Fluval SPEC Freshwater Aquarium Kit, Aquarium with LED Lighting and 3-Stage Filtration, 2.6 Gallon, Black, Large Breeds

This is a very high quality tank. My betta is SO much happier in this tank, it really warmed my heart to see him so much happier once I put him in here. It has a really nice filter that I upgraded and swapped out the carbon bag with seachem purigen. This has kept the water perfect despite using a large driftwood piece in the tank. It has very impressive filtering capabilities using this combo. Sand + biostrat added with water and the clouding was gone in 2 hours flat. The light is another huge selling point. It’s adequate for most basic aquatic plants with a day and night cycle. Parts are all very high quality. The intake is a little strong so if you have a betta with huge fins like mine has, you may need to make some modifications. Nothing an inexpensive Etsy kit cannot help you solve. I will probably boy another of these tanks.

Received my Spec III this morning. First, let me say that I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that these are now shipping with a new and brighter 7000K LED light. This is huge! I bought the Spec III with the understanding that the stock light it was shipping with is not bright enough to grow two of the plants SubstrateSource Staurogyne repens "Low Grow" Potted Live Aquatic Freshwater Aquarium Plant and SubstrateSource Hemianthus callitrichoides "Dwarf Baby Tears" Live Aquatic Aquarium Plant I have on order, and have been researching aftermarket nano aquarium LED lights for a week. However, I like the sleek look of the stock LED light, and found nothing aftermarket that looked good or performed reliably. I am EXTREMELY concerned with both aesthetics and functionality.I had resigned myself to leaving the stock light on and buying a tall swing arm desk lamp and a CFL grow bulb and directing the light down into the aquarium. The aquarium is going on my desk at work, so this wouldn't have looked bad. However, I no longer have to do this as the new LED is the correct color temperature (7000K) and claims to be high-output. Not sure what the wattage is, but it's bright. So long as it's reliable, I am very happy. It mounts ridiculously easy and is very simple and sturdy in its construction - consisting of not much more than a one-piece aluminum arm and shade, and the LED light board. I was also very pleasantly surprised when I realized that the black square on top the light is a three-way touch switch (1. full-strength, 2. just the four blue lights, and 3. off).The Spec III's design is modern and clean (if Ikea designed an aquarium, it would look like this) and the filtration system is hidden well in the reservoir at the rear of the tank. I love the fact that none of the aquarium's filtration components (with the exception of the small, angle-adjustable outlet nozzle) are in the aquarium itself. In fact, there is room in the filtration reservoir for a small heater and I have a Neo-Therm Heater, 25 watt on order. The only thing I would change are the aluminum trim pieces at the corners. I would prefer rounded glass edges (at least on the front) like those on the Penn Plax Vertex Shrimp Tank, 2.7-Gallon by Penn Plax, INC..Finally, the Spec III's dimensions make the aquarium look deceptively larger than it is. At the moment, it sits next to my Penn Plax Vertex Shrimp Tank, 2.7-Gallon by Penn Plax, INC., and while the Penn-Plax is a tenth of a gallon larger, the Spec III looks to be significantly larger. I am very impressed with this aquarium, and think it's a bargain at this price.Update: 17 July 2016.So far, I think that the 7000K light that the Spec III is now shipping with will be adequate to grow any plants that I choose, and I finally pulled the trigger and installed a DIY CO2 Aquarium Plant System. This system is designed to use two 2-liter soda bottles with baking soda and citric acid. However, I like to keep things as simple and inexpensive as possible, so I went with one 2-liter bottle and a mix of: 1/2 tsp of yeast (that my wife already had in the fridge), 1 tsp of baking soda (again, my wife already had this on hand), 2 cups of sugar (again, well you know), and 1 and 3/4-liters of lukewarm water. Check out the following link for full instructions.http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2006/09/diy-co2-recipe-duration-vs-intensity.htmlThis setup should provide a steady stream of CO2 for two to three weeks and I am astounded at the amount of CO2 that a 1/2 tsp of yeast can produce!Removing the filter sponge, I ran the tubing from the yeast bottle so that the end is pressed flat toward the bottom of the power head, and reinstalled the filter media holding the tubing securely in place. You have to fiddle with it a bit to get the power head to suck the CO2 bubbles in. Again, the end of the tube must be situated flat against the lower portion of the power head, or the bubbles won't get sucked in.The power head does an excellent job of dissolving the CO2 into the water as its impeller rips the CO2 bubble into hundreds of tiny bubbles and spits them into the aquarium. The key to efficient CO2 dissolution into the water column is increasing the amount of time that the CO2 bubble is submerged. With this setup, the CO2 bubbles are submerged for a long time. First, they spend some time in the power head and the tube connecting the power head to the outlet nozzle. Then, due to their very small size, they spend a lengthy amount of time in the aquarium's water column circulating around the entire aquarium. Be sure to angle the adjustable outlet nozzle down to minimize surface water agitation and to blow the bubbles down to increase their submersion time. Another key to keeping CO2 in the water column is minimal water surface agitation.I am no expert, and this is my first CO2 system, however, this setup is working ridiculously well. I am getting a CO2 bubble approximately every two seconds, and the outlet nozzle pushes the CO2 bubbles down to the substrate. At any given moment, there are hundreds of tiny bubbles floating around in the water column and sticking to the plants, especially under the leaves. In the photos below, it looks as though the water is filled with floating debris, however, the water is crystal clear - what look like debris are all bubbles. The aquarium is literally brimming with CO2.Again, I am no expert and don't have a test kit, however, I think there may be too much CO2 in the water to keep fish. But, at the moment my concern is the plants. I've read that SubstrateSource Staurogyne repens "Low Grow" Potted Live Aquatic Freshwater Aquarium Plant and SubstrateSource Hemianthus callitrichoides "Dwarf Baby Tears" Live Aquatic Aquarium Plant do best in a very high-light and CO2 environment. This being my first serious attempt at aquatic plants, I want to do everything (within reason) to succeed! So far, so good - I think.Update: 23 July 2016.I received the rest of my plants yesterday and executed my first attempt at a planted aquarium. At this point I have, 4 SubstrateSource Staurogyne repens "Low Grow" Potted Live Aquatic Freshwater Aquarium Plant, 4 SubstrateSource Hemianthus callitrichoides "Dwarf Baby Tears" Live Aquatic Aquarium Plant, and 2 SubstrateSource Anubias barteri "Petite" Live Aquatic Aquarium Plant. Still waiting for the water to clear, but I am happy with the results thus far.UPS is due to deliver my Rhinox Glass Drop Checker - 3 Seconds to Read CO2 levels: 3 Minutes to Setup: Fastest way to ensure sufficient CO2 in Planted Aquarium today, so I should have a good idea as to the water's CO2 content shortly thereafter.More to come.

