# New to hobby - Planted Spec V



## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Hello!

I am new to the planted aquarium hobby. I have always liked fish and had a freshwater tank as a kid. Elapse 30 years, and my wife actually suggested that getting a fish tank for the kids might be a good idea. I think she was thinking a small fish tank for something like a betta fish or gold fish, but I took my opening and ran with it. so here it goes. (pics are attached)

Equipment:
Fluval Spec V with mods. Electrical tape covering lower back up intake. Cut holes in the pump outflow tube, metal mesh over the overflow, took out carbon and have 2 biomax bags in filter
Cobalt Neo Therm 25W heater in filter compartment
Stock Lighting
CO2 - Tippman 20 oz and Aquatek mini CO2. CO2 at 1 bubble/1.5 sec starts 1 hr before lights on and off 1 hr before lights off. Currently 3 hrs light/CO2 in AM and 4.5 hrs of light/CO2 PM (total light cycle 7.5 hrs). It coordinates when my kids are home and I like to look at it at night.
Manzanita wood (ebay)
Seiryu Rock (ebay)
Amazonia soil

Plants: 
Amazon Swords (Petco from tank)
Mini Dwarf Hairgrass (Petsmart/Top Fin cultured)
Crypt Wendtii (local fish store from a tank)
Anubias petite (LFS from a tank)
S Repens (Petsmart/Cultured)

Future plans:
Plant: considering placing Blyxa Japnoica in the central portion as a midground plant 
Fish: 5-6 Celestial Pearl Danios
Cherry Red Shrimp when tank is more established

Currently:
On day 29 of a fish-less cycle. I initially tried API quick start and dosed ammonia to 2ppm and it stayed there for 2 weeks and added the dwarf hair grass and s repens the first week. Eventually, I dumped a bottle of Tetra Safe Start and finally got the cycle going. Tests have been at 0 ammonia (dosing 2 ppm everyday), nitrite 2.0 and Nitrates 30-40. I did a 80% water change last week and planted the crypt and anubias at that time. I’ve been having some minor green hair algae and the rocks that I scrub off when I see it. Also been battling the white fungus on the drift wood that comes back soon after I scrub it off. I might leave it alone since I read that it usually decreases as the tank gets more established. Since I added the plants (Crypt and Anubias) last weekend from the LFS, I noticed 15-30 small white worms (~1-2mm long) on the glass that I am pretty sure are detritus worms. They are very small and I also see them floating around in the water column so I am pretty sure they are not planaria. They probably hitchhiked on the plants from the LFS because I did not see them at all before that. I am not currently feeding the tank anything but ammonia and ferts for the plants.

I plan on doing another water change this weekend and hope to get my hands on some blyxa japonica to put in the central part of the tank in the midground. I am hopeful the water change will help suction out some of the worms and any of the detritus from plant melting that may be feeding them. Overall, I think the plants are doing well. I’ve trimmed my hair grass 2x already and noticed pearling for the first time on my Anubias and Crypt yesterday.

My current questions are:
1) Should I be worried about the worms? I don’t have any fish in their right now, so I could nuke the worms with meds before adding fish if needed. Otherwise, I was thinking the CPDs might actually eat them as well.
2)	I was also considering getting rid of the hair grass near the filter compartment on the left and replacing it Monte Carlo just to mix it up and I also like the look of it. Any concerns with the Monte Carlo growing in the tank with the stock light?
3)	There are 2 rocks on the right leaning against each other creating a little cave. I have a little concern that there isn’t that much flow going through there and may cause a problem. Would you recommend me repositioning them and not having a cave? I also have concern that any shy shrimp/fish may hide in there all the time and wouldn’t be seen.

Any other suggestions are welcome. Thank you in advance!

Pictures are attached below. Since my kids requested a Nemo and Dory, my wife did make me buy the decorations and place them in the tank whenever the kids ask for it. I take them out whenever I can. &#55357;&#56842;

View attachment 866291


View attachment 866293


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## Daniel.E. (Jul 10, 2018)

Nice I like it.


Wonger77 said:


> Hello!
> 
> I am new to the planted aquarium hobby. I have always liked fish and had a freshwater tank as a kid. Elapse 30 years, and my wife actually suggested that getting a fish tank for the kids might be a good idea. I think she was thinking a small fish tank for something like a betta fish or gold fish, but I took my opening and ran with it. so here it goes. (pics are attached)
> 
> ...


Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk


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## dmastin (Jun 19, 2009)

Looks great! Welcome to the planted hobby.
2) I added this light to my Spec V pretty quickly, not sure how well stock light does.
Happy with this light though:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GH9HRZY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3) If you have fish and shrimp the shrimp are going to hide the best they can cave or no cave.
Have fun and keep us updated!


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## FishRFriendz (Dec 21, 2016)

That number of CPDs will hide a lot. Either more or dither fish will help them come out. Once you get some fish in there they'll take care of the worms, so free food.


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## SueD (Nov 20, 2010)

Tank looks really nice. Just 2 things to think about: amazon swords get very large and have a huge root structure. it could get pretty messy in there if you decide to remove it after a year or so. But it looks so nice now. 

I've also had the CPD's, which are beautiful - when you get to see them. If this tank is for the enjoyment of your kids (yes, I know you're excited, too) , I'd probably stock it with about 10 male endlers or 10 chili rasboras, instead.

I have 2 Spec V's and love this tank.


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## FishRFriendz (Dec 21, 2016)

SueD said:


> Tank looks really nice. Just 2 things to think about: amazon swords get very large and have a huge root structure. it could get pretty messy in there if you decide to remove it after a year or so. But it looks so nice now.
> 
> I've also had the CPD's, which are beautiful - when you get to see them. If this tank is for the enjoyment of your kids (yes, I know you're excited, too) , I'd probably stock it with about 10 male endlers or 10 chili rasboras, instead.
> 
> I have 2 Spec V's and love this tank.


The only thing more hidy than a group of 6 CPDs is a group of 6 of their cousin Emerald Dwarf Rasbora. CPDs seem outgoing compared side by side with EDR.

Chili are nice but if you're really into the look of the CPDs then you'll need more or a dither fish, I don't know how well Chili rasboras do as dither for CPDs, I've only kept them in a species tank. But a mere 4 trigonostigma espei(Lambchop Rasbora) was able to bring 6 of my EDR out into the open. Lambchops are slightly smaller than Harlequins, but have less of a black wedge and more orange in it's place.


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

Welcome, and really nice start. 

You’ve got very nice rocks, but I can hardly see them, based on the pictures. Perhaps consider a little bit of substrate ramping front to back, and getting them a bit more upright. I can’t really tell what face would be most interesting - that’s up to you. Getting a bit more vertical balance would look nice, in my opinion. 

I agree with the amazon sword comment above - they can get huge. One sword I bought at 5” is now fully outgrowing my 40 breeder, after maybe 8 months. Some dwarf or mini sword varieties are available, but usually not in the pet store tubes. I have picked up anubias nana and java fern in those tubes that have done exceptionally well, so I have no issue with them. Super cheap in comparo. 

The stock light on the Spec can grow most stuff, no issue. I’d only suggest a change if you don’t like the color, layout, want programmability, or if you just really like something else. 

You may also want to consider an all-in-one liquid fert. Perhaps start at half the recommeded per volume for a while, and increase when you feel like it needs it. 

Caves may give your fish a hiding place, but oftentimes nervous fish will be seen more if they have that hide available. You can arrange a cave with a back to the side glass, so you can still peer in.


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## Tyrant46290 (Jul 21, 2018)

Ever think about painting the back of the tank black? It will help your focal point, make plants and fish pop more, and hide everything behind the tank. Super easy to do and super easy to remove later on. I would take out the Amazon sword now.


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## dmastin (Jun 19, 2009)

Oh yeah black, that's a good idea for this tank.
I added black to the back of mine with a sheet of black aquarium background material.
I used http://a.co/eNLh20W
https://www.plantedtank.net/forums/20-diy/181789-attaching-aquarium-background-oil.html
I'm sure you can search here and find do it yourself solutions as well.
It's been working great for me for five plus years on one appication.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Thanks for the comments and suggestions

Updates:

I bought some blyxa from the LFS and added them last night. Even though it's only 1 plant, my wife really thought it improved the looks of the tank. It’s her favorite plant in there now. 

Coincidentally, she suggested doing something with the background of the tank too because the light switches in the background are tacky. Will definitely look into getting a background now.

I thought my cycle had finished because my nitrites were finally testing 0 the last few days, but the are back up again after planting the blyxa and doing a water change so I’ll re-test again tomorrow. Hopefully I didn’t screw something up and restart the cycle. 

