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Fluval spec 19 first tank

Niall

Member
Joined
1 Jun 2019
Messages
117
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Hi this is my first tank so all advise is welcome!

The tank I got for free but the light was broken so I ordered a 10w led from eBay and modified both lights so I am still using the original fluval fitting.
I'm using the original filter but blocked the bottom hole in the dividing wall.
I am using a 50w heater.
I have c02 for it and will be ei dosing

I have gotten some rocks and wood and tropica soil powder.

I have my hardscape done and I am happy with it I'm just not sure about my slope it might be too deep at the back, maybe someone could offer advise on this?
The tank sinks down further than the white base so the substrate is about 1.5 inches at the front and about 3 inches at parts in the backround.
I'd love to hear what people think!
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Scape looks great! The sloped substrate looks about right. It should be quite deep at the back.

My only suggestion would be that the hardscape, particularly the wood, seems slightly too small for the tank.

Following along...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks! Yeah the wood is small but u do like it!

What do people reccomend for a low maintenance carpet plant. It must be very small leafed or grass. I'd like it to fill out quickly but also be low maintenance...is that even possible?
 
This is my plant list
I really just picked stuff I like the look of
I like bushy plants and I'm not a big fan of broad leafed plants.
Any advice is welcome!

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Last edited:
So I got my tank planed. I am happy with it and 2 days in it's doing well compared to when I planted it.
 

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That grow light looks grand, just be conservative with lighting - especially as you don’t mention CO2

I’d trim some of those tall stem plants - just cut the tallest stems back to 10 - 15cm, and plant the tops as well

You may also want to break up the grass into smaller portions, plant ~1cm portions, 1-2 cm apart and they should fill in quicker
 
That grow light looks grand, just be conservative with lighting - especially as you don’t mention CO2

I’d trim some of those tall stem plants - just cut the tallest stems back to 10 - 15cm, and plant the tops as well

You may also want to break up the grass into smaller portions, plant ~1cm portions, 1-2 cm apart and they should fill in quicker

I am using pressured c02 an hour before lighting and it goes off an hour before the light go off. The lights are on 6 hours a day.
I'll give the light a go because I'm not convinced the eBay one will be any good!
 
So the spec is a hard tank to keep as a planted tank and is very small. So this is take 2.....

50l optiwhite tank custom made with black backround.
Oase filtro 60
Chihiros 451a plus light
Ada Glass in and out flow
I have a nicer co2 diffuser just not fitted yet

Its still quite cloudy in this picture as it's just filled. The rock on top of the wood is temporarily weighing it down. I should have gone for a bigger light but I had the 451 bought before i decided to change tank. I have Vietnamese cardinal minnows, shrimp and some oto catfish but they are still in the spec 19 until this is cycled.
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