# Anyone out there with a Fluval Spec V?



## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

You can upgrade the pump (mini jet 606) but it sounds like you just have a dirty tank

Try removing organic matter (dead plants, detrius, etc) more often

inTank makes a drop in basket that would remove the sponge and allow you to run just bio/chemical media in the filter area but it is pricey


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## noiseordinance (Mar 23, 2014)

dru said:


> You can upgrade the pump (mini jet 606) but it sounds like you just have a dirty tank
> 
> Try removing organic matter (dead plants, detrius, etc) more often
> 
> inTank makes a drop in basket that would remove the sponge and allow you to run just bio/chemical media in the filter area but it is pricey


This is my tank:









I hardly have any fish or plant detritus going on. But the filter clogs with slime after a week regardless. Super annoying.


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## aeroman9000 (Aug 27, 2014)

*Fluval spec v*

I was just commenting in another post how my Fluval is maintenance free. But I do aquascaping at least once a week, and I have only done one water change in 4 months. The tank is heavily planted , and is home to half a dozen breeding guppies and a few tetras. I like the look of that intank media basket, I may need to order one, but for now it all works so good I am not touching a thing! In the factory filter there are 2 voids cut in, I simply put loose porous ceramic media in both spots. With that setup my filter flows great!

Bump: Here is a pic of the tank mentioned above.


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## tandaina (Aug 17, 2013)

Hmm, I've had Fluval Specs for a couple years and never had the filter clog. In fact the filter has been lovely, it has only been the light that needed upgrading.

That isn't a terribly heavily planted tank and you are mentioning slime. Could you have a diatom bloom because of excess nutrients? Not sure as this hasn't been my experience at all with the Spec.


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## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

noiseordinance said:


> This is my tank:
> 
> I hardly have any fish or plant detritus going on. But the filter clogs with slime after a week regardless. Super annoying.


What kind of slime?


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## yomon347 (May 27, 2014)

Sounds odd, I rarely clean out the filter on my Spec V. I plugged the bottom hole and use the white media bags in both slots. I did this on my friends too and her's is relatively maintenance free aside from water changes.

Are you using a non-stock light that perhaps blasts the filter part with light creating grow room for algae?


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## mattcham (Mar 7, 2014)

You need to figure out why you are getting excess slime buildup. The filter sponge of the spec V is very coarse and slime clog resistant, similar to the legendary AquaClear sponge which is also made by fluval.

If you are using a slime coat product from API like stress coat, this could produce abnormal slime on your filter sponge that may need to be broken down using bleach. If you read the description of Seachem Stress Guard, it talks about how competing slime coat products clog resins (biological filtration media) and filter media (sponges). They are referring to API stress coat products which in my experience is true.

By clogged sponge, I am referring to this phenomenon: Normally when I squeeze the sponge, it expands back to its original shape instantly. When the sponge is abnormally clogged, it takes 1 second for it to expand (not instantaneous), even after squeezing it 50 or 100 times. I have noticed this with air-driven sponge filters (which have finer pores) and not so much with coarse sponges.


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## difrent7 (Nov 24, 2012)

I have never had to clean my filter because it was clogged on my Spec but only issue I run into with my Spec V is that I get horrible biofilm on the surface of my tank but never gets to the point where the filter is actually clogged. Hopefully you can get it resolved like others have checked for detrius or any broken down plant material, also are you using any of root tabs? Are you getting blue green algae on your sand because that would be cyanobacteria and can cause slime so is a possibility as well.


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## jt731 (Sep 24, 2014)

I have a fluval spec v and purchased the intank media basket and the upgraded pump. With the media basket I have filter floss, seachem matrix, and a bag of purigen. Between it being heavily planted and this, my water parameters are always near perfect.

There are two holes in the panel between the sponge and the tank/pump. There are two holes for protection of the pump. Plugging both will do a better job of forcing the water through the sponge, but you can starve your pump of water if you aren't careful.

Most fish stores carry a replacement sponge, you might buy a replacement and cut the top off the sponge and use something like filter floss and see if you can catch the slime there.

How do you clean the filtration and what do you have in the two "compartments"?


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## mattcham (Mar 7, 2014)

Also, slime is increased if you are using fresh veggie foods like zucchini to feed your vegetarian fish. Something about the breakdown of veggies increases bioslime buildup in my veggie-fed tanks. This type of slime is also hard to clean. Need peroxide or bleach if it gets really bad after a couple of months.


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## jt731 (Sep 24, 2014)

I jinxed myself. Mine clogged at the elbow/spout though, cleaned that out and it's back to normal.


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