I'm going to run with the stock light for now and see if the growth maintains. If seeing issues, I'll look into the Finnex lights. There are several varieties of Finnex (24/7, Fugeray, etc) so would need to figure out which would work best.

Thanks for the heads up on the swords. That's a bummer. I like the leafy look on that side of the tank. I’ll pull them out tomorrow and look for some replacements. What would be a good replacement plant that has that leafy look but not outgrow the Spec V? I was thinking java fern might be a good choice. Is there a particular species that won’t grow taller than 7-8”? 

@Proteus01 I agree about the rocks and layout. I lucked out with the order of rock from ALM on [Ebay Link Removed] Believe or not, I played around with the layout and tried to ramp the substrate from front to back as much I could. It’s a little better than it was originally, but I probably couldn’t create much more of a ramp without committing to buying another bag of aquasoil and replanting some stuff. But I do agree with your criticism. After lurking and reading a lot of other spec threads, I now understand why people say the Spec V dimensions make it difficult to aquascape. With the narrow anterior to posterior width, it’s very difficult to fit the rocks in and create a different level. 

Lastly, for livestock, although I had originally planned on CPDs, I have since changed my mind after reading repeatedly how shy they are. I am now leaning more towards chili rasboras. The tough part is actually finding these little buggers at a LFS. I have never actually seen them in person at any LFS. After calling around, I may have found a LFS in So Cal that said they get them regularly so will check with them next week. I would plan on getting 10 chilis if I can. A more controversial choice is going with green neon tetras instead… another fish I have also not been able to find or have seen in person. That particular LFS had them in stock . I do have reservations after reading how neons, and even green neons my need more space than the Spec V provides to thrive. 

I am not going to go with endlers for the same reason that I am opting out of CPDs which is I would prefer it if the fish were not easy to breed. I don’t want to have to deal with fry. Also, I don’t want to have to explain the birds and the bees yet to my kids if they see the eggs/fry and more importantly, I don’t want to explain why the parents are eating the babies. :surprise:

Attached a pic after adding the blyxa. Will be pulling/replacing the swords tomorrow. Thanks for the help so far!


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

*plant identification*

Also, here are the two plants that I believe are varieties of Amazon Swords that I planted in my tank near the filter compartment. I attached a photo if of them in the pots when I bought them. It's the two plants in the center that don't have a label on them. Can anyone identify them? I just wanted to make sure before I pull them out of my tank. Thanks!


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## jmontee (Mar 20, 2009)

My suggestion for the leafy plant on the left would be a small crypt. I have Crypt lutea in my spec v and it looks awesome. I was also able to find crypt luteal hobbit tissue culture on Amazon and I love it. It is really small at about 2 to 3 inches max and is a deep burgundy color in submersed form. That could be spread around in different spots for a nice accent.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Thanks! The crypt lutea looks like it would fit the bill. Says it grows to 4-8" which is perfect. I'll see if I can track it down tomorrow at a local store and if not, may look online. I'm nervous about ordering on line right now since it's pushing 90-100 degrees during the day right now.


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## SueD (Nov 20, 2010)

Another option for the amazon sword would be a hygro corymbos compacta

Hygrophila corymbosa 'Compacta' - Green Leaf Aquariums


As for fish, if you wanted endlers over chilis (both around the same size and both stay near top of tank), get all males - these are easily sexed, there's a big difference - and there will be no issues with breeding. With endlers you have a choice of all one color patttern, or many different ones. With either chilis or Male endlers, you'll have a nice active tank.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Thanks for the suggestions. I pulled the swords yesterday and replaced them with more crypts, hygrophilia corymbosa and a sword compacta (hopefully). After your suggestion, will look into the male endlers instead of chilis for the tank since they are larger and easier to source. I run my tank without the lid to keep the temperature down. With the lid on, the tank runs 1-2 degrees hotter (79-80 degrees). I have some concern about jumpers, but in looking at most of my nano fish options, it seems like all of them have the potential of jumping.


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

Nice find on the rocks. Now I want to copy you, and set up another nano. 

Nearly all fish jump, though some are much more likely to go on an adventure into the unknown. If a solid top is no good, a mesh top will work - the appearance isn’t as nice, of course, but the fish don’t care. 

That temp is maybe a bit high, which can cause issues in a small tank with an evening temp drop - too much swing. Not an alarming temp, just on the high side. I suggest you watch the behavior, see if there’s signs of stress. If not, you’re all set. If so, think about getting a small fan (like computer fan size) to blow over the top. If you have sunlight on it at all, that would add heat, of course. 

