Reddit reviews Fluval Spec III Aquarium Kit, 2.6-Gallon, Black (10515A1)
We found 19 Reddit comments about Fluval Spec III Aquarium Kit, 2.6-Gallon, Black (10515A1). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
2.6 gallon Nano aquarium and powerful 3-stage oversized mechanical, chemical and biological filtration.Etched-glass tank with aluminum trimPowerful 31 LED lighting systemIncludes foam block, activated carbon and BioMax bio ringsSize: 11.8 x 10.8 x 8.7 inch
Yeah they're great, my betta hardly notices the shrimp. I've had ghost shrimp in the past too, but the Amano Shrimps are bigger and nicer to look at.
The tank, by the way, is available on Amazon and includes a filter, light, and compartment for the heater.
This is a really handsome tank right at what I'd consider the absolute minimum for a betta fish, that seems like it'd be great in an office environment. If you've more room, here's the 5-gallon version.
I'm a sucker for bettas. My last one had a ten gallon tank with live plants because I spoil my charges, but yeah.
I'm pretty sure that although scientists and teachers often keep axolotls in pretty small set ups, that they actually deserve tanks larger than what would be reasonable in an office environment, though they're my next dream pet personally.
Check out /r/aquariums!
Hello there. Always fun setting up a new tank. My tips are:
3g is quite a small tank! Though as a simpler solution to your tank+light+filter problems perhaps a fluval spec 3 this is only 2.6g but an all-in-one design. If you can swing it, I recommend the 5 gallon option!
All you will need to do is slightly modify the filter intake to make it baby shrimp safe. This is done by placing some black filter sponge at the filter input.
Substrate wise: depends on the shrimp you want to keep. Simply put: basic gravel works with neos, buffered substrate (e.g. Amazonia, black earth, shrimpsand) for Caradinas
At your room temps I do not think a heater is necessary. And on this tank temperature topic, bigger tanks are better for stability.
Good luck
The stock light that came with the tank I think its 3W LED. Most of my plants are lowish light to medium light plants with no Co2 or anything. I feel if I did high tech there is a lot of maintenance.
Here is the link to the aquarium:
https://amzn.com/B009K0ZKAQ
The 2016 models have a much stronger light I am using the old model light.
Here a light someone comparing the output:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/10-lighting/1001673-fluval-spec-iii-kit-now-comes-upgraded-led.html
Non-mobile link
3 gallons is considered an absolute minimum for fish, while 5 gallons is a recommended minimum. And with good reason - going from, say, 3 gallons to 10 gallons means you need more than three times as much stuff (heat, acid/base, waste, etc.) to change aspects of water quality (temperature, pH, ammonia/nitrite, etc.) the same amount. But you should be fine, as long as you're willing to put in effort and learn.
I recommend you take a look at a Fluval Spec III and, if you're comfortable, Spec-Tanks' mod section. It's a pretty small footprint at 8"x12", so it should fit most places. A three-gallon tank of any kind will be safe on any halfway decent table, as it should weigh ~30 pounds tops (25 pounds of water + ~5 pounds of glass and substrate sounds right). I'm running and quite liking my Spec V - the same thing, but twice as wide in the part of the tank things live - but there are a few things you should probably try. I recommend the flow tube modification for sure and adding a heater in that column. Bettas are tropical, after all.
Just be sure the tank is cycled and that you keep up maintenance. I have, uh, far more bioload than I probably should ^(Keep this our secret, alright? And don't follow my example...) and nothing has died yet. 40-50% weekly water changes complete with gravel vacuuming. For a single betta, you could probably get away with less, to be honest. However, it's easy enough, especially when all your equipment is set up, that there's no point slacking. No need to take him out of the tank. He'll learn quickly that the siphon is not food, a mate, or another male and will ignore it. Even if he gets caught in the suction, he should be able to swim free unless his fins are so large that he can't move normally anyway. And, ya know, you should be paying attention. :P Just siphon it into a bucket. I have one of those orange buckets from Home Depot and it works just fine. Looks for plastics with the #2 recycling label, as those are very definitely safe for fish.
Plants can help a bit, but they aren't a substitute for keeping clean. The ammonia wastes immediately produced by the betta and any other animals (pro-tip: invertebrates are neat) becomes nitrite (toxic) and then nitrate (toxic in high concentrations). Plants use nitrate as fertilizer, and they will absorb some other minerals, but they will NOT keep your tank clean. More of a buffer, I suppose, but even then only if there's more plant matter than water. If you want something that you literally cannot kill, I highly recommend Java moss. Even with my black thumb, my original clump has grown by a factor of five or so, and this is after "pruning" parts with algae. You can't kill it unless you try, and even then you might not succeed. As an aside, if you do have huge amounts of green stuff, you might want to avoid charcoal or carbon in your filter. Apparently it removes chemicals that plants can use, but get a second opinion on this before doing it.
I have this one in white at work and it is completely silent and can be used as a decent lamp. I also barely ever have to clean it because the filter is great! All the filtery components are in the fogged glass, too, so it looks pretty professional.
The Fluval Spec lll makes a great shrimp tank. I comes with everything you need(built in filter) except a heater, and you won't need a heater if your office temp is consistently 68-73f+. You will need to fill the very top of the filter compartment with floss to keep baby shrimp from getting sucked into the filter intake but floss is super cheap and the mod takes about 30sec.:) It's also a very nice looking tank and is super quiet. I have a number of Fluval tanks and am very happy with the quality.
