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Kijho's Fluval Spec V - Retired (almost)


Kijho

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So earlier my ammonia was up around 0.25 - and then dropped and I'm pretty certain it's down at 0. I checked the past 2 days and it's still at 0. I'm getting GHA on one of my rocks though, I want it gone. Also, things seem to be active. There's some little worm living inside one of the rocks, and some bacteria's growing on the glass.

 

Last night I picked up some brine shrimp fish food from the LFS! Added one of the squares to the tank and it kind of made things a bit messy. Cleared up overnight though and this morning I checked ammonia only and it's still at 0!!

 

Going to check again tonight. Could it possibly be that I've had the shortest and smallest cycle ever? (Perhaps becuase I bought premixed RO/DI SW, cured live rock etc.)

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So earlier my ammonia was up around 0.25 - and then dropped and I'm pretty certain it's down at 0. I checked the past 2 days and it's still at 0. I'm getting GHA on one of my rocks though, I want it gone. Also, things seem to be active. There's some little worm living inside one of the rocks, and some bacteria's growing on the glass.

 

Last night I picked up some brine shrimp fish food from the LFS! Added one of the squares to the tank and it kind of made things a bit messy. Cleared up overnight though and this morning I checked ammonia only and it's still at 0!!

 

Going to check again tonight. Could it possibly be that I've had the shortest and smallest cycle ever? (Perhaps becuase I bought premixed RO/DI SW, cured live rock etc.)

 

Algae and diatom (the "bacteria" on the glass") are pretty good signs things have progressed.

 

If the ammonia stays at zero after your brine dump, you should venture out and get a snail or two to clean up the diatoms. Turbo snails should munch up the GHA.

 

Looking forward to seeing how it goes for you...remember, only bad things happen fast in this hobby!

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Thanks for the response and comments guy.

 

I'm going to go home and test to see what ammonia is at - if it's alright I may go pick up a snail or two to start with!

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I tested ammonia again last night when I got home, still sitting down there at 0.

So I went out and bought this trochus snail..

 

13550706693_28c75b413d_c.jpg

 

Acclimated him and now he's in there.. he's the least bit shy. Going all over the glass, around the tank, he's everywhere. Woke up and all these little specks of stuff on the inside of my glass was literally gone. Makes me think why the LFS would suggest 10-12 CUC members.. I feel they would starve since this one guy alone is doing a good job...

 

I'm going to continue to monitor levels tonight, and may pick up a Turbo snail to take care of some of the GHA I have you can see in the bottom right of the picture.

 

Also I found a microbrittle starfish last night.. not sure if he's good or gonna be a problem but he's tucked away under the rocks now this morning.

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I would stick with the trochus in this size tank. Those are awesome snails that are often difficult to find because they ship poorly. The turbos need a ton of food to stay alive long term and the're little mobile wrecking balls.

 

Micro brittle and asterina stars are usually totally fine.

 

I'm totally with you on the excessive snail cleanup crew. I don't have any snails anymore except a fighting conch in my main tank, and I think I have less problems this way. Especially in this size tank, even a small snail dying contributes a lot of nutrients to the tank.

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Thanks Jestep,

 

Do you have any other recommendations to help eat the GHA I have growing on the right side of the tank? You can see it in some othe pics actually. I don't want it getting out of hand...

 

What about crabs? I watched some videos showing how good Trochus's do against crabs with their self-defense spin haha!

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Added 2 more Trochus snails last night. These are pink/purple/green this time. (My 1st snail was a nice pink & purple.)

 

When I got home last night I found my first Trochus snail stuck upside down on the rock beneath the "bridge" of my scape.

He was there for 2 hours when I got home while I made dinner, I was afraid to bring my new snails in the tank since I was worried he was dead.

 

So I tested parameters, everything is still perfect!!

 

I added the 2 new snails, and went out for the evening.

When I got home ... the 3 of them were hauling ass everywhere going on every rock, glass, hydrometer, they were in the sand. It was literally a snail take-over. They seem now to be doing fantastic and they're all on the rock which I'm glad. I hope they make it look really nice!!

 

Will be doing some more parameter testing tonight, and possibly adding more shrimp to see if levels change.

Also thinking of adding some dried up seaweed for the snails, they have cleaned so much up I'm worried they could starve.

 

Will post some good update pics tonight!!

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Sounds like it is going well. What are your near-term stocking plans?

 

Snails CAN starve, so I think that since your cycle seems to be complete and biofilter established, slowly introducing some livestock and starting to feed as appropriate is a good idea.

 

Good luck!

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My goal is to have 2 clownfish in there. I believe they're the "false" tank-bred clowns. All I know is that they're alot smaller than the actual clowns .. and only a quarter of the price from my LFS. Still have research to do on this!

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Day # 11

 

So here we are day # 11. I've got 3 Trochus snails running rampant inside my tank right now. They're feasting on everything.. taking little breaks/ naps every so often. I really like them actually.

