Thinking Of Starting A Tank Again!

[omega59]

I been out of the Aquarius scene for some time now, and I was thinking of starting up a small tank with some decent hardy plants. I was looking into Betta's again. I saw this tank Fluval Spec 5.6 Gallon Aquarium. It seems to be long rectangular instead of the typical shaped. I'm wondering what type of issues this tank has for a single Betta?  Also is it easy to clean? Thanks everyone
 
 

 

[Chad]

None that I can think of. That would actually be a good tank for a betta in my opinion. 

 

[Ch4rlie]

The Fluval Spec is a decent little tank, I have seen these in LFS and have debated with myself whether to get one or not for the exact same reason, for a single betta, or if betta is out then as a neat little shrimp tank set up
 
I don't see why not, as long as flow is kept to a minium for the betta then should be a perfectly fine little tank.

 

[omega59]

okay sounds great then.

 

[Chad]

There are a couple of the Fluval fancy tanks I wouldn't touch, for just the reason you mention, cleaning. I feel like they learned with this one and made one people could actually work with. 

 

[Ch4rlie]

There are a couple of the Fluval fancy tanks I wouldn't touch, for just the reason you mention, cleaning. I feel like they learned with this one and made one people could actually work with. 

 
I suspect these would probably be the Fluval Edge tanks, I had one of these, a lovely tank but a true pain to keep nice and clean, especially in the corners where its really hard to reach.
 
The Fluval Spec tanks are a neat little tank to have, though a little pricey imho, hence why I have not bought one........yet :x

 

[RCA]

I just sold one of these, which I had at the end of my hallway initially with a Betta in it. It is a great little tank but a few things to note:
- make sure you cover the gap in the hood, I used a piece of craft mesh, then more latterly a small aquarium hood
- the flow can be quite strong for our Betta friends so I ensured there was a thick silk plant in front of the outflow
- as with most open top tanks you get a lot of evaporation. This was the biggest issue for me. I initially had the heater in the filter chamber, yet the issue is that the first part to suffer from the evaporation is the filter chamber! Of course, this is not good as when I was very busy I would suddenly notice that the filter chamber did not have enough water in it. Due to this I eventually moved the heater back into the aquarium.

All in all though, it was a good looking tank, fitted exactally in the spot I required, and my Celeste Danios and Hasborus Cories both breed within it.

I will see if I can find a link to mine, as can't recall if I had it on here or not.
Da da...Betta Tank Upgrade: Fluval Spec 19 Litre

 

[NickAu]

 
the flow can be quite strong for our Betta friends

+1 Especially a long fin Betta.

 

[omega59]

I just picked up the tank i was lucky. because a local pet store change is going out of business, and everything was 10-80% clearance. I got the tank for $70 with tax from the $159 listing price on the shelf
RCA
It is the same white one you posted. Thanks for the information about the heater too. I've seen pics where people have placed the heater inside that chamber on the side.I will need to make adjustments i guess.
 
Question,
 
Is this tank just as quiet as the 2gal spec by fluval?

 

[Hunterprey]

I had this tank running for a year with bettas cardinals and harlequins. Very nice tank, quiet filtration. I just found it a bit hard to clean inside the filter tho.

Here's a video of mine

https/youtu.be/BGU95ZrSS_E

 

[Hunterprey]

Also if you want to reduce the flow of the filter. There's a long tube inside the filter. Using scissors bend the tube and cut small holes. Just don't ovedo it. I cut too much holes in mine it reduce the flow too much I had to buy another tube.

 

[omega59]

Thanks Hunterprey. What is the best way to start the cycle procedures. Does the frozen shrimp or dropping flakes in the tank method still work? also do i need to use water chlorinater during the cycle process?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Thanks Hunterprey. What is the best way to start the cycle procedures. Does the frozen shrimp or dropping flakes in the tank method still work? also do i need to use water chlorinater during the cycle process?

 
Fish flakes or dead shrimps is not a good way of adding ammonia to do the fishless cycle process.
 
First - very messy
 
Second - water issues may arise due to this
 
Third - A very innacurate method, how do you know how much ammonia is going to occur with a few pinches of flakes or one single dead shrimp?
 
I'd suggest you read and follow this article - Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!
 
And you will need a water test kit, API master kit is a half decent choice for doing fishless cycles.
 
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:75363]
 
And then you need a source of ammonia, a bottle of Kleen Off or Ammonia specifically for aquarium cycling are readily availbale online at low costs.
 
A few hardware stores do stock ammonia usually in household cleaning sections.
 
 
     [sharedmedia=core:attachments:75365]   [sharedmedia=core:attachments:75366]
 
To find out exactly how much ammonia you need, you can use the calculator on this forum to do this. At the bottom of the page -
 
Forum Calculator
 
Put in your tank water volume, remembering  to reduce some volume for substrate, decor and plants usually deducting 10% will work ok. Then you need to ensure you have the correct strength of ammonia inputed, Kleen Off is usually around 9.5% while concentrated ammonia for cycling can be as high as 35%, so double check this.
 
Then follow that article I linked as closely as you can, a bit of information to take in but do not panic, we are here to help out if you get stuck or not sure about anything.

 

[omega59]

Okay I will search for the ammonia stuff at home depot and Walmart. Can I add substrate, plants, decor after the tank is cycled. And do I need dechlorinator during the cycle times?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Set up the tank completely with substrate, decor and plants of your choice BEFORE starting the cycle, this gives the best chance of bacteria creating a nice bio film all over the tank.
 
And yes, dechlorinate the water to be on th safe side for cycling. but then leave the water alone, dont do water changes as this may interupt the cycle and slow things down. You should only need to a large water change once the cycle is successful and just before you stock the tank, the best bit
 
A full cycle from scratch should take between 4 to 8 weeks providing you follow the guidelines on that Fishless Cycle article.
 
Can be done quicker if you add some mature filter media from a filter thats been running on  tank for at least 6 months, or you can use Dr Tim's One and Only Bacteria with the same brand ammonia, i have not used that so i cant say how easy it is to use and how successful it is.
 
I actually enjoy doing these cycles