Adrenaline's Spec V 5 Gallon mini peninsula

[Adrenaline101]

I always stare and follow along with everyone's build threads and I completely forgot to properly document a few of my own.

My girl and I recently got into the hobby, her 14G cube was the first to be up and operational and while I was fiddling around and deciding on which tank to use I decided I wanted to try out the challenging world of a pico reef as well as a larger one. Main deciding factor was I wandered into a PetSmart and they happened to have Fluval Spec V's on sale for $80 so why the heck not right?

Setup:
Fluval Spec V 5 Gallon
Hydor Korelia nano 240 GPH
Eggcrate media basket with filter floss, Purigen and Matrix

4lbs live rock ( and 3 small pieces of coral I found under a tree in my yard, weird eh)
5lbs mixed live sand and fine aragonite

3 Hermit Crabs
2 Anemone Crabs
1 Trochus Snail
1 Hector's Goby

So far I just have the stock lighting as I am not sure about adding corals just yet.
Amazingly this little thing holds 79 degrees constantly, I am wondering if it is in part from my laptop's heat vent pointed at it 3" away, either way I am happy to have not needed to squeeze a heater into the back compartment.

My only modifications to the Spec V itself was to silicone over the small water by-pass slot near the bottom of the back wall and I blocked off 2/3 of the bottom of the overflow to create a proper water skimming affect.

Feel free to critique if you have any suggestions/ ideas.

[mseepman]

Looking good. I've never seen this tank in person before but it seems like a nice fit for a reef.

[SteveCGY]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Looking good. I've never seen this tank in person before but it seems like a nice fit for a reef.

Agreed looks good so far, following Along

[WarDog]

Canreef in the background, nice touch. Looks like a good start, following along. Carry on!

[Adrenaline101]

Thanks guys. So far my only thing with this tank has been what to do if I add corals, especially sps. I really like the look of the stock fixture, albeit a tad bouncy. Might add a stunner strip onto each side of the stock strip of lights, just need to have the cords look clean.

So far water changes have been handled by testing the water in my 90 Cube, then exchanging it from there 30 or so % at a time. The copepods coming from my refugium help supplement feeders for the anemone crabs.

[FishyFishy!]

Originally Posted by Adrenaline101

Thanks guys. So far my only thing with this tank has been what to do if I add corals, especially sps. I really like the look of the stock fixture, albeit a tad bouncy. Might add a stunner strip onto each side of the stock strip of lights, just need to have the cords look clean.

So far water changes have been handled by testing the water in my 90 Cube, then exchanging it from there 30 or so % at a time. The copepods coming from my refugium help supplement feeders for the anemone crabs.

If you are thinking of adding any corals you will 100% need more light. The stock lights on those won't even keep softies alive. I'd use the stock fixture and add some Ecoxotics.