You’re off to a significantly better start than me, when I set up a tank for my son. I wish I’d found this forum earlier. Well done.


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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

I second the male endlers! Lovely little fish with a lot of personality considering their size. Would recommend getting 5 as they can have problems with bullying in small groups - I've witnessed some pretty brutal aggression in my group, resulting in a trio instead of two couples. Mine are in an open tank though and I've never had any issues with jumping.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Update: 

After adding the plants last week, I am having some algae problems. The hygrophilia corymbosa didn't make it either. It melted away in a few days. Some of the leaves have been dying on my S repens, so I've been trimming them. The mini DHG on the far side of the tank, farthest from the filter compartment, has been growing quickly, but the mini DHG closest to the filter and near the larger plants hasn't been fairing as well. It may be getting less light than the other part of the tank. I am not sure why. I haven't really changed much in the tank except exchanging the swords out for the new plants. Luckily, my tank does not get direct sunlight.

Still waiting for the tank to finish cycling before adding fish (endlers). The nitrites are still present on my tests. I got excited last week when the nitrites were 0, but then they were back the next day. I'm holding off on doing any big water changes, but I think it messed up my cycle last time I did it.

Still seeing detritus worms on the glass and floating around in the water column. I am anxious for this cycle to finish so I can add the endlers that will hopefully get those worms under control. Plus, my 3 year old twins keep looking at the tank and tell me "need to put fish in there". :| I also want to get some RCS, but will try to wait a month or so after the fish to let the tank stabilize. I also want to observe the fish for a while in case any disease comes up that may need copper treatment before adding the shrimp.

here's a picture of it 5 days ago after I replanted. It's got more algae going on right now. Hoping it's just new tank syndrome.


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## Proteus01 (Mar 12, 2017)

Yep, new tanks get algae blooms. 
Algae is a good sign you’re getting cycled. Once plants get more established, they’ll take more nutrients, and algae will keep a lower profile. I like to do just a bit of manual cleanup to keep the algae off my plants and front glass. I let it live elsewhere, and it makes the rocks look more aged.


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## skiman (Jul 27, 2018)

Following along. I have a 15L nano side project that I'd like to try as a low-tech and your post (esp plant choice and light/co2 program) has helped me along. Cheers.


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## kaldurak (May 2, 2010)

What was your substrate? I saw in your first post it said "amazona" and I was wondering if you meant Amazonia? But later I saw you mention aquasoil. If you have Amazonia, that substrate leeches ammonia into the water column for a long time, and that could be the reason you cycle is weird. I believe with amazonia you should be doing partial water changes every day or something like that. So right now your dosing ammonia for your cycle and the substrate may be adding it's own as well, depending on what substrate you actually have. A d too much ammonia will stall or reset your cycle. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

kaldurak said:


> What was your substrate? I saw in your first post it said "amazona" and I was wondering if you meant Amazonia? But later I saw you mention aquasoil. If you have Amazonia, that substrate leeches ammonia into the water column for a long time, and that could be the reason you cycle is weird. I believe with amazonia you should be doing partial water changes every day or something like that. So right now your dosing ammonia for your cycle and the substrate may be adding it's own as well, depending on what substrate you actually have. A d too much ammonia will stall or reset your cycle. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.



Sorry for the typo. Yes I used Amazonia substrate. That might be why my initial step of the cycle waiting of the ammonia level to go down took 3 weeks. Ammonia has been 0 every day for the last 3 weeks while dosing it 1x/day to 2 ppm everyday. The ammonia reads 0 after 12 hrs so I know that bacteria is working. I'm now waiting for my nitrites to go to 0. I saw it go down to 0.25 from 0.5 today so I am hopeful my cycle is getting near the end. My nitrates are 80 now too. I got lots of green hair algae now and it's looking pretty ugly. The wife is making comments. :wink2: I turned up the co2 to see if this will help. I also plan to clean up some of the algae on the branches/rocks and do a partial water change this weekend prior to adding fish if the cycle finishes.

Bump: Also, I was doing some online research on adding an inline co2 atomizer to the spec V. I don't know how efficient my current in tank diffuser is with the co2. It looks like I am wasting a fair amount. Some people mention putting an inline diffuser/atomizer but wasn't sure it it would work well with the spec V pump tubing since they are meant for external canister filters. Has anyone had any luck doing this?? particularly with the GLA in line atomizers? thanks!


