2021 Fluval Spec V Aquarium Journal

It’s that time of year again at Spec-Tanks – I get to post last year’s tank journal. It’s never award-winning journalism, but I hope the detailed view of daily tank upkeep will inform and inspire someone.

2020 Spec V Journal Highlights:

  • Equipment is essentially the same: Spec V aquarium, paintball CO2, Finnex Planted+ 24/7 HLC Light.
  • I did add an AutoAqua Smart ATO.  Evaporation is not a big deal in a freshwater tank, but it is a boon on vacations as we don’t have to have a tank-sitter come and top off.
  • Fish are always in flux for this tank.  We have had (3) green neon tetras for most of the year.
  • SNOWMAGEDDON!  The great winter storm of 2021.  We were out of power for about three days.  We had natural gas, so I boiled water to put in small plastic bottles and floated on the surface. Tank temp dropped a lot (from 75°F down to mid-60s) but all the fish and plants survived!
  • I have kept the same daily dose of dry fertilizers as described here.
  • Rescaped the tank in June.

Rotala Wallichii freshwater aquarium plants

I have written about the advantages of keeping an aquarium journal, and I have shared past journals for our Fluval Spec V in 20202019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

Our Spec V Journal: 2021

1/2/2021:
50% water change.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Heavy trim of the HC.

1/4/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

1/8/2021:
50% water change.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

1/15/2020:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

1/22/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Pulled up some Staurogyne Repens at the side; replanted 2 pieces.
Light trim of the HC.

1/27/2021:
Cleaned CO2 diffuser in bleach/water.

Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

1/29/2021:
50% water change.

Pulled up 1/2 of the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the Staurogyne Repens and HC.

1/30/2021:
Only (3) green neons last night. I have a funny feeling I may have tossed one when I gathered clippings with the net yesterday. Probably just paranoia and it actually died sometime else. . .

2/2/2021:
Found a green neon on the floor this morning. That makes us down to two. This afternoon, Miles found another, but we still have two in the tank. This means he found the one that jumped a few days ago.

A slew of jumpers means I have the water up too high and they are ‘surfing’ out, or the CO2 is too high. I’d think the CO2 is fine as I have not adjusted.

2/5/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

2/12/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

2/14/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

Swapped out the Purigen for the other regenerated bag I had in storage. I will regenerate the bag I took out, store it, and have it ready for the next swap.

2/15/2021:
Winter Storm! Woke up to a power outage. Tank temp had dropped to 68. Started swapping out a pair of small plastic bottles (with near boiling water inside) to provide heat.

2/16/2021:
Day two of power outages. I did the bottle trick several times through the night. Still dropped to 65 overnight.

2/17/2021:
Power back on last night. Temp stable.

2/19/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

2/25/2021:
Swapped out the CO2 tank. (I filled both paintball tanks).

2/28/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Heavy trim of the HC.

3/5/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Trimmed a few stems of Rotala Wallichii and replant the tops.
Pulled up all the Staurogyne Repens (huge mess). Added back a bit of Amazonia II substrate. Planted about 10 small pieces.

3/6/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

3/14/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

3/21/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

Cleaned CO2 diffuser in bleach/water.

3/24/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

3/26/2021:
50% water change.

Trimmed a few stems of Rotala Wallichii and replant the tops.
Light trim of the HC.

4/2/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Light trim of the HC.

4/3/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

4/10/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Light trim of the HC.

4/16/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up half of the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops (but left the bottoms).
Light trim of the HC.

4/19/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

4/23/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

5/3/2021:
Cleaned the pump section: walls, tube, return nozzle, elbows, heater, and pump (took apart to clean impeller and internals).

5/4/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Light trim of the HC.

5/5/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

Cleaned CO2 diffuser in bleach/water.

5/7/2021:
50% water change.

Pulled up two stems of Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.

5/14/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the Staurogyne Repens and HC.

5/18/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

5/22/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the Staurogyne Repens and HC.

5/28/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

Scrubbed the rock with a toothbrush dipped in hydrogen peroxide. It has been taken over with algae.

5/30/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

6/4/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

Scrubbed the rock with a toothbrush dipped in hydrogen peroxide.

6/14/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Staurogyne Repens. Planted about 6 small pieces.

6/15/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

6/21/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Light trim of the HC.

6/30/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of the HC.

I have the auto-feeder and ATO in place. We are going on vacation in a few days for a week.

7/1/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

7/11/2021:
Tank did pretty well over the 9 day vacation. ATO worked and used about 60% of the 2 gallon container. However, massive green dust algae on the glass – couldn’t see through it.

7/17/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.

