Fluval Spec V Pico Build (5g)

[rdirtytwo]

Hey everyone,

I've been wanting to put a pico tank next to my computer desk at home for a while and finally pulled the trigger on a tank three weeks ago. I got a really good deal on a new Fluval Spec V for $80, so I figured, why not. It has a decent length for a pico, with dimensions at 19.5″ L x 6.5″ W x 11.5″ H.

To begin, I decided I was going to do a bare bottom tank. I added 2-3lb(?) of rock that has been in my main system for over a year to "skip cycle", added Microbe Lift Special Blend initial dosage, and added filter sponges that I had thrown into the rear compartment of my main tank several weeks back knowing I was getting another tank soon.

Specifications:
50w nano heater
Upgraded to a 2"x2" 95gph return pump that would fit.
ZKSJ Mini Wavemaker set on Pulse at 5/10 intensity
Upgraded to Hygger 30w Saltwater LEDs. I may buy something else in the future. The stock light would probably work for low light at full spectrum, but I took it out after day 1.
I think I can get by doing manual top offs for now since I'll be seeing this tank every night after work.
Day 1:

Threw everything together with live rock, seeded filter media, and water from my 26g. I tested the parameters and it tested basically the same as my main system.
Dkh: 8.9
Ca: 460
No3: 5
Po4: 0.03(?) I can't tell at lower results.
Mag: 1460
Salinity: 1.026


I threw in some easy frags from my frag tank to see how they do. Everything is opening up nicely. My 4 y.o. daughter was given this scuba diver toy from a LFS that I visit often as a gift. I let her put it in this tank and she loves it.



How it's looking now so far. I felt bad about keeping my RBTAs stowed away in the frag tank, so I will let one display in all it's glory. So far I have a micromussa lord, RBTA, jf lemon lime favia (?), green sinularia, red/green monti cap/foliosa, bam bam zoas, Duncan, bernardpora, peach hammer, and a Hollywood stunner chalice frag I can't get rid of in this tank. All fragged from the same systems, and all did well in the transfer. Some of these are just placeholders, but who knows? Some may end up staying in this pico but I also want something different from what I already have.

Anyways, I ordered a bunch of zoa frags from Reef Lounge in Southern California for pickup during black Friday sales, so I'm just waiting for those to be ready.

As for livestock, I don't think many fish can live in such a small system. I know there are some goby's, but does anyone have specific ones in mind? I'm open for ideas! I'll throw in some snails of course, maybe an emerald crab or two if I didn't clean the rocks well enough.

I'm looking forward to updating this.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

The pico tank looks big in photos! Can’t wait to see what else gets added!

 

[rdirtytwo]

The pico tank looks big in photos! Can’t wait to see what else gets added!

Thanks! I'm still unsure of the layout for the rockwork. I may end up gluing something together, add more rock, or leave it as is. I kind of like the minimalist look so far but we will see!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thanks! I'm still unsure of the layout for the rockwork. I may end up gluing something together, add more rock, or leave it as is. I kind of like the minimalist look so far but we will see!

I kinda like the minimal look of it!

 

[rdirtytwo]

Everything seems to be doing well so far in this tank. I added a bottle of pods last week, have been dosing small amounts of phytoplankton and now the pod population is booming. I'm also seeing amphipods that were probably living on the live rock before the transfer.

Since I have no fish still, nitrates are barely detectable, but I've been target feeding the corals in the system.

I can't believe that I've had the heater unplugged this entire time. I set it in the rear chamber, ran the wiring to the power strip but never plugged it in until today. Oops.

Today I went to pick up my Black Friday order of zoa frags from my local LFS, Reef Lounge in Norco, CA. I've always had a good experience visiting their shop.

Utter Chaos

Pink Chiquita

Emerald Maul

Pink Diamond

Acid Reflux

 

[Tahoe61]

How is the Pico doing?

 

[rdirtytwo]

How is the Pico doing?

Doing pretty well with the minimal approach!
I'm only doing water changes once every two weeks and feeding the coral and anemone 2-3x weekly. Everything seems to have settled in nicely. Frags I brought over from the main tank are getting coralline. I don't even have coralline in my main tank because my urchin out competes the growth. Lol.

No stocking besides snails. I'm thinking some other inverts, but I'm not sure what I can keep happily in here.

 

[rdirtytwo]

 

[rdirtytwo]

Blue light special.

The scuba toy -- that's my kid's.