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Update today:

It's been 6 weeks 1 day in my cycle today (filled tank on July 4)
Test results: Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, Nitrates 80-100. Side note: Does anyone else think that the color for 40 and 80 look exactly the same on the API nitrate scale? In any case, I think my tank has finally cycled. I'm hopeful to add fish this weekend. I've been wrong before though, so I'll keep testing. 

Because the nitrates were so high today, I decided to spend a few hours and do a massive green hair algae clean out and water change. Washed my filter media, scraped the glass, scrubbed the rocks and manzanita wood off. I manually tried to pick as much of the green hair algae off of the mini DHG as I could which was a pain in the butt. I then did a 50% water change. Test readings afterwards still showed nitrite 0, ammonia 0, and nitrates 40-80 (Again, i can't tell the difference in the colors). I also removed 2 areas of S repens (the ones near my filter compartment and on the far side of the tank) that were dying/turning brown despite trimming dying leaves over the past week. Not sure if it was disease, but all the leaves were browning and it was looking pretty ugly. The S repens in the central part of the tank still look healthy. I'll wait for them to grow out and try to re-plant some trimmings from them later on. 

Since my nitrates are still high, I may try to do a smaller 25% water change tomorrow to get them down some more. 

Because my algae grew so much just over the past week, I am going to try blacking out my tank for 48 hrs to see if it helps (luckily it's next to a some black out curtains that I wrapped around the tank). I am using Wemos (from costco) to control my light and co2 so it's pretty easy to disable the schedule. I would appreciate any tips people may have to help prevent it. Been doing a lot of online research. the tank sits against a wall directly adjacent to the window, so it gets minimal direct sunlight. I had previously decreased my light cycle down to 6 hrs (from 7.5 hrs) but the algae still looked like it was growing. I am not sure if I should alter dosing of ferts or excel. I was dosing 0.5 ml of Excel and 0.5 ml of Flourish every other day. I wasn't sure if iron dosing was contributing so I stopped that too. I read about triple dosing excel to kill the algae but i'm afraid to do that because of the potential toxicity to fish.

Hopefully will add fish this weekend. Plan on getting 5 Endlers (males) ... don't want any breeding. After my water change, I have a @#$ load of detritus worms floating around the water column so I would love to see those endlers go to town on them. Considering adding a nerite snail too but may wait on it.


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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

Congrats on finally completing your cycle! (Hopefully  )

I've heard a lot about people messing with ferts in order to help the plants out-compete the algae, but it sounds much easier to just add a nerite snail to be honest. It shouldn't add too much to the bioload and they're hard as nails in my personal experience. Horned nerites look pretty snazzy too.


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

Congratulations on the end of your cycle! The algae will take care of itself once the tank chemistry gets balanced. Meanwhile, a toothbrush works well with the long green hair algae, and a nerite snail is a great little cleaner.


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## kaldurak (May 2, 2010)

That GLA inline diffuser DOES fit in the spec v pump chamber and works with the stock spec v pump. I didn't do it myself in my Spec V, but I saw several people here and on reddit who have.

I just diffused with a glass and ceramic diffuser below the outflow to blow it around because I pit my heater in the pump chamber.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

*Update 8/26*

Updates:

I added stock this weekend. 5 Endlers (males), 1 horned nerite, and 3 Amano shrimp. I already have 1 adventurous endler story. Woke up this morning and did the count and was missing one endler. I looked around on the floor and around the tank for a suicide but didn't find any. I found him swimming around the pump compartment. It was a bit of a PITA, but fished him out and got him back in to the tank. I had the spec V cover on, but with all the cords for the CO2 going through, it's not flush against the filter/tank divider so he had to have jumped through a very narrow opening to get in there. The endlers are very active and chasing each other around. They have also decimated my detritus work situation. They went to town with them as soon as they went into the tank and I now don't see any on the glass or floating in the water. 

The amanos have been work horses too and have significantly cleaned the algae off my S Repens in just 1 day. The snail has been exploring around the tank.

