# My Spec V Nano



## derbyfb10 (Feb 13, 2014)

Wow, looks really excellent! Very impressed  Your Blyxa Japonica looks very nice.


----------



## nomad1721 (Jan 3, 2011)

Great looking tank! I really want a Spec V and seeing awesome examples like this make it really hard to hold out. I also like the last picture of the cherry shrimp with the fissidens. I always say that I'm going to get some (fissidens that is), and then I end up with some other moss every time. I need to be more patient and just find a source for fissidens. One day...


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks for the compliments. The Spec V is great in that it's a good starting point - none of the extra work surrounding a filter (flow pipes, filter location, etc.). I do prefer the full viewable tanks (all four sides) with the caveat that it takes more money to make them work nicely (Lilly pipes, canister filter, etc.).

My next nano is a stripped Fluval Chi (I had it laying around unused) with the nicer setup. Hopefully it'll go as well!

I tried fissidens once before but I had an out of control BBA outbreak which meant the fissidens with its slow growth was bound to fail. This time around it's growing out nicely - that picture with the shrimp is fissidens fontanus attached to rock and it took about 1 month to fill out. 

Also, to be fair, my first attempt at fissidens involved unstable DIY CO2 and zero ferts.


----------



## Rah (Jan 23, 2014)

I love the look of the tank!! That Driftwood is awesome!

Quick question, what are you using to raise the light?

I currently have a 20" Planted+ on my Spec V. But I need to raise it higher cause otherwise the algae will get out of hand.

Thanks for your help!


----------



## Mirkinator (Jan 13, 2014)

Rah said:


> I love the look of the tank!! That Driftwood is awesome!
> 
> Quick question, what are you using to raise the light?
> 
> ...


Exactly what I wanted to know, is that a homemade hangy thingy that you put into the slot for the original lights? Also I found the stock filter to just barely does it for my tank, I had to get a canister. Do you the stock one is adequate for yours?


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks!

So I attempted the light for a few of reasons:

I started the tank with the Fugeray 16" but no CO2 and then DIY CO2. Bad idea. Much like what you're describing Rah, BBA and hair algae took over my slower growers. So I had to find a way to adjust the height.
The tank's cover is a cheap plastic and the local hard water made keeping it clean tedious
I like open tanks with hanging lights personally - they look more professional to me

How I did it:

 I used...
A steel flat bar from Home Depot
Galvanized steel cable (I don't recall the gauge off the top of my head) - A quick google search and you'll know what I'm talking about...you can find it at Ace or Home Depot. I used about 38-40" for the 16"
Eye hole screws x 2
Bolts + washers x 3
Cable clamps x 2

 I bent the steel bar to the proper shape, spray painted it (with primer) and bolted it so it stands about 20" above the tank
Drilled the eye hole screws into the bar
Ran the galvanized cable through the slots where the light's legs attach, and through the eye hole screws.
Used cable clamps to hold the cable in place.

Hope that helps!


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Mirkinator said:


> Also I found the stock filter to just barely does it for my tank, I had to get a canister. Do you the stock one is adequate for yours?


The stock filter seems more than adequate. It delivers the CO2 uniformly to about 90% of the tank, but that probably also has to do with the GLA atomic diffuser I'm using.

At the same time, the filter isn't so strong that my plants fall over or my fish struggle. 

One thing I recommend is pulling the pump out from time to time and cleaning the impeller. It doesn't take a long time to gunk up and a gunked up one will lower your flow by a considerable amount (mine even stopped working the first time around).

Needless to say, I do not use supplemental flow, which I'm glad for - less clutter and baggage to deal with :bounce:.


----------



## Neatfish (Jun 22, 2012)

Pretty sweet nano. How big do hose bumble bee gobys get?


----------



## difrent7 (Nov 24, 2012)

Awesome setup. I have the same tank and am planning on breaking it down to rescape it, hopefully will be half as nice as yours! I purchased a 20" finnex fugeray planted+ not sure if i should hang after seeing this.


----------



## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

Love your scape


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks, appreciate the kind comments. 

But it's far easier than it looks once you get the CO2, light and fert setup. I went through many trial and errors though so hopefully I can help other folks avoid pitfalls I fell into - much like others did for me when I started.



Neatfish said:


> Pretty sweet nano. How big do hose bumble bee gobys get?


I love these grumpy looking guys. They stay small, less than an 1" long. 




> I purchased a 20" finnex fugeray planted+ not sure if i should hang after seeing this.