The Fluval spec is smaller than the spec iii. It has a round hole in the top.
Fluval SPEC Desktop Glass Aquarium, 2-gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047XMQBM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_byNGDb8SC566M
Fluval Spec III Aquarium Kit, 2.6-Gallon, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009K0ZKAQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TyNGDbWPG4FTQ
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjz2YffsOrkAhU5g1oFHc7jBr0YABAEGgJ2dQ&ae=1&sig=AOD64_3wWrnQonkEuzEQl9FjWqauqC5M8A&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwj50P_esOrkAhVIrVkKHXnICyQQwg96BAgKECE&adurl=https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-2-6-Gallon-Black/dp/B009K0ZKAQ/ref%3Dasc_df_B009K0ZKAQ/%3Ftag%3Dhyprod-20%26linkCode%3Ddf0%26hvadid%3D167154348866%26hvpos%3D1o3%26hvnetw%3Dg%26hvrand%3D1277978135015150239%26hvpone%3D%26hvptwo%3D%26hvqmt%3D%26hvdev%3Dm%26hvdvcmdl%3D%26hvlocint%3D%26hvlocphy%3D9058203%26hvtargid%3Dpla-307225009620%26psc%3D1
Haha thank you! He loves watching everything move around in there but doesn't really understand it yet.
I bought this aquarium a few weeks ago while it was around $50- keep an eye on the prices, they fluctuate like crazy. You by no means have to spend that much on a tank, I just preferred glass because it won't scratch like the poly ones, plus I like the kind of "minimal" look to it (all electronic components like the filter and heater are very discretely hidden), and it came with the filter and light. Besides the aquarium, which is by far the most expensive part, you can decide if you want it to be planted or just go with fake plants, then choose your substrate and decor accordingly. Non-active gravel is $1.00 at PetCo, or active substrate is around $15. A water dechlorinator is about $5, and a water test kit is around $10 depend on which one you choose. After that, there's pretty much just the cost of the inhabitants. I bought all of the plants, wood and animals (everything except the tank and the substrate) in my tank from AquaticArts.com for about $60 total- that includes two pieces of cholla wood for climbing, four Marimos, three rooted plants, a floating plant, six shrimp and four snails!
Phew. Startup can be pricey (or not, depending on what you choose) but after that, costs are minimal. If you ever wanted to start a second tank, especially with the shrimp and snails, you'd already have animals because the shrimp and snails will almost certainly breed.
I know that's a ton of info, let me know if you have any questions. :) It's so rewarding and worth it, IMO!
As someone that's gone thru the same scenario as you I'm going to give you some possible options you can take that will make things way easier on you. The initial investment may be on the higher side but it's the equivalent of a couple dinners and a movie for some high quality stuff that'll last a long time.
If that's too much money this is also a good budget tank: https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-29095-Cube-Aquarium-3-Gallon/dp/B008CA7W7E/ref=sr_1_5?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1506546844&sr=1-5&keywords=aquarium+kit
Sure! Here you go! https://smile.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-2-6-Gallon-Black/dp/B009K0ZKAQ?sa-no-redirect=1
Thanks! I'm guessing it's this one? I've been looking for a tank for a couple plants and some shrimp and I think this may be the one.. what do you have in yours besides duckweed?
So... I tend to be a bit of an outlier here, but I keep my bettas in Fluval Spec 3 gal aquariums. Many people will tell you they require 5 or 10, but honestly in my experience a nicely planted, filtered 3 gal is more than enough. The only betta I keep in a larger tank is my 3.5 inch king betta, who lives in a 9 gal Fluval Flex.
Fluval Spec 3 is the perfect betta tank imo. Great built in filtration and what i consider a good size home for betta. It's a bit pricey but totally worth it, I have never had a betta with a problem in this tank.
Fluval Spec III Aquarium Kit, 2.6-Gallon, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009K0ZKAQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ALn4CbB0N4FJ3
Your fish would love you forever if you gave him a better home!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009K0ZKAQ/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_OqGYtb0N8R59GBW9
The equipment cost a little under $200. In addition I bought 5 lbs of live sand ($12), but I only needed about half of it and 6 lbs of live rock ($5/lb). So excluding corals, a little under $250. My corals vary in price.
The tank is a Fluval Spec 3 ($56). I upgraded the pump (mini-jet 606-$23), lighting (Innovative Marine 8W LED-$60 used) and added a heater (25W Cobalt Neotherm-$36). I pulled out all of the filter media and stuffed the overflow chamber with chaeto and bits of live rock.
Thanks! The tank is about 2.6 gallons (which I know is cutting it close, but that's as big as we can go currently). The tank comes with a circulation pump and a foam block/carbon/bio ring filter system. We switch the carbon as necessary and clean the bio rings/block.
https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-2-6-Gallon-Black/dp/B009K0ZKAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524163916&sr=8-1&keywords=fluval+spec+iii
I don't know how expensive they are, and you can indeed remove a sticker, but not a filter outlet.
And the thing is that the filter compartment looks identical to that in a Spec 3.
Yours: http://i.imgur.com/1Gks5Yf.jpg
Fluval Spec 3: http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-2-6-Gallon-Black/dp/B009K0ZKAQ
Another thing I see now is that you might want to add a leaf (a plastic one is good) for your betta to rest on.