# New Fluval Spec



## stonevs (Nov 5, 2012)

You can use a timer for your LED lights. I have one for my LED lights, and there are no problems.

Stone


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## Naisi (Mar 9, 2011)

If your talking about the 5g spec, I just bought one this week. For the heater I cut the filter sponge in half and put the heater in the back.


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## edjonaso (Oct 10, 2012)

If you have the 5g spec, you can check my setup here;

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=196162

light : Finnex Fugeray LED 16" on timer 7hrs a day. stock LED is okay i guess, but it's a little weak and like you mentioned i did have problem with the screw holding the light, decided to replace it.

heater : hydor theo 25w. or basically any small heater that you can fit in the back part, works for me so far

substrate : netlea aquasoil

CO2 : paintball regulator on it's way :icon_mrgr

I'm still cycling my tank, it's been 3 weeks now. Minor algae and diatom issue, nothing serious so far, but the PH is kinda low, still waiting for it to go up


cheers


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## tbullet (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks for the info.
Decided to go with ADA Amazonia. 4 L of it should do well.
Found a heater that will easily fir in the back of the tank. Anyone ever used the product Bactor 100 & Penac W for cycling the tank? I've been told this is the way to go.
Lighting will probably by CF's since my space is very limited. Any recommendations on which to get?

Anyone used or made a paintball CO2 setup? I have a regulator and solenoid value that I used on my 66 gallon, but that's going to be over kill on this small tank. I was thinking of using a paintball CO2 cylinder and somehow set that up. Anyone done this before?

Thanks.


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## edjonaso (Oct 10, 2012)

tbullet said:


> Anyone used or made a paintball CO2 setup? I have a regulator and solenoid value that I used on my 66 gallon, but that's going to be over kill on this small tank. I was thinking of using a paintball CO2 cylinder and somehow set that up. Anyone done this before?



I got a paintball co2 setup, and it's been running for about 3 days now. I set it to about one bubble per 2 second, looking good so far, at least the shrimps are fine.

I'm using atomic paintball regulator v2, and atomic diffuser.


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## big_trucks_1985 (Jan 16, 2012)

cant wait for pics i love them tanks


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## tbullet (Nov 5, 2012)

Well, I did some digging around and found about 90% of my supplies from the old setup, but I can't find my bubble counter and diffuser or solenoid. I'll have to do some more searching.

I did pickup an interesting LED light strip set from Home Depot yesterday for $79. 3 3W strips running on 12 volts DC. The only thing I need to do now is wire them so that they will all light up as separate strips. The one I have is meant to be a single 3' strip, not 3 1' ones. The company is called Illume. Pretty bright and hopefully this will work out.


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## tbullet (Nov 5, 2012)

Got it filled with substrate and added some petrified wood I had. Starting the cycle and will build an LED light fixture this weekend. I noticed that the stock LED light that came with it is not going to cut it. Plus, the power supply gets up to about 46 degrees C. So that is not an option. I returned the 3 strip LED lights and bought a double set. I'll also use some super brights that I have and mix the 2 different ones and see how that goes.
Now just to find my CO2 diffuser and solenoid and bubble counter.


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## tbullet (Nov 5, 2012)

I did some scratching around today at a local fish store and got a Marineland double bright LED strip for the tank. Looks not too bad. I'll keep the other LED strips to see if this is bright enough. 

I also noticed the Fluval all in 1 CO2 88 kit. Like I mentioned before, with my old setup, it would be over kill with a 20 lb tank and setup. Has anyone used this system before? Adapters to convert a smaller paintball tank to use the regulator? 

Anyone ever bought Aquaflora plants before? I was looking at these.

Plants go in tomorrow.


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## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

I used the Fluval 88 for a little while, it works ok and is surprisingly easy to adjust but the cartridges will bleed you dry.