A 20" finnex led is going to put out much more PAR than a 16". I made the mistake of setting the 16" on top of my tank cover (putting 30-35 PAR at substrate level) without injected CO2 nor short photo periods. It resulted in a viscous battle with BBA and I had to raise the lights, get CO2 running, and as a consequence of the other two, regular ferting as well. 

If you don't choose to raise the 20", then it's imperative that you start with a CO2 setup. Otherwise it's an open invitation for algae to setup shop in your tank at which point you'll be forced to raise them anyways, but also continue to battle the algae (much like I still do with BBA - but in very small areas). You may still need to limit your photoperiod to sub 8 hours.

So I suggest raising that light or starting with CO2 (ideally, you add pressurized CO2 injection regardless) and avoiding a big algae outbreak to begin with. You'll always have some algae - 100% of tanks do...it's a matter of how much it's held at bay and how much effort you end up having to keep it that way.


----------



## JEFF9922 (May 8, 2013)

That spec looks awsome I miss my spec v I had


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks! Yea it's a neat little tank with an aspect ratio that makes for some interesting scapes/scaping.


----------



## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Love what you did with this tank. Any chance you can take a good shot of the hanging light you describe above? The one photo is a little hard to make out details.

I'm curious: 30-35 PAR puts this setup (before you raised it) on the very low end of Medium lighting. (descriptions on this forum put low light as generally 1-29, medium as 30-79, high as 80+) I'm surprised you had so much trouble with algae, with light that barely counts as medium. Perhaps something to do with the smaller tank?

I'm dying to try to talk my wife into a Spec V for the bedroom chest of drawers. Should fit nicely across the top, along the wall. And I'd love a second tank at home, this one for a Betta and a couple African Dwarf Frogs... plus a pretty 'scape!  (given the nature of the occupants, though, I'll be keeping the lid in place) I'll push for it when we get back from vacation in a couple of months...


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Yea, and those numbers are from Finnex and they grab readings prior to filling the tanks. So it's probably even lower. 

It very likely that I received a plant or two with some established BBA (although I would like to think I would have noticed it if it were easily visible). 

What I do know that is that once the algae was established, it was quick to spread. And although 30-35 PAR at substrate (~12") isn't much, it can be pretty intense even a few inches above the substrate where many of my plants and plant leaves were at.

But I hear you...it's either low end of medium light or squarely in medium light so normally it shouldn't be enough light for big algae breakouts. It's why I cautioned difrent7 to use CO2 from the get go with the 20" fugeray over the same tank. 

I will try to get better images of the setup on here by tomorrow or this weekend at the latest.


----------



## difrent7 (Nov 24, 2012)

Yeah I knew it would be around medium-high par. I plan on breaking the tank down soon and completely rescape along with getting a proper co2 setup instead of just dosing excel. Appreciate the advice!


----------



## Octantis (Jan 9, 2014)

Posting to follow. Love the look of this tank.


----------



## Octantis (Jan 9, 2014)

I have S Repens in a Spec 3 with stock light and they are doing fine. Perhaps they are getting too much light? Or need root a fertilizer? Love the scape.


----------



## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Stunning nano scape, and adorable goby I want it! I didn't know you can trim blyxa leaves, thought the leaf would die after cutting. Does it just grow back like vals/regular lawn grass?


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks for the comments. I'll be posting a few more pics as soon as the craziness at my job dies down. 

AquaAurora: I don't know if I said "trim" but if I did, I meant to say thin. You're right that I believe actually trimming blyxa will cause the ends to die and appear black. What I do is separate the nodes and spread them out as well as thin out the plants by pulling individual leaves/stems out or cutting them at the base. Blyxa is slightly oversized for a narrow 5g like the Fluval Spec V (I think in general but at least certainly for my scape), so it's something I have to do to keep it lower and less bushy. 

Octantis: I have no clue to be honest. I did end up adding a root tab directly beneath the S. Repens so we'll see what happens. I think you make a good point and it's possible that the S. Repens weren't getting much nutrients competing with the Blyxa directly next to them.


