Maybe that was as wide as Fluval figured the light could handle without having dark areas along the front and back.


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## ohheywhatsuphello (Sep 22, 2015)

Both needs upgrade in lights for a planted tank, but it is harder to do the Edge since the stock light fixture is in the middle (the sides will be lacking light unless you do an LED strip on top). The Edge is also harder to clean/maintain, and some have problems keeping bettas in it due to the lack of surface. I like the Spec V for it's length and it is easy to mod. It depends on where you would like to put it as well since the shapes are different.


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## davinci27 (Jul 27, 2010)

Vino said:


> Pardon my lack of knowledge regarding the aftermarket lights, but how are they powered? Does the cord have a plug on the power end? I cant seem to find a pic.


There is no off switch. I have them on a timer so it's no big issue I don't have much problem with the suction cups failing as long as a) they are on glass and b) I dampen them before applying. They do fall off if I try to stick them to the plastic.

Also I removed the lenses from them. It gives the light a little more spread. Just screw off the top of the light and the lenses pop right out.


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## Vino (Jan 19, 2014)

davinci27 said:


> There is no off switch. I have them on a timer so it's no big issue I don't have much problem with the suction cups failing as long as a) they are on glass and b) I dampen them before applying. They do fall off if I try to stick them to the plastic.
> 
> Also I removed the lenses from them. It gives the light a little more spread. Just screw off the top of the light and the lenses pop right out.


Thanks, DaVinci. Would you say that the light, prior to lens removal, would still be considered low to med-low lighting? Im in the process of redoing my Edge 6, and plan on a low tech tank (no CO2 of any kind) with just anubius and moss/driftwood. 


Also, regarding those who have said the Edge 6 is not a good tank for Betta. If you just drop the water level a 1/2" below the opening, there will be plenty of room for Bettas to get air.


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## Jeff B (Oct 16, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I am going to go with the Spec V. Eventually I will try to make the wood top and "stand" like I linked to above.

The edge is nice looking but the difficulty's in working on the edge and the lighting issues go against it.

If anyone in Canada is looking for the lights that davinci27 and Vino are talking about pets&ponds has them for $18.99: Deep Blue Solar Flare Micro 3 Watt Led - 6,700K White // Aquarium Supplies Canada - Pond Supplies Canada - Reptile Supplies Canada // Pets & Ponds


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## DMAXNAZ (Sep 30, 2015)

I have both. I unplanted my Edge a few weeks ago. I left tell substrate, but just have a couple fake plants for the time being. I'm in the process of breaking down my spec v today. I attached a pic of the anubis that has grown in it for 2 years. It had been beautiful up until a couple months ago. It grew from 3 leaves under the stock light. I had other plants in there too that grew like crazy, but when I removed them algae took over and the anubis leaves started looking horrible. I like my edge, but the spec is easier to access by far.

Bump: The leaves on the left were super healthy, but I had it out of the tank for a few hours yesterday and the wilted.

Bump: This is my first ever plant I bought to plant in a tank. A little over two years ago. The floaters I used to get as a kid don't count.


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