 

[Tahoe61]

Looks great, the Anemone is nice and bubbly. Wish I had the patience for bare bottom.
Looks like you did skip the uglies. I wonder if lack of sand helped.
Thanks for the update.

 

[rdirtytwo]

Thank you. I've had this BTA split a couple of times in 2 of my other tanks, and I'm lucky the bubbles have stayed inflated for the year and a half I've had them.

I wanted to try bare bottom because it's new and challenging for me, but I'm really liking how it's coming along so far. I did get a very small diatom bloom on the glass, but that went away quickly. It appears that I have a good population of pods (and bubble algae!) that made their way with the rocks. I'm also been seeing a lot more amphiphods lately, so my copepod population may be dwindling.

 

[nickscorals]

T

Blue light special.

The scuba toy -- that's my kid's.

Wow man this looks great! Apologies if I missed the details but what are you running in the back chamber for filtration? Definitely would’ve expected a diatom bloom in the last month but it looks super clean actually

 

[rdirtytwo]

T

Wow man this looks great! Apologies if I missed the details but what are you running in the back chamber for filtration? Definitely would’ve expected a diatom bloom in the last month but it looks super clean actually

I appreciate it! All I did was seed the included biomax rings in my 26g for a week and tossed it in the back of this system when I set it up. I did use the foam insert at first but I took it out last week since it's just a detritus trap. There's only the small bag of biomax rings and some filter floss that I change out weekly. I thought I would've had a larger bloom as well! I'm thinking the pods and snails were able to keep up with growth rate of uglies since this tank is so small and there's no predator to eat the pods besides the amphipods (?)

 

[rdirtytwo]

My Goniopora are doing better in a lower light/lower flow environment compared to my mixed SPS reef. I've just been sucking out detritus and refilling with saltwater with a turkey baster everyday to keep it clean.

I haven't had a hair algae bloom, maybe occasionally get diatoms, but the one thing I'm dealing with is bubble algae and tiny bits of bryopsis. Those things must've transferred over during the initial rock transfer.

I'm looking into getting a new nano wavemaker for this pico. The zjsk one I have keeps blinking and turning off intermittently after about a year and a half. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[CD_Scapes]

My Goniopora are doing better in a lower light/lower flow environment compared to my mixed SPS reef. I've just been sucking out detritus and refilling with saltwater with a turkey baster everyday to keep it clean.

I haven't had a hair algae bloom, maybe occasionally get diatoms, but the one thing I'm dealing with is bubble algae and tiny bits of bryopsis. Those things must've transferred over during the initial rock transfer.

I'm looking into getting a new nano wavemaker for this pico. The zjsk one I have keeps blinking and turning off intermittently after about a year and a half. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Hygger makes a mini wave maker and I would also reccomend an Fzone ATO both would be a total of $100 on Amazon if I recall as both sit around the $50 range

 

[rdirtytwo]

Hygger makes a mini wave maker and I would also reccomend an Fzone ATO both would be a total of $100 on Amazon if I recall as both sit around the $50 range

I've actually been looking into that particular wavemaker for 2 of my nano tanks. I have the Fzone ato's for all my tanks as well! I just hate detritus settling in the 5g since I don't have a wavemaker in there at the moment, which is why I was using the turkey baster lol.

 

[rdirtytwo]

I just got home and found my anemone in the final stages of splitting again. This will be the third time since I've had the original piece. I will probably end up trading it in at a LFS for some store credit in the future.

 

[rdirtytwo]

It's been over a month since my last update. Everything's on cruise control. The zebra turbo snail is a bulldozer so I have to fix my rock often. I haven't gotten around to gluing them together and I'm not sure if I want to. I sold the anemone split so now I'm back to just the mother.

My Goniopora are doing so much better here than in my 26g mixed reef. I'm not sure why, as I don't really do anything besides feed the coral once or twice a week. I also do water changes, but haven't done so in 2 weeks. I'm putting 1ml of All For Reef daily. I still need to address the bubble algae.

 

[Tahoe61]

The Goniopora sure are beautiful. On my 6 gallon I am only using 1 ml AFR daily as well.

What do you use to feed the corals?

 

[rdirtytwo]

The Goniopora sure are beautiful. On my 6 gallon I am only using 1 ml AFR daily as well.

What do you use to feed the corals?

One of my favorites, but I've lost 3 other frags of different colors. Do you do anything else for your 6g?

I only feed particulate foods like benereef/reef roids and occasionally put aquavitra fuel. In addition, I usually feed frozen mysis and pellets to the bta.