The fluval V offers a solid solution to many challenges in the aquarium hobby. Being a aquarium kit is can save on headache piecing together individual separate components and allow for a handsome setup. You have everything you need to get going minus a heater and substrate. I was in need of a small, long aquarium to fit beneath another aquarium stand. The setup being a freshwater grow out tank for my pepper corydoras fry. This tank has done a fantastic as a bare-bottom tank for juvenile fry.Pros+ Tank construction is glass, being in a longer, narrow design. Fish are typically horizontal swimmers so they have great space to go back and fourth. The narrow width means you can fit easily on a shelf or desk.+ filter uses a pump that drawls the water out from a small opening at midlevel into a fairly substantial housing the sponge, ceramic, and charcoal media. The handle inside allows you to pull out this for cleaning. The glass is opaque in the filter area but you can still check the water level within the filter at a glance. The fact the filter is entirely within the tank also makes it space saving. Water flow does circulate the tank a fair amount. Those saying not betta suitable might be able to get away with adjusting the pump nozzle to angle the flow or add more plants to break up current.+ LED lighting strip is brighter then I expected. My low light plants are doing fine three weeks on. Hornwort, duckweed, water lettuce and java moss are growing. First time using led in an aquarium and I am now a believer. The narrow profile of the strip allows helps it fit into tight spaces.+ The bottom section of the filter housing does not allow for any debris or sediment from entering the bottom of the filter. The only points of entry into the filter is the small intake midway up the tank and at the very top. So it should help prevent the filter from clogging up.Cons- The lid is not glass but a flimsy plastic. Already it is starting to slightly warp and there is really no way to replace this with something of higher quality. Really wish they had something a bit more quality. Also, some modification will be needed tot he lid if you want to run a wire out elsewhere then within the filter.- Pump was very loud for a few days until it broke in. Now it is fine but was grating when I first had it running.Overall I think it is a cool little tank. I own a 55, 29, and 40 gallon breeder and have no problem recommending this to others. My cories are thriving on a bare bottom setup and have just right amount flow, filtration and lighting.