Fluval Spec V Aquascape Tips + Advice?

Hey there guys! I recently purchased my first 5 gallon aquarium. I own a 25g and I help manage my mother's 150g, but I've never worked with an aquarium so small. I'm finding it particularly difficult to create depth, especially in a 'long' aquarium, that has a very short width. I need tips for making the aquarium appear larger! Any plant recomendations are greatly appreciated, and any photo references of other people's Fluval Spec V aquascapes are very much WELCOMED. If anybody has expierence with what plants do well and which don't under the light provided by the Fluval Spec V, please PLEASE let me know! Thank you in advice for any advice you can give me!

Edit. Just to let you know, I will be dosing Flourish Tabs, Flourish, and Flourish Excel for plants, it's really the light quality that I am concerned about.

 

What fish are you planning on keeping? There are some “modifications” you may have to make depending on what your stock is. Regardless of what the stock is though I would put a screen over the bottom half of your filter sponge to cover the small intake slit near the bottom of the tank. I’ve had a large mystery snail get his entire body sucked up in that little intake, as well as an ember tetra. The snail passed away and the tetra lived.

My set up isn’t good enough to post pictures of because it is in dire need of rescaping and stocking. But I would suggest having a deeper layer of substrate towards the front of the tank and less deep towards the back (where the filtration is) to give the illusion that the tank is bigger than it is. Planting the deeper substrate side more densely will also add to that illusion, leaving the back towards the filter more open.

I’ve found that a lot of plants do really well with the lighting provided, it’s much better than the older Spec V lighting. Amazon sword, rosette sword, java fern, and anubias all do great. Dwarf hair grass may even be a really good option for the back/more open space.

I’ve included some pictures of how I have the screen placed in my filter to cover that intake slit.

 

Low tech/light plants do just great in them (Spec 3 and 5). Swords, mosses, etc. Hair mostly dies and you get a couple struggling sprigs. My wife's 5 has done a lot of duty as grow out for smaller swords.
Something to keep in mind is that WHEN the pump goes out to first check the output for snails they like to plug that up. When that doesn't fix it there are ~8$ pumps on Amazon which are as good or better than the 25$? 35$ fluval replacement piece.
When the light dies/dims there are also cheap Amazon replacements (I think most of my 3s are running 6-8$ lights now) for the 45$? Fluval replacement piece. For high tech plants and reef Fluval does or used to sell a 140-160$ replacement light for the 3s so I'd guess they have one for 5s (though I'd go for something cheaper off Amazon).
Hydor 25w heaters fit nicely in the filter if its room will be colder than the fish like.

I like foam in front of the biomedia in the filter in for the lower intake and foam in front of the top intake to save baby shrimp and to keep snails out.

 

What fish are you planning on keeping? There are some “modifications” you may have to make depending on what your stock is. Regardless of what the stock is though I would put a screen over the bottom half of your filter sponge to cover the small intake slit near the bottom of the tank. I’ve had a large mystery snail get his entire body sucked up in that little intake, as well as an ember tetra. The snail passed away and the tetra lived.

My set up isn’t good enough to post pictures of because it is in dire need of rescaping and stocking. But I would suggest having a deeper layer of substrate towards the front of the tank and less deep towards the back (where the filtration is) to give the illusion that the tank is bigger than it is. Planting the deeper substrate side more densely will also add to that illusion, leaving the back towards the filter more open.

I’ve found that a lot of plants do really well with the lighting provided, it’s much better than the older Spec V lighting. Amazon sword, rosette sword, java fern, and anubias all do great. Dwarf hair grass may even be a really good option for the back/more open space.

I’ve included some pictures of how I have the screen placed in my filter to cover that intake slit.

I’m going to be getting a Betta, and maybe some nerites. I’ve got a nerite in the tank currently with some platy juveniles to keep the cycle going while I search for the perfect betta. The intake hasn’t bothered the nerite so far, so I’m not super concerned, I think that tiny intake is larger on some of the other tanks I’ve seen.

I currently have deeper substrate on the side with the filter, but I can swap sides and see how it looks? I’m worried about what plants to use too, because most Anubias and crypts and “easy” plants are rather large for the space available in there, and I find it makes the aquarium look smaller. I’d love to try some kind of small carpeting plant, but I don’t think with that light it’ll work out.

I’m starting it out with some java fern, Christmas moss, java moss, tortal Val, crypts, water lettuce and frogbit to see how they do. It looks like the java fern is doing better under this light than it was in my highlight tank.

 

Low tech/light plants do just great in them (Spec 3 and 5). Swords, mosses, etc. Hair mostly dies and you get a couple struggling sprigs. My wife's 5 has done a lot of duty as grow out for smaller swords.
Something to keep in mind is that WHEN the pump goes out to first check the output for snails they like to plug that up. When that doesn't fix it there are ~8$ pumps on Amazon which are as good or better than the 25$? 35$ fluval replacement piece.
When the light dies/dims there are also cheap Amazon replacements (I think most of my 3s are running 6-8$ lights now) for the 45$? Fluval replacement piece. For high tech plants and reef Fluval does or used to sell a 140-160$ replacement light for the 3s so I'd guess they have one for 5s (though I'd go for something cheaper off Amazon).
Hydor 25w heaters fit nicely in the filter if its room will be colder than the fish like.