----------



## Dtran5 (Mar 29, 2014)

Hi everyone, I've been a stalker on this forum for about two months because, like the OP, this is my first planted tank ever. I've never posted anything because I've never any valuable input on any matter, but this thread caught my attention. Like you all, I've got a pretty similar set-up, Spec V with a 20" Fugeray Planted+. I've had the light on my tank for about 3 weeks now and the growth in my plants has been amazing. The light sits right on the rim of the tank and, thus far, I haven't had any problems with algae. I've thought about raising the light like what the OP has done but, again, it hasn't caused any problems yet. 
If I may ask a few questions, though, how long did you have the light directly on your tank before you started experiencing algae growth? How long was your photoperiod? What's the average temperature in your tank? After you raised your light, how high above the top of the tank did you set it? 
Again, while I'm loving the plant growth, a part of me keeps feeling that something is just not quite right because I've read that this light is quite powerful and a lot of people have algae problems due to strong lighting. Ya'll probably have a whole lot more experience than I do with this kind of set-up so I'd love to get your input on the matter.


----------



## lurkermom (Feb 12, 2014)

Love your spec
I was thinking about doing the same with my SPEC (well light wise anyway)
how does the steel bar hold? with the same screws as the stock light bar? or you DIY something there too ?


----------



## J.Kirk (Jan 4, 2013)

Great looking tank. Interesting choice for fish


----------



## terrapedes (Jul 5, 2013)

I really like the look of this tank! You my friend have a great eye


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Bee101 (Apr 14, 2014)

Love this set up. Do you run co2? If so what kind of set up do you have and what kind of regulator?


----------



## second (Jan 31, 2005)

Great looking spec v


----------



## markisashrimp (Jan 27, 2014)

Fantastic job on what you have created with this Spec V.
Great little tanks with such a sleek look to them.

Question for you.....Has the Goby ever try to pick at the Cherry Shrimp?


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Sorry for the hiatus! I was traveling for work. Thank you for all the compliments. I hope these answers are still useful!



> how does the steel bar hold? with the same screws as the stock light bar? or you DIY something there too ?


The steel bar uses stronger bolts (believe 1/4") - three of them hold the steel bar to the stand.




> Love this set up. Do you run co2? If so what kind of set up do you have and what kind of regulator?


I do run CO2, using the GLA (Green Leaf Aquarium) paintball setup + their atomic diffuser (a quick google search will land you on their site - not sure if I can post links here). It has worked perfectly for me.



> Question for you.....Has the Goby ever try to pick at the Cherry Shrimp?


Nope, the Gobies tend to have poor eyesight (at least from my experience). The food has to be pretty close to their face for them to acknowledge it. I have not experienced gobies going after shrimp or shrimplets.


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Dtran5 said:


> The light sits right on the rim of the tank and, thus far, I haven't had any problems with algae. I've thought about raising the light like what the OP has done but, again, it hasn't caused any problems yet.
> If I may ask a few questions, though, how long did you have the light directly on your tank before you started experiencing algae growth? How long was your photoperiod? What's the average temperature in your tank? After you raised your light, how high above the top of the tank did you set it?


I think the distinguishing factor in my algae breakout is that I didn't have a good light/CO2 balance to begin with. That and through my many purchases of plants, I must have introduced the BBA. The 16" sat on top of the tank cover for a few months with about an 8 hour photoperiod. Tank temperature ranges from 65-70 degrees. 

The algae was much more controllable once I started injecting CO2 and even more so after I raised the lights. I still have BBA, but ironically, it's limited to the plastic wall separating the tank from the filter area. I leave it be since it doesn't spread. If I have to live with it, I'd rather keep it there than on my plants


----------



## Emplanted (May 3, 2014)

I was looking at the website for green leaf. Looking at either the paintball or atomic nano kit. Do you prefer the paintball over the atomic kit? 
Also did you get a drip checker, they have nice looking ones. 
Live your set up, I'm still working in my spec v


----------



## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

The paintball setup is more economical. Paintball tanks are easy to find and usually easy to refill. The nano cartridges are disposables and you'll have to at attend to them more frequently. My 20 oz paintball tank lasts 3-4 months on average.


----------



## Emplanted (May 3, 2014)

STS_1OO said:


> The paintball setup is more economical. Paintball tanks are easy to find and usually easy to refill. The nano cartridges are disposables and you'll have to at attend to them more frequently. My 20 oz paintball tank lasts 3-4 months on average.


Thanks i may buy that one then. As for refills are you shopping ebay for them? Did you get a drop check for it


----------



## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

Emplanted said:


> Thanks i may buy that one then. As for refills are you shopping ebay for them? Did you get a drop check for it


Compressed gas tanks get filled locally, else you can't ship them without all kinds of crazy government paperwork. Any place that fills paintball cartridges can do it. A fill is about $4 where I live, and lasts for many months in small tanks like these.


----------



## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

Nice tank man!

Just wondering, how many of each fish do you have in here?


----------