There is hope however, what I did is buy a fitting at Home Depot, a Watts brand A-182.
This is a 3/8" Flare x 1/4" MIP half union.
It will thread into the Fluval regulator/needle valve and the other end can thread into a paintball ASA adaptor, similar to this one but way cheaper on ebay
http://www.paintball-discounters.com/i/931/custom-products-pro-mini-on-off-asa.htm

Then you should be able to use the Fluval regulator/needle valve on a paintball tank which is obviously much much smaller than a standard reg/cylinder combo.
One thing to note, I have not personally done this yet so I can't guarantee it's performance but I have seen it done online several times so you won't be pioneering anything.

Alternatively since I think you are in Canada, you could go to Princess Auto and see if they have any Jac-pac kits. This is a regulator designed to work on paintball cylinders, it's nice and compact and works great, all you need to do is remove the quick connector and add the post body kit of your choice. Princess Auto near me sells the Jac-pac for about $30 and it's well worth the money if you want to do paintball sized CO2.
I'm told that Lowes in the United States sells a similar kit but I haven't seen it in Canada.


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## tbullet (Nov 5, 2012)

Yes, I do live in Canada. Is this the Watts brand A-182 fitting? Will I need another connector to the paintball CO2 tank?

I"ll have a look around. The 20 oz paintball tanks at Crappy tire were about $47. I'll have a look at Princess Auto.


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## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

tbullet said:


> Yes, I do live in Canada. Is this the Watts brand A-182 fitting? Will I need another connector to the paintball CO2 tank?
> 
> I"ll have a look around. The 20 oz paintball tanks at Crappy tire were about $47. I'll have a look at Princess Auto.


Yes, that's the Watts fitting in question.
You'll need an ASA adaptor like this








Should be able to find one on ebay for about $10 shipped or you can get one at a local paintball shop.

Check Kijiji for paintball cylinders, I've picked up a few 20oz for around $20 with plenty of time on their certification. Or check a paintball shop for those too.

The Watts fitting should thread into the ASA adapter which will screw onto the paintball cylinder, then you screw the Fluval regulator in and as far as I've found from reading descriptions and threads, you are good to go.

I can try to find my ASA adapter and fitting tonight and give this a test run, I know I've got all the parts, I just stopped messing with it after I got my Jac-Pac figured out.


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## tbullet (Nov 5, 2012)

Ok, tank is planted now. Until I get the CO2 running the way I want, I'm going to be using Excel. I was going to add it daily. Suggestions on how much to use daily? 5 ml for 10 gallons and my tank is only 5 gallons. so I was thinking maybe a few drops daily. Suggestions?

Thanks for the info on the paintball tanks. I was thinking maybe a 20 oz one. I got the brass fitting now just to find my solenoid and get the ASA adaptor. I've seen them online at the paintball places. ~$25 for a tank. How much are they in the US?
Tank is cycling ok. PH is up though from the substrate. I was expecting this.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice! Can't wait for it to grow in


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## tbullet (Nov 5, 2012)

Tank is doing well. I've been looking for the ASA adapter but the only one I've managed to come across are the ones you use to connect to a large tank with the ASA adapter attached to a hose.
what is the ASA adapter fitting on the end? 1/4" ? I will be attaching a solenoid to this so I can have it on a timer. Does anyone else use one? I've noticed that mine gets fairly warm when plugged in all day. anyone else have this issue?

The plants (Hemianthus callitrichoides) are starting to root which is great. The Bacopa have doubled in size and the Echinodorus tenellus are starting to grow as well. I've never bought plants in sealed containers from Aquaflora before, but I do have to say that they seem to be ok. No smails, no bugs. They claim that these are all free of them. nothing has shown up so far. 

Every other day dose of 2 ml of Tropica Master Grow and Excel. 50% water change 3 times weekly.
Co2 as soon as I can get a cylinder and ASA adapter . I'll try a few other places this weekend.

tank is about 90% cycled. Probably add some Rummy Nose Tetras and Japonica this weekend.


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## difrent7 (Nov 24, 2012)

Tank looks great! Looking forward to seeing more pictures.


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