I like foam in front of the biomedia in the filter in for the lower intake and foam in front of the top intake to save baby shrimp and to keep snails out.

Awesome, thank you for the response. I haven't had much luck with swords in any of my tanks, I think maybe I need softer water for them to succeed, but I could try them. Thank you for the tip on the snails, I have seen one or two pond snails in there, really hoping I cut that at the bud and that it doesn't turn into a problem. I'm thinking if the light goes out I'll get a better quality one that I know will last me a while, I'm a medium light-high light fan. I appreciate the modification advice as well, thank you!

 

The Specs all run Ecocomplete as their substrate which is a dark magic when it comes to growing plants.

 

The Specs all run Ecocomplete as their substrate which is a dark magic when it comes to growing plants.

How do you mean? My spec didn't come with substrate.

 

Ecocomplete is a brand you buy in a bag.
It is designed for growing plants and unlike other substrates you do not wash it before adding it to the tank.

 

Ecocomplete is a brand you buy in a bag.
It is designed for growing plants and unlike other substrates you do not wash it before adding it to the tank.

Oh, I thought you were implying the Ecocomplete came with your Fluval Spec 5.

 

I sloped my substrate back-to-front (~2" to ~1") and my hardscape has a definite dimensionality to it that lends to a feeling of depth in that it has a back edge and a front edge with an archway that connects them and plants that separate the "back" and "front." It's much more heavily planted than in this photo but here it is



I have indian water sprite in the back right corner now and green cabomba in the back left and it looks even better than this since it's all grown in.

The background is also slightly washed out by the bright light since it's also white which lends to the rock looking like it's receding into the distance.

 

I sloped my substrate back-to-front (~2" to ~1") and my hardscape has a definite dimensionality to it that lends to a feeling of depth in that it has a back edge and a front edge with an archway that connects them and plants that separate the "back" and "front." It's much more heavily planted than in this photo but here it is

View attachment 630042
I have indian water sprite in the back right corner now and green cabomba in the back left and it looks even better than this since it's all grown in.

The background is also slightly washed out by the bright light since it's also white which lends to the rock looking like it's receding into the distance.

Wow, gorgeous tank! And those are all going on the original light that came with the tank?

 

Wow, gorgeous tank! And those are all going on the original light that came with the tank?

Yes, it has never occurred to me to change the light; it works great for me.

 

Yes, it has never occurred to me to change the light; it works great for me.

Is the red plant in the forefront there ludwigia? Does your betta ever try to pick on your nerite? And may I ask, what kind of betta do you have there? It looks like a half-moon plakat?

 

Hey, I have those red plants growing in a cory machine.
No idea what they are. They were cheap and pretty.

 

Hey, I have those red plants growing in a cory machine.
No idea what they are. They were cheap and pretty.

If you discover the name, please let me know

 

Is the red plant in the forefront there ludwigia?

The red plant is Alternanthera ReckiI 'Mini' I got as a Tropica 1-2 Grow cup. One of my favorite plants, it's doing really well in my tank.

Does your betta ever try to pick on your nerite?

Seeing as how my nerite committed suicide by climbing out of the tank and then falling to the floor, no my betta doesn't pick on him. Before this sad event, though, I don't even think he knew the nerite was there. I would say, though, that having the betta and the nerite was too much for this little tank, it's much more stable now with just the betta and MTS.

And may I ask, what kind of betta do you have there? It looks like a half-moon plakat?

He was only labeled a Dumbo but he looks like a Dumbo Halfmoon Plakat. I also have a Doubletail Mustardgas Plakat.

 

The red plant is Alternanthera ReckiI 'Mini' I got as a Tropica 1-2 Grow cup. One of my favorite plants, it's doing really well in my tank.



Seeing as how my nerite committed suicide by climbing out of the tank and then falling to the floor, no my betta doesn't pick on him. Before this sad event, though, I don't even think he knew the nerite was there. I would say, though, that having the betta and the nerite was too much for this little tank, it's much more stable now with just the betta and MTS.



He was only labeled a Dumbo but he looks like a Dumbo Halfmoon Plakat. I also have a Doubletail Mustardgas Plakat.

Thank you for the reply! Ill have to phone my LFS and ask if they have any Alternanthera Reckii, I know they get some plants as tropica grow cups, maybe I'll be lucky? Awe, sorry about the nerite! I have 4 nerites that refuse to leave the water, and 2 that are CONSTANTLY trying to escape lol. Wow, **** I wish. All they have at my LFS are super deltas! I really want plakats, there is a lot less worry over their fins being damaged and they are more active.

 

Rachel O'Leary did a great set up with her SpecV. She's added to it a bit since this 2018 video but you'd have to search her videos to see what else (always entertaining and educational) She lists the plants that did well. HTH

 

Rachel O'Leary did a great set up with her SpecV. She's added to it a bit since this 2018 video but you'd have to search her videos to see what else (always entertaining and educational) She lists the plants that did well. HTH

I love Rachel O'Leary, but I didn't know she had done a video with a Fluval Spec V, thank you for the link!