I had decided against the in line diffuser because I was afraid to cut my filter tubing and screw it up. I measured the tubing at 11/14mm (1/2" 9/16") inner / outer diameter. That's also what i read form the spec-tank blog. I also found the reddit forums (from user Funktapus) about how he added it in with a 8/12mm in line diffuser, but based on the measurements, 12/16 mm diffuser sounds like it would be better because shouldn't' the attachment be slightly larger to prevent leaks? I am reconsidering doing it again so I can eliminate a C02 tube going into the tank and hopefully improve the way the cover sits. Hopefully my heater (cobalt neotherm 25W) will still sit in the filter compartment with the in line diffuser or it would totally defeat the purpose of eliminating cords going to the main tank display. I am also debating gluing some metal mesh to cover opening to stop jumpers.

I added a bag purigen to the filter. I managed to put it in the top of the sponge compartment and can fit 2 bags of biomax balls in the bottom compartment. My water was pretty clear, but heard good things about perigen so thought I'd try it out.

Also on advice from here, I am dosing an all in 1 fert (NilocG) Thrive+ 1 cc 2x/week on Mon and Thurs. So far, my algae has been better so hopefully this will get better balance

Included pictures of the tank with the fish. May consider adding some Neocaridina in the future. There's someone local on Craigslist who sells them for $2 each.


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## SueD (Nov 20, 2010)

Really like this tank. 

The endler could have slipped through the grating at the top of the tank. I've found shrimp back there. I added a sponge from an AC50 filter on top of the Spec V sponge and that helps keep things from getting through. 
https://www.petsmart.com/fish/filte...edia/aqua-clear-foam-filter-insert-16988.html

For a quick cheap background, you could just tap a piece of black poster board on the back of the tank.

I added 12 male endlers to one of my 20g tanks to see if they would draw out my green neons and pencilfish which always hide in the back of this tank. Nope, they didn't. But the endlers are always out front and very active, no matter how close I am to the tank. So I get to enjoy them up close and I have to enjoy the others from a distance.

I think the endlers are a great choice for your tank and I hope you and your kids enjoy these. You've got some room for a few more, too. Or, you could look for some dwarf cories like either Hastatus, Habrosus, or Pygmaeus.


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## Raith (Jun 27, 2014)

Welcome to the hobby! I like that you pretty much went all out!


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Thanks for the comments.

It's still kind of a mystery how the endler got into the filter compartment. I modded my filter overflow with a metal mesh to make it shrimp safe so he couldn't go through it. The only ways would have been to some how jumped over the divider into the filter compartment through the small gap between the cover and the divider from the CO2 tubing OR jumped out of the center opening of the cover and miraculous flopped his way into the compartment instead of onto the counter top. Either way, he's a lucky fish. 

To try to prevent this in the future, I ordered 1/8" mesh netting from BulkReefSupply and plan to put it over the center opening of the Spec Cover. BRS has 1/4" and 1/8" mesh, but I think small nano fish and shrimp would fit through the 1/4" netting. They have a nice video on their website showing that the decrease in par from the lights was minimal with the mesh in place. I don't know what material it is exactly, but i may simply superglue it to the top of the cover. 

I am still considering adding the GLA inline diffuser to see if I can eliminate any tubing going to the display part of the tank. I haven't totally committed to it yet. 

and thanks @SueD for the suggestion on the background. I actually got some black construction paper out from my kids' craft cabinet and taped it temporarily to the back of the tank. It makes a huge difference and really makes the contrast between the plants and fish pop! My wife took a photo of it and put it on her instagram (which is high praise from my wife). Heres' the picture she took.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

Ugh. I woke up this morning again and found the same tiger endler in the filter compartment... 2nd night in a row he has done it. I ordered the mesh screen and GLA inline diffuser 12/16mm to try to make the tank jump proof. However, since it won't be arriving for another week, I think I am going to take him back to the LFS and exchange him for another tiger endler. I don't want to run the risk he might jump out of the tank onto the counter top. 

On a side note, I forgot to show my DIY drip acclimation set up. If you have access to IV tubing (medical), then it's super easy to cut it short and use the roller clamp to regulate the drip.


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## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Great tank! I love the Spec V - I had it in the office for a while (let me know if you want pics - I love getting more examples to seed my creativity )

I would ditch the stock light and get a finnex - it worked perfectly for it. 

I also ditched the top cover which lead to some fish and shrimp jumping out but eventually i was left with ones that didn't. The cover quickly accumulated hard spots and scratches, which dramatically lowered the amount of light hitting the bottom of the tank.

I also recommend plugging the bottom hole between the tank and filter area, and a mesh at the top to avoid any fauna from getting into the back of the tank.

Some of this you're probably already doing, but I figure it's better said than left unsaid. 

Great work!