7/18/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

7/24/2021:
Rescape. Tore down the entire tank: Moved critters to quarantine tank. Cleaned all the glass and innards. All new Amazonia II. Replanted the same (4) plants: Rotala Wallichii, Blyxa Japonica, Staurogyne Repens, Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC Cuba). Put in two new Ohko stones.

I switched back to the stock pump instead of the aftermarket Cobalt Mini MJ 606. I did this because I was afraid the high flow would uproot the newly planted tufts of HC.

The last rescape was on 12/30/2019.

Cleaned CO2 diffuser in bleach/water.

Swapped out the Purigen for the other regenerated bag I had in storage

7/25/2021:
Ammonia = 1.5 ppm

7/26/2021:
Ammonia = 1.5 ppm

7/27/2021:
Ammonia = 1.5 ppm

7/28/2021:
Ammonia = 1.5 ppm

As a check, I tested the water in the quarantine tank: Ammonia = 0.25 ppm

7/30/2021:
Ammonia = 1.5 ppm

7/31/2021:
60% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Fish and shrimp are still in quarantine.

8/1/2021:
Ammonia = 0.25 ppm

8/2/2021:
Ammonia = 0.15 ppm

8/3/2021:
Ammonia = 0.0 ppm

8/4/2021:
Added poly and polishing pad filter media.

8/7/2021:
50% water change.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of HC.

8/11/2021:
Swapped out the CO2 tank. I had trouble with the fill so this tank only has 6 of 20 oz.

8/14/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of HC.

8/20/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of HC.

8/31/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of HC.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.

9/1/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

9/12/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of HC.

9/15/2021:
Cleaned CO2 diffuser in bleach/water.

9/18/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Light trim of HC.

9/26/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Pulled up all of the Staurogyne Repens; trimmed off algae covered leaves and replanted them all.
Light trim of HC.

10/8/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.

10/12/2021:
Swapped out the CO2 tank. (I filled both paintball tanks). Today I had the 20 lb tank filled.

10/22/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Pulled up all of the Staurogyne Repens; trimmed off algae covered leaves and replanted them all.
Trimmed the HC.

10/26/2021:
Made a new outlet tube with more holes to reduce flow in the display section. I think I made 6 holes.

Swapped out the CO2 diffuser to the old one. Same type but shorter (and cleaner at the moment).

10/27/2021:
Replaced poly and polishing pad filter media.

10/29/2021:
50% water change.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.

Removed the large rock and replaced with a smaller one. The new rock will sit on top of the substrate so I can remove regularly to clean off the algae.

11/4/2021:
50% water change.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.

11/19/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.

11/30/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Pulled up all of the Staurogyne Repens; trimmed off algae covered leaves and replanted them all.
Trimmed the HC.

12/6/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.

Swapped out the CO2 tank.

12/12/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.

12/20/2021:
Got a new ATO sensor to replace the one that I moved to the marine tank.

50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Pulled up all the Rotala Wallichii; trimmed and replanted tops.
Trimmed the HC.

12/26/2021:
50% water change. Rinse out filter media.

Trimmed the Rotala Wallichii.
Pulled up all the Blyxa Japonica. Planted a small piece.
Pulled up all of the Staurogyne Repens; trimmed off algae covered leaves and replanted them all.
Trimmed the HC.

12/27/2021:
We are leaving town today for Christmas Vacation until 1/2/2022. I have setup the Eheim fish feeder to drop in a mix of fertilizers every day. I have the other daily fish feeder setup for food. Automation of the ATO, temperature controller, and lighting should take over until we get back.

4 thoughts on “2021 Fluval Spec V Aquarium Journal

  1. Hi Nate, Hope you are doing well in the new year. chanced upon your 2021 journal when I was researching on aquarium-safe plastics. food-safe plastics are best … but doubt these parts are readily available.

    In any case, I’m writing to you about your weekly 50% water change routine. Just curious, how did you come to that? I mean it’s pretty frequent and 50% seems a lot. We are newbie to fish keeping. Woud love to hear learn more about your experience.

    1. 50% weekly water changes are a staple of the EI Method of fertilizer dosing. So, for our tank, the 50% weekly water changes is in tandem with it being a high tech planted aquarium.

      If your tank isn’t planted and you don’t add fertilizers, the ideal might be less than 50% WC’s.

  2. Nate,

    I got a Fluval Spec V at the beginning of the year and have enjoyed reading all of your updates and mods. It has been very helpful and has troubleshooted me through some frustrations. I love my tank! How is your tank doing, is it still going strong?

    1. Very good – glad the articles helped! I’ve had challenges with time and motivation to keep writing. The tanks have had ups and downs but the freshwater Spec V has actually never looked better!

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