 

My two snails:

1072485_10152336227855309_1885148286_o.j

 

FTS, Day # 11:

1980025_10152336227725309_486905358_o.jp

 

1920952_10152336227700309_1618888133_o.j

 

Water Temp. 77-78*F

Salinity: 1.024

pH: 8.0 - 8.4 (I'm not 100% sure on this, see my above test results)

Ammonia: 0 (I believe)

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

 

Still using the stock light, but in the coming weeks I may be upgrading to a nice LED!

 

Good signs? Bad signs? Anybody have any thoughts on my progress so far? I feel like I've skipped so much time considering the progress threads of many others with bigger tanks..

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Thanks mate! I'm not sure really what to do next haha. My snails might be running out of food to eat, my tank looks pretty clean now!

 

I think I might do some media change. Purigen & floss ?? Thoughts?

 

I don't even feel all that trusting in my cycle... but my snails are doing great so is that a good sign?

 

For future reference, this is the light I'm looking at: http://lightboxleds.com/

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I would start small...are you looking at inverts? A small fish OTHER than clowns? Two clowns will be a HUGE bioload for such a small tank.

 

I have the InTank media basket and use floss, CPE, and purigen in that order, top to bottom.

 

Light looks good to me, but no experience/knowledge of that brand.

 

Add stuff slowly, start feeding cautiously, and see how it goes!

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I want two clowns ideally ~ would putting a small goby in now, plus adding two clowns in later be difficult?

Someone on here has quite a few fish in a Spec V! I'm not sure how they've pulled it off, but they all seem to be doing super good. 2 Clowns, and a mandarin I think! I'd love one mandarin really.. such a neat fish.

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ummm...do yourself a favor and look up as much information on Mandarins as you can here. My first reaction is you would just be killing the fish. Even if you have them trained to eat prepared foods, it is going to be VERY difficult if not impossible to keep in such a small tank, and they get pretty big. LOTS of info on NR about them.

 

Also think a pair of clowns is too much. Would get ONE, the smallest species you can find after diligent research.

 

Small goby would be a great starter fish. Make sure you see them eat before you buy!

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Maybe I'll find a tiny Goby tonight and introduce him! Worst case is I get an ammonia spike, but I'll be home all weekend now and can do good water changes if required. Have the SW mixed with heater and such.

 

Is there such thing as an "easy" coral? Are there any corals out there that don't need specific lighting ? I don't think I'll have my LED's for another week or so...

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I would probably wait until you get the light in case something happens and you can't get it on there as soon as you wanted. But most coral are totally fine without light for a few days, just make sure to start the LED's off low and increase the intensity over a few weeks to prevent bleaching.

 

Easy for me would be ricordea florida, discosoma and other mushroom corals, most zoas and palys, most LPS like branching hammers, frogspawns, torches, acans and favia,, caulastrea, duncans.

 

They're easy but I wouldn't suggest any tree corals, xenia, sympodium, GSP, or other fast growing coral unless you are absolutely sure you want them in the tank.Especially with the xenia and sympodium, once it gets established it's probably impossible to get rid of it.

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I'm gonna go find a little goby tonight after work!

 

In terms of light intesnisty - how does one slowly increase this? Based on the link I posted above, I don't believe I can control the intensity.. unless I found a dimmer or something that can go on the powerbar? Or perhaps I could just have the light up higher from the water level and slowly bring it down closer.

 

Can't wait for things to progress here! Feels like I'm moving quicker than most do though... :(

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I would start small...are you looking at inverts? A small fish OTHER than clowns? Two clowns will be a HUGE bioload for such a small tank.

 

I have the InTank media basket and use floss, CPE, and purigen in that order, top to bottom.

 

Light looks good to me, but no experience/knowledge of that brand.

 

Add stuff slowly, start feeding cautiously, and see how it goes!

This and again this.

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Going to pick up a Goby in about an hour! I just did all my testing here before I head out to the LFS (Wanted to be sure everything is good before putting him in!)

 

Temp: 78*F

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 0ppm

Sg: 1.024

 

I just finished modifying my tank lid as well! Previously I just had the lid sitting slightly off the edge.. of course I didn't like it that way but the heater didn't fit. I have access to the dial now which is perfect.

 

Here's how I had it originally:

135269_10152318409915309_1049790872_o.jp

 

The modification...

1956713_10152339509440309_90571100517788

Day 12:

1960872_10152339513605309_88626379022126

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Looking good so far ! I love your rockwork

lmk what direction you decided to take when you pick out your lights :)

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SchnauzerFace

What kind of goby did you get? Some of them like to jump out of tanks, so you may need to cover the top in some way.

 

Also, in a tank that size, I'd strongly encourage just one fish.

 

Your setup looks really nice!

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Orange spotted Goby!!! He's in! He's moving around all over and seems very happy.

Acclimated him in the tank to temperature and using the drip method.

 

13653916005_97e9dc1a99_c.jpg

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