Cheffy's Fluval Spec V Build

[OCNcheffy]

Alright here goes nothing! This will be my first ever saltwater tank as I've only ever had freshwater high-tech planted tanks which were very successful. Those eventually got boring as they're pretty much self-sustained at this point. Just looking for a new challenge as i've scored this tank for $40 with the upgraded pump! Thought that was a steal.. Anyhow, here's the build so far!

 

Equipment:

Fluval Spec V

Mini-Jet 606 Upgraded Pump

Hydor Theo 50 Watt Heater (on it's way)

In-Tank media basket (on it's way)

Instant Ocean Reef Crystals

RO/Di water from supplier

 

Lighting:

Current USA Orbit Marine LED 18" fixture (on it's way)

 

Livestock:

"Cured" live rock 7lbs (Not purchased)

Caribsea Sand 5lbs

 

Now a few questions.. Do you guys recommend "cured" live rock? I think they mentioned it was Fiji rock. Also, when my media basket arrives, I was thinking I'd use Purigen and Chemipure together. Is this something I should do? If not, what do you recommend I do for mechanical filtration?

I'll post more pictures as more equipment arrives in the mail.

 

 

 

[aviator300]

Sounds like you're off to a good start. The good thing about the Spec V is that there is so many of them around that there is almost no problem you could run into that someone hasn't already experienced and posted an answer to it.

Now about the cured vs uncured live rock. Cured rock has just sat in the LFS tank for a longer period of time and has fewer hitch hikers because they have died off in the fish stores tank while uncured means it's just fresher, with more life on it. Some folks want more life and some want less of a chance to end up with harmful hitch hikers and use cured rock. Personally, me and many others are turning to dry rock thats never been in the ocean because it's easier to take the time to build your aquascape and absolutelly no life on it. You then put it in your tank and add a bottle of bacteria (sort of like fresh water people do) and let it cycle. This is just my personal choice so research and talk to others on the forum and decide what kind of rock you want.

 

I want to welcome you to the forum and i'll for sure be following along with this one. AVIATOR

 

BTW, if you want an example of a build using dry rock, check out my build thread in the "members aquariums" sub forum called "Aviators flight log. PicO 5 gal"

[OCNcheffy]

Sounds like you're off to a good start. The good thing about the Spec V is that there is so many of them around that there is almost no problem you could run into that someone hasn't already experienced and posted an answer to it.

Now about the cured vs uncured live rock. Cured rock has just sat in the LFS tank for a longer period of time and has fewer hitch hikers because they have died off in the fish stores tank while uncured means it's just fresher, with more life on it. Some folks want more life and some want less of a chance to end up with harmful hitch hikers and use cured rock. Personally, me and many others are turning to dry rock thats never been in the ocean because it's easier to take the time to build your aquascape and absolutelly no life on it. You then put it in your tank and add a bottle of bacteria (sort of like fresh water people do) and let it cycle. This is just my personal choice so research and talk to others on the forum and decide what kind of rock you want.

 

I want to welcome you to the forum and i'll for sure be following along with this one. AVIATOR

 

BTW, if you want an example of a build using dry rock, check out my build thread in the "members aquariums" sub forum called "Aviators flight log. PicO 5 gal"

Thanks for the info! I'll see what my lfs has when it's time to go pick up live rock as I wouldn't mind the live rock actually initiating the cycle as well. Do you recommend using Purigen and Chemipure during the cycle? Or would that impede it's progress as I know i'm not supposed to change the water until the cycle is complete.

[Kijho]

Welcome to the Spec V world ~ may the odds be ever in your favor.

[ETucc]

Thanks for the info! I'll see what my lfs has when it's time to go pick up live rock as I wouldn't mind the live rock actually initiating the cycle as well. Do you recommend using Purigen and Chemipure during the cycle? Or would that impede it's progress as I know i'm not supposed to change the water until the cycle is complete.

 

Some people have used Purigen and CPE during their cycle (me ) and others haven't. I don't think it matters that much in a tank this small, honestly.

