SnookNRedZ’s Spec V

[SnookNRedZ]

Acquired a used Fluval Spec V, 5 gallon, aquarium on Craigslist on Sunday and began cycling it yesterday. I got about 7.5 lbs of rock from WWC and 10 pounds of Bahama Oolite sand stuffed into this puppy. I’m kinda letting my girlfriend take the reigns on this one as far as stocking goes. Tomorrow I will have a new par 38 light setup coming from amazon, as well as a BRS care package that will have a screen top frame kit and some other general goodies. The Koralia nano power head is the 525 gph version, the largest one in the series. I also stuffed a neo therm heater in the back. I had used both as saltwater mixing, but in Florida I don’t need a heater anymore for a couple months. So here’s a few shots of the scape we came up with. I cut the sponge filter in half, and have only a bag of carbon in it for filtration. The stock return pump is fine with me. It works.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Acquired a used Fluval Spec V, 5 gallon, aquarium on Craigslist on Sunday and began cycling it yesterday. I got about 7.5 lbs of rock from WWC and 10 pounds of Bahama Oolite sand stuffed into this puppy. I’m kinda letting my girlfriend take the reigns on this one as far as stocking goes. Tomorrow I will have a new par 38 light setup coming from amazon, as well as a BRS care package that will have a screen top frame kit and some other general goodies. The Koralia nano power head is the 525 gph version, the largest one in the series. I also stuffed a neo therm heater in the back. I had used both as saltwater mixing, but in Florida I don’t need a heater anymore for a couple months. So here’s a few shots of the scape we came up with. I cut the sponge filter in half, and have only a bag of carbon in it for filtration. The stock return pump is fine with me. It works.

Nice! Aquascape is looking good.

 

[SnookNRedZ]

Nice! Aquascape is looking good.

Thanks Caveman! It was pretty simple scaping it. I had the leasure of being able to pick through wwc’s bin and getting pieces I knew would fit, and would work well. The ledge on th back fits in with about 1/8” clearance on each side. Lol here’s a shot from the other side. The ledge it makes is neat, and the arch came out perfect too. Should make a nice little habitat soon. I’m going to make it simple, I’ll run the lights on my apex, but aside from that, just a basic system.

 

[Dude60415]

Looks great. I really like the aquascape. Its simple but simplicity looks great.

 

[SnookNRedZ]

Looks great. I really like the aquascape. Its simple but simplicity looks great.

Thanks, I couldn’t agree more Dude.

I got my lights and screen top kit in today along with other reefing goodies. I’m pretty happy on how it looks. I have the lights programmed to be on from 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM via my apex on the 17 gallon.

 

[Dude60415]

Thanks, I couldn’t agree more Dude.

I got my lights and screen top kit in today along with other reefing goodies. I’m pretty happy on how it looks. I have the lights programmed to be on from 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM via my apex on the 17 gallon.

No problem your welcome. I need the inspiration to build a nano. Or more get the wife to let me .

 

[drew_the_dingo]

Thanks, I couldn’t agree more Dude.

I got my lights and screen top kit in today along with other reefing goodies. I’m pretty happy on how it looks. I have the lights programmed to be on from 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM via my apex on the 17 gallon.

I also have a spec reef. Where did you find that screen top?

 

[SnookNRedZ]

I also have a spec reef. Where did you find that screen top?

I bought the kit from brs. I got the 1/8” netting.

 

[SnookNRedZ]

Its been about 5 months since I’ve posted ahout this tank, and yes the tank is still up and running. Lol. I moved few months ago, and have another larger tank getting all the attention. Here it is at about 9 months

Re-scaped it after the move, and this little tank has its issues. Bubble algae, some aptasia still, and it’ll get hair algae due to pretty intense morning light. It’s not direct, but it’s enough. I have vermited snails too, but it is what it is. This tank still looks great imo. I don’t really do any crazy maintenance, I have some carbon in the back with ceramic media, and that’s it.

The fish are doing great. My sleeper goby has grown, and my purple firefish is happy. She was just shy for the photo shoot earlier after a water change.

My mangrove is blossoming another set of leaves, which makes me happy because a month after the move, it looked unhappy. I broke off one of its only two leaves on accident getting the net back on, but it’s pulling thu. I think the sunlight it’s getting is to blame. It’s another one i personally harvested when I was on my boat fishing years ago. So it’s got some sentiment attached.

The gsp is thriving, no surprise there. I still have the two zoas in the tank. Theyre not thriving, but they aren’t dying either. They still are pretty, just not as pretty as the ones in my 75. That’s to be expected though. Still top off manually everyday when I get home. And that’s about it. They get the same food as my big tank, but sometimes I’ll feed only pellet food.

 

[SnookNRedZ]

Almost a year later. For as simple and easy as this tank is. It’s on my end table in the living room, and is perfect for the space. Once my 75 grows more, I’ll grab more coral into this. Idk if i will buy coral specifically for it. But we’ll see. I still have a sleeper goby, I think I got him in one photo... and the purple firefish. Both eat well and are doing just fine in here.

Few shots with my phone and R2R glasses as a lense filter.

I still have algae issues, but I scrub the rocks every water change and just deal with it. I dose .5ml of vibrant for the last couple weeks and it’s not really doing much. Only because this tank gets some natural Florida sun. Not direct, but it’s enough to promote growth for sure. But this also is making for some sweet coraline colors!

 

[SnookNRedZ]

Water change day today. This little tank is so cool to me. Mainly because I spend literally 1 minute a day on it topping off and feeding it. That’s it. and when I do a water change, it takes 15 minutes. The rock is maturing and the few corals that are in it, are doing fine.

I still have algae, but it’s not overbearing. Vermited snails are bountiful on this reef too. I’m sure I could do more to combat it, but I’m letting this tank pretty much do it’s own thing. I will throw more frags I plan on getting out of my larger Dual 75 system...