Tonygt98
New Member
My wife bought me a fluval Spec V for Chrismas and after realizing the limitations on fish, I decided to look into saltwater for a more interesting experience. After tons of research, youtubes and posts here, I decided to go for it (against the advice of many), plus two LFS's had them set up with two clownfish. I thought I would share this for those interested in doing the same.
Set-up: 6 lbs of live rock (really nice)
5 lbs of black live sand
cycled 2 weeks
Clean-up crew added: 2 snails, 5 hermit crabs and 1 cleaner shrimp
1 more week before adding livestock:
2 small ocellaris clownfish
Coral: torch coral
leather coral
hammer torch
waving hands
candy cane coral
acan
acropora
purple mushroom
feather duster (hitch hiker)
Food: Pellets and mysis shrimp
Supplement: Kent marine part A&B
Although the filtration seemed fine, I went with everyone's advice and installed the marineland 606 pump. It was easy and cheap.
I replaced the carbon with chemi-pure elite, and kept the sponge and biomax. I slid a piece of glass between the sponge and inner wall to cover that hole (again as recommended). Neater than silicone.
Small heater placed in the pump compartment.
Digital thermostat.
Lighting: After the constant commenting on how bad the stock light was, I went with a Beamswork 18" reef led. It was cheap and fit perfectly, But It made my tank look ugly. it was too bright, you could see algae all over that you couldn't see before. And it heated the tank to 84. It's a small tank folks, not even a foot high. I went back to the stock light and added a blue led bar i got on ebay for $10. I have them on timers on overlap the blue and finish the day with blue only.
I wanted to keep it simple, the tank and light are sharp. My tank is doing fine without all the extra skimmers and things people are adding on. I get that its a hobby and that's what people do, but I like the clean look of the tank. I have nothing hanging anywhere, even the thermometer is on the inner wall. That's why you buy this tank, for the sleekness, right?
I do a 25% water change and sponge clean weekly. The tank is spotless, the parameters are spot-on. The fish are healthy, happy and fun to watch and the coral are all fine. It's addicting and I plan to add more coral.
Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions.
Set-up: 6 lbs of live rock (really nice)
5 lbs of black live sand
cycled 2 weeks
Clean-up crew added: 2 snails, 5 hermit crabs and 1 cleaner shrimp
1 more week before adding livestock:
2 small ocellaris clownfish
Coral: torch coral
leather coral
hammer torch
waving hands
candy cane coral
acan
acropora
purple mushroom
feather duster (hitch hiker)
Food: Pellets and mysis shrimp
Supplement: Kent marine part A&B
Although the filtration seemed fine, I went with everyone's advice and installed the marineland 606 pump. It was easy and cheap.
I replaced the carbon with chemi-pure elite, and kept the sponge and biomax. I slid a piece of glass between the sponge and inner wall to cover that hole (again as recommended). Neater than silicone.
Small heater placed in the pump compartment.
Digital thermostat.
Lighting: After the constant commenting on how bad the stock light was, I went with a Beamswork 18" reef led. It was cheap and fit perfectly, But It made my tank look ugly. it was too bright, you could see algae all over that you couldn't see before. And it heated the tank to 84. It's a small tank folks, not even a foot high. I went back to the stock light and added a blue led bar i got on ebay for $10. I have them on timers on overlap the blue and finish the day with blue only.
I wanted to keep it simple, the tank and light are sharp. My tank is doing fine without all the extra skimmers and things people are adding on. I get that its a hobby and that's what people do, but I like the clean look of the tank. I have nothing hanging anywhere, even the thermometer is on the inner wall. That's why you buy this tank, for the sleekness, right?
I do a 25% water change and sponge clean weekly. The tank is spotless, the parameters are spot-on. The fish are healthy, happy and fun to watch and the coral are all fine. It's addicting and I plan to add more coral.
Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions.