 

I cycled in less than a week. My rock was fully cured and was probably sitting at the LFS for months in their tanks. (They don't sell a lot of LR.) It most likely had minimal die-off.

 

It's up to you! I'd say just put some Filter Floss in there and wait til the cycle is over to put the Purigen and CPE in. It'll give you a little extra life on your filter media. If there's no inhabitants and you're changing the water anyway, who cares how disgusting it gets?

 

Good luck and welcome to the club!

[ninjamyst]

Welcome to the Spec V club. Looks like you are off to a good start.

 

• The bottom of this article has a good section on cured vs uncured: http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/_/livestock/live-rock-selection-r12 . The choice is up to you but I like dry rock so I have more control over what pests go into the tank.
• Cycling with CPE and Purigen is not necessary.
• Spec V is a great tank and you will have lots of fun with it.

[Kijho]

My biggest regret right now is getting my rocks from the LFS. They were way too expensive, and came full of pests. (Aiptasia, algae's, brittle worms etc.) Although they aren't "deadly" so to speak - they're a pain in the rear to manage.

 

My next tank I will definitly be going with a dry rock... so much easier to just plaster in corals versus a rock with aiptasia that might sprout up beneath the corals

[OCNcheffy]

My biggest regret right now is getting my rocks from the LFS. They were way too expensive, and came full of pests. (Aiptasia, algae's, brittle worms etc.) Although they aren't "deadly" so to speak - they're a pain in the rear to manage.

 

My next tank I will definitly be going with a dry rock... so much easier to just plaster in corals versus a rock with aiptasia that might sprout up beneath the corals

Dry rock takes a lot longer to become "live", correct? Also, it wouldn't start the cycle in a tank either since it's "dead". Would I just use a piece of table shrimp or some form of cycle liquid to get it going with dry rock? Also, I only have 5lbs of sand at the moment. Do you recommend more?

[rawlins06]

My tank has been cycling for two weeks so far and looks great still. I'm running purigen and chemi pur. I have about 7lbs live sand and a little over 5lbs live precured rock. Only hitchhiker I've seen so far is a spaghetti worm.

[aviator300]

Dry rock takes a lot longer to become "live", correct? Also, it wouldn't start the cycle in a tank either since it's "dead". Would I just use a piece of table shrimp or some form of cycle liquid to get it going with dry rock? Also, I only have 5lbs of sand at the moment. Do you recommend more?

Yes, dry rock does take longer to cycle and that question is a common bond that most new reef keepers have. They all want Quick, Quick, Quick but believe me, slow is better. You will most likely have that tank for a long time and you're building a self sustained Reef community.

Build it slow and deliberate and if you want live rock, get it because you want live rock and not because it cycles "Quicker"

[OCNcheffy]

Lights should be here tomorrow! So excited to test them out! Sounds like i'd prefer dry rock from what you guys are saying.. The last thing I want to deal with is unwanted pests and I think it would be kinda cool to turn your dry rock into "live" again from scratch.

Another question for the cycle, do you recommend I leave my lights on for a full photo period? Or should I just keep them off for a few weeks during the cycle?

Thanks again

[Kijho]

Lights should be here tomorrow! So excited to test them out! Sounds like i'd prefer dry rock from what you guys are saying.. The last thing I want to deal with is unwanted pests and I think it would be kinda cool to turn your dry rock into "live" again from scratch.

 

Another question for the cycle, do you recommend I leave my lights on for a full photo period? Or should I just keep them off for a few weeks during the cycle?

 

Thanks again

Don't think it's a big deal if it's on or off! I'd put it on.. for fun. haha. Hows the cycle coming, are you testing? Post up some cycle progress and numbers!

[OCNcheffy]

Don't think it's a big deal if it's on or off! I'd put it on.. for fun. haha. Hows the cycle coming, are you testing? Post up some cycle progress and numbers!Ok

 

 

Alright good to know! I'm still waiting on my refractometer, heater, and pump to mix the saltwater, which should all be here on friday. I'll post setup pics this weekend as long as everything is delivered.

