Brickster
Fri, 5th Apr 2013, 05:35 PM
I really liked these little Spec 5 gallon tanks from the moment I saw them. The shape has some real limitations, but boy does it do it with style! In the same week I found a cheap spec with a bad light, and an 18" single bright Marineland LED on super-clearance. Turns out that Marineland bar fits the display like a glove. In the spirit of fixing a Ford with Chevy parts, I added a Marineland 404 return pump and a Tetra HT10 heater. I added some Mopar weirdness too with a Coralife fuge light stuck to the back. The pump, heater and light were all left over from a 2.5g nano I got tired of taking care of, glad to see them back in use. For being a mashup of parts, everything fits together like OEM once you pry off the old LED mount.
The filter section has been repurposed. The foam block was cut way down, but retained to protect the pump intake. A little rubble forms a base, and cheato will live in the rest. Warm colored home depot bulbs were fitted to the fuge light, and it runs at night. I'm hoping this will help stabilize pH, and maximize pod growth. I have heard of people using the 606 pump as returns on these too, but it could be overkill. You have to remove the front and back covers to fit it, and that seems to remove a big restriction. Fluval put a clever twisted profile on the return that makes for lots of surface agitation, and the water tumbles all the way to the far end. I have seen people plug up the lower hole on the weir to 'improve' the overflow, but I don't recommend that. It sits in the most stagnant spot of the tank, and is the only flow you get by the base of the wall.
So here it is!
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/A2BC112D-F844-437E-9096-CEF582404F66-729-000001324E4BF066_zpsd8204fa5.jpg
Just started with only the stuff I brought over from the 40B
...And after a quick trip to town :)
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/25DBA778-8B36-47E0-9A90-C9C821ABE3DB-1030-000001539257BF3E_zps43ab0308.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/1E0750EB-857C-4158-9E55-B491F786FF0C-1030-000001546DF2DC2F_zpsf6db1451.jpg
Everybody still waking up. Not sure what the stringy thing is at right. That rock is from the 40 and its been growing steadily for a month. Getting fuzzy and purple. Leather should make a nice home for any fish small enough to live in here.
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/C0F5B8F7-FCE4-4E1C-A98F-8D6735E8DA0E-1030-00000154B3684EB3_zpsba321be8.jpg
Luckiest. shrimp. ever. Sucks to go into a spankin new nano, awesome to get out of the tank with the mantis. Stay alive for two months, win your freedom. So says the law of thunderdome. Poor things were so eager to leave I didn't need a net. They rode more or less willingly out by hand from one tank to the other.
I just like this picture.
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/22EBD229-F3BE-4163-8910-827EFD0E52A8-1030-0000014EBEA1E262_zpsc79303a1.jpg
No firm plans for livestock yet. The peppermint shrimp may even get yanked depending on what I decide. The tiny grassbed is practically begging to be a species tank for something small and strange. The layout will remain very open, with the macro being allowed to fill the tall, skinny space. Could be a lot of fun, could be a hot mess. Maybe both. Here goes nothin!
The filter section has been repurposed. The foam block was cut way down, but retained to protect the pump intake. A little rubble forms a base, and cheato will live in the rest. Warm colored home depot bulbs were fitted to the fuge light, and it runs at night. I'm hoping this will help stabilize pH, and maximize pod growth. I have heard of people using the 606 pump as returns on these too, but it could be overkill. You have to remove the front and back covers to fit it, and that seems to remove a big restriction. Fluval put a clever twisted profile on the return that makes for lots of surface agitation, and the water tumbles all the way to the far end. I have seen people plug up the lower hole on the weir to 'improve' the overflow, but I don't recommend that. It sits in the most stagnant spot of the tank, and is the only flow you get by the base of the wall.
So here it is!
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/A2BC112D-F844-437E-9096-CEF582404F66-729-000001324E4BF066_zpsd8204fa5.jpg
Just started with only the stuff I brought over from the 40B
...And after a quick trip to town :)
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/25DBA778-8B36-47E0-9A90-C9C821ABE3DB-1030-000001539257BF3E_zps43ab0308.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/1E0750EB-857C-4158-9E55-B491F786FF0C-1030-000001546DF2DC2F_zpsf6db1451.jpg
Everybody still waking up. Not sure what the stringy thing is at right. That rock is from the 40 and its been growing steadily for a month. Getting fuzzy and purple. Leather should make a nice home for any fish small enough to live in here.
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/C0F5B8F7-FCE4-4E1C-A98F-8D6735E8DA0E-1030-00000154B3684EB3_zpsba321be8.jpg
Luckiest. shrimp. ever. Sucks to go into a spankin new nano, awesome to get out of the tank with the mantis. Stay alive for two months, win your freedom. So says the law of thunderdome. Poor things were so eager to leave I didn't need a net. They rode more or less willingly out by hand from one tank to the other.
I just like this picture.
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o27/prodigal_son_photo/Spec%20Nano/22EBD229-F3BE-4163-8910-827EFD0E52A8-1030-0000014EBEA1E262_zpsc79303a1.jpg
No firm plans for livestock yet. The peppermint shrimp may even get yanked depending on what I decide. The tiny grassbed is practically begging to be a species tank for something small and strange. The layout will remain very open, with the macro being allowed to fill the tall, skinny space. Could be a lot of fun, could be a hot mess. Maybe both. Here goes nothin!