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## SueD (Nov 20, 2010)

Good idea if you can swap out your one jumper. I haven't had any issues with mine but a member on another forum I visit had one that continually either swam or jumped up the outflow of a HOB filter. He would find him swimming above his media in the filter. I believe that endler eventually settled in and stopped his wandering ways. But maybe better to be safe than sorry in case he misses his target compartment.


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

STS_1OO said:


> Great tank! I love the Spec V - I had it in the office for a while (let me know if you want pics - I love getting more examples to seed my creativity )
> 
> I would ditch the stock light and get a finnex - it worked perfectly for it.
> 
> ...





SueD said:


> Good idea if you can swap out your one jumper. I haven't had any issues with mine but a member on another forum I visit had one that continually either swam or jumped up the outflow of a HOB filter. He would find him swimming above his media in the filter. I believe that endler eventually settled in and stopped his wandering ways. But maybe better to be safe than sorry in case he misses his target compartment.



Thanks for the input.

I swapped the jumping tiger endler on Monday for an identical one at the LFS. So far no issues. The new endler is a great addition and the others endlers tend to school more with him which is pretty cool. Those endlers are fearless and curious. I was doing a little maintenance last night and they were swimming around my hand and between my fingers. Even the amano shrimps weren't scared and came up right next to my hand.

I have considered swapping the light out too. Which Finnex did you get for the spec v? 

I currently am on a 6 hr (2x 3 hr) light cycle and NilocG Thrive+ 1 cc 2x/week. I don't have much algae growing so I'm pretty happy about that. My Amano shrimp have really cleaned up the leaves and rocks. I am getting some pearling on the plants (mostly the fern and sword) which is good, but my DHG is not carpeting well. If the DHG continues to not do well, I am considering replacing it with Monte Carlo, but I hear it's a PITA to plant. 

I ordered a new bubble counter and a 12/16mm inline diffuser from GLA which will hopefully arrive soon. That will be my next DIY project. My goal will be to have no cords going into the display tank and have everything in the filter compartments. I'll post some pictures up when I start installing the inline diffuser. 

My wife thinks I have an addiction. This tank started as a low tech tank, but I have kept on adding to it every week or so. It has become a mini money pit.


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## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

I find it hard to start low tech. I just went for high tech. I can see doing low tech later, if I have a high tech already running. But I can't see not doing a high tech. It's not all that difficult and it's very engaging, involved, and satisfying. 

Best of luck Wonger!


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## hizImMattandiliketoParty (Aug 4, 2018)

Not the same tank as you but I've got a fluval edge. I keep cherry shrimp and 6 chili rasboras in there. The cherry shrimp have breed a few times and I leave the babies in there. The rasboras dont really seem to go after the babies but probably because theres so much moss in there. Been meaning to rescape this tank. 

Theres also ramshorn snails in there that always have babies but I usually pick them out whenever I need to feed my puffers. It's been my lowest maintenance tank so far.


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## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

My old Fluval Spec V


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## Wonger77 (Jun 11, 2018)

My new tiger Endler jumped into the gikter compartment again yesterday. 

Luckily, my inline diffuser arrived so I took this opportunity to install the diffuser

Materials:
Spec v stock pump and tube
GLA 12/16 mm in line diffuser
Aquatek co2 tubing

I took out the pump and measured the tubing. The outflow tubing measures 19 cm long and the inline diffuser measures 8 cm long. I tested to make sure the tubing had a good fit which it did. I then cut the tubing in half with a scissor and attached it to the diffuser. The ends of the tubing were then shortened so that there was 5.5 cm on each side of the diffuser and maintained the original length of 19 cm (5.5 + 8 + 5.5). The elbow and pump attachment were then replaced and it was good to go. I needed to remove suction cup attachment to or it won’t fit in the compartment. Took about 20 minutes. Once I turned it on, I immediately noticed a flood of micro bubbles distributed in the water column. it's much more efficient with CO2 than my old in tank diffuser.


I was able to fit the pump, diffuser, and heater into the pump compartment. It’s definitely a tight fit. I’m happy with it so far. I no longer have any cords in my display tank. The only thing in the display that's not part of the aquascape is the bubble counter. I can now fit the cover on flush so it should prevent any jumpers. The cover isn’t the most visually appealing, but I’ll keep it in the interest of fish safety. 

My next mini project is to affix the BRS 1/8” mesh onto the cover. I’ll probably do it this weekend.


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