[OCNcheffy]

Alright guys, got my first dry rock today! Here's a scape I plan on putting together not including the sand. Tell me what you think, open to suggestions too. Do you guys think it's too much rock? I'm thinking i'll remove the piece of rock sitting on top the flat piece in the pick on the right.

 

One

 

 

Two:

 

 

Three

 

 

 

[rawlins06]

If the light is on a lot during cycle you may get a lot of algae as algae love nitrate.

[lecroj]

I like the rocks.

Now throw some live sand and water in there!

As far as cycling, I let the rock sit in the water for three or four days and added a couple of hermit crabs. They cycled it the rest of the way.

[OCNcheffy]

I like the rocks.

Now throw some live sand and water in there!

As far as cycling, I let the rock sit in the water for three or four days and added a couple of hermit crabs. They cycled it the rest of the way.

Just waiting on my hydrometer and heater, should be tomorrow!

[OCNcheffy]

Question about mixing saltwater.. Is it important to have the water heated to 79 degrees before adding salt? I only have the one heater at the moment and that's in the tank. I can estimate through the tap on the temperature but it'll take hours to mix and therefore cool down.. Will the refractometer show an incorrect reading if it's not 79 degrees? Or is this just purely because you want it to match your tank water temperature before adding potentially colder water?

[ninjamyst]

Are you using tap water? If so, it will cause issues.

 

My heater for mixing water broke for awhile, and I just take the heater from my tank and use it to heat up the salt + RODI in a bucket. You want to match water temperature to not stress out the livestocks in your tank.

[OCNcheffy]

Are you using tap water? If so, it will cause issues.

 

My heater for mixing water broke for awhile, and I just take the heater from my tank and use it to heat up the salt + RODI in a bucket. You want to match water temperature to not stress out the livestocks in your tank.

Yeah maybe i'll just do that then, steal the heater just before I plan on doing a water change. Eventually I'll get a second heater. Also, I use distilled water from our local "Canadian Tire". Its about $1.50 for 5 gallons.

[cju84]

I kinda like the rock on the left paired with the smaller rock on the right. Keep the left exactly where it is and place the smaller rock on the right just flat, in the sand. Then again, I hate my aquascape so what do I know lol.

[ninjamyst]

Yeah maybe i'll just do that then, steal the heater just before I plan on doing a water change. Eventually I'll get a second heater. Also, I use distilled water from our local "Canadian Tire". Its about $1.50 for 5 gallons.

 

Yea, I just bought the cheapest 150w heater I can find on amazon for mixing water. It was like $15.

[rawlins06]

I believe most refractometers work best with the water temp at 77°f. I'd google the manual for yours if you don't have it.

[lecroj]

My 2 cents worth because this is what I do and I am much happier than when I used to use my own mixed water.

Just get PetCo seawater in the 5 gallon boxes for $12.

Since you are probably only going to change 4 gallons a month on this thing, its one box per month.

Just drain the water and dump it in. Done.

Don't need a heater, mixer, refractometer or anything else.

I add Kent Marine nano reef A and B at 4x the recommended dosing to get the calcium levels up (main benefit from high end salts are that they have very high calcium and mineral levels vs sea water).

[OCNcheffy]

My 2 cents worth because this is what I do and I am much happier than when I used to use my own mixed water.

Just get PetCo seawater in the 5 gallon boxes for $12.

Since you are probably only going to change 4 gallons a month on this thing, its one box per month.

Just drain the water and dump it in. Done.

Don't need a heater, mixer, refractometer or anything else.

I add Kent Marine nano reef A and B at 4x the recommended dosing to get the calcium levels up (main benefit from high end salts are that they have very high calcium and mineral levels vs sea water).

I wish it could be that easy, but there are no places that sell pre-mixed saltwater here in Canada, Manitoba. It's pretty difficult getting into this hobby in the city since there are only 3 LFS stores that are very overpriced and don't have the greatest product for saltwater as they deal with mostly fresh. I've had much success on my local reef forum. Lots of livestock on there as well!