Fluval Spec, 2 Gallons Total

Since i broke my 2.5 gallon I decided to try one of these little all in one picos.

K This tank is great but some things really bugged me. I don't like the lower intake so i covered mine up with a piece of acrylic and glued it in place. Secondly the surface skimmer section i feel is way too big so i covered most of it up so my water level can be higher, also done with acrylic(painted black). Third the return pump is too gutless so i replaced it with the minijet 404 which is 2.5x more flow than the stock pump. Also I wanted to use that large sponge that comes with it but only half of it so i chopped it in half and I may put chaeto down in the bottom of the first chamber below the sponge.

Here are some pics of my finished rockwork. I also put 3 mangroves in the back held in place by the sponge.

Very cool. What kind of light is that? Also, I'm a little confused about putting the chaeto below the sponge, how does it get light?

ohhh nice rock putty there Shawn wooohooo!!! Build thread

Thanks Joanne

All the glass in the back of the Spec is sandblasted but still transparent so light can still get in it just fine, I'd just have to put a magnet algae scraper in there. The light is a 12w par38 bulb that is dimmable with remote control.

this bulb > Dimmable PAR38 W+B LED Aquarium Reef Corals Grow Light | eBay

Cool beans, this is the same kinda of tank I have - the desktop!! It's a nifty and fun lil 2 gallon, isn't it? ^_^

I agree - - very nifty tank there shawn! I really like the rockwork.......what livestock are you planning on putting in the tank? .......nice modifications too - how are they working for you?

that looks great! I love the rock work.

Thanks all, I do love the little tank once the rock work was done. Its pretty difficult to scape such a small tank.

All the mods are working perfectly so far the surface skimmer is finally doing a great job and the return pump gives me great surface agitation which looks awesome with the LEDs.

The Mangroves should give me plenty of nutrient export so i may or may not put chaeto in.

I have a tiny Eviota Goby that will be going in here, he is currently in my 40 breeder and terrified of all the big fish. I also plan on adding 2 or 3 sexy anemone shrimp. For corals it will be LPS and Zoanthids mostly, maybe a birdsnest. I love SPS but I think it would overtake this tank too fast.

Originally Posted by LadyOfIreland

Cool beans, this is the same kinda of tank I have - the desktop!! It's a nifty and fun lil 2 gallon, isn't it? ^_^

Yep your tank was the one that finally made me decide to get one. I had been thinking about it for awhile.

Originally Posted by mgdmirage

Yep your tank was the one that finally made me decide to get one. I had been thinking about it for awhile.

Yay! Glad I persuaded you through my awesome tank I'm really excited to see yours progress! And your sexy's will love it. I had a few in mine before the nuke and they were quite content.

$65 for a par 38? That is an awesome price! Sweet set up. What type of mangroves do you have? What stage are they at? (roots? leaves? bare propagule?) Love the rock structure you built. cant wait to see this full of life.

Originally Posted by Variko

$65 for a par 38? That is an awesome price! Sweet set up. What type of mangroves do you have? What stage are they at? (roots? leaves? bare propagule?) Love the rock structure you built. cant wait to see this full of life.

They are just now getting roots on some of them.. Man educate me on mangroves I was lost with half of what you said lol. I ordered 15 from reefcleaners. I'm just hoping they all make it the rest are in my 40 breeder sump.

If you got them from reefcleaners you have red mangroves. Which is good because they are easier. If they are dropping roots they are healthy. Not much to them. They dont need anything as far as lighting until the leaves show up. Which will be in a few months. Mine were bare propagules in July, and a few are starting to grow leaves just now. I have 50 in a 10 gallon tank w/ guppies. They do filter the water, but I would still put chaeto in your sump for additional nutrient removal. Chaeto removes stuff faster than mangroves. I love the way they look, and I cant wait until they are huge with fish swimming through the roots.

Wow 50 lol nice. It would be awesome to see an intricate root system with fish weaving in and out.

Yeah I'll probably drop some chaeto in there too.

So I got my ATO finished and installed and it works great.

Here are some pics of it:









And I was bored and decided to try and build a Glazer style skimmer.

Here is what I came up with:





I haven't really gotten to test it out. I need to pickup a wooden airstone, the glassbead one i tried produces really large bubbles

I giggled at seeing an ATO on a 2 gallon ^_^ I've never seen it done before! People underestimate just how much water evaporates out of these little tanks!

And I like the skimmer! I had a similar design, but have yet to execute it due to lack of motivation :P Looks really great! Where would you put the skimmer? In the display, or in the back where the overflow is? I've seen some nano's that have a man-made skimmer in the display because it almost looks like decoration rather than equipment!

I would put it back in behind the overflow. I love this tank and I hate how little space it has in the back chambers lol.

I have never seen a nano with an ato. Awesome idea, and execution! I bet that makes that thing super easy to care for. With the mangroves and chaeto in there you may not have to do much to this tank. Beautiful set up. What are you going to stock it with? I'd drop a Randall's shrimp goby with randall's pistol shrimp. Maybe a clingfish and some of those tiny red gobies?

ohhh I see ya got a candycane in there for a test subject too!! nice!!

Haha yes I got that from Coral Props at the open house. I already have my tiny goby in there, he is really shy though. I really only see him at feeding time. I dunno a pistol shrimp/goby combo would be cool but I don't want to push it too much with such a small volume.