Fluval SPEC Aquarium Kit, Aquarium with LED Lighting and 3-Stage Filtration System, 5-Gallon

i love my Spec. absolutely adore it. i almost didn't buy this one because i had read it needed a lot of modifications to make it suitable for a betta. and that's correct, it does. but after doing a lot of research on tanks i decided to take the plunge. i'm so glad i did! it has been an absolute joy! what actually prompted my confidence in purchasing this tank for my betta was reading through the Amazon reviews. one review in particular, the one with purple and pink sand (or maybe just purple but i'm pretty sure it's bright purple and pink) laid out everything i needed to know. so thank you to that person for blazing the trail. i ordered this tank with the prefilter sponge, also by Fluval but you can find generic/other brand prefilter sponges. and that was basically it! the vast majority of people recommend the Hydro Theo heater, also available on Amazon for around $15...the heater is a bit finicky but you will soon discover that all aquarium heaters are finicky. that was actually the hardest part of this tank...figuring out where exactly to set the dial....for example, my heater is set on like 75 to keep the tank at 80...but this isn't a review on the tanks heater...you'll figure it out. also, i do have 2-3 small pin holes in the outflow tube....to circulate water around the heater...which, by the way, the hydro theo heater fits perfectly in there. i honestly don't see why fluval didn't design this....where else exactly would you install a heater in this tank? especially considering if you didn't keep a heater in the pump compartment....but in the main tank...the lid wouldn't close flush to the tank...the wire would prevent that. so it seems like fluval intended for users to put the tank in the pump compartment...but probably for legal reasons didn't suggest so because technically all heater manufacturers say not to let anything touch the heater....but everyone i have come across does in fact ignore this to put the heater in the pump compartment. with the prefilter sponge over the outflow...i kept the pump on high. a lot of people recommend keeping it on low but with the prefilter sponge i kept it on high and it worked out. i will say keeping the tank at an equal temperature was a challenge with the sponge. the bottom half of the tank stayed 4-5 degrees cooler than the top...a problem that really bothered me. now i have built a DIY spray bar like device over the outflow (see my picture) that works GREAT! the tank has a current...isn't too strong for my betta....more detritus makes it way to the inflow.....and the tank is the same temp all the way through. it cost about $14 bucks through ZooMed, 50% of which was shipping. i highly recommend doing this if for a betta...simply google 'fluval spec spray bar.' you will find the part numbers and a tutorial. the pump is now on low. also, if you are keeping this for a betta....and have a prefilter sponge....you must install an air stone. otherwise you are going to really reduce the flow and be prone to serious biofilm.....it goes away but it comes back. now that i have the DIY spray bar the flow is much better, still betta friendly....but i do still keep an air stone on low in there. i love this tank. and i have completely fallen in love with the aquarist hobby. also, the auxiliary slit towards the bottom of the false wall....it doesn't prevent all the flow to be redirected from the main filter....but some. i solved this problem by buying a silicone laptop USB plug designed for a macbook on eBay. it costs less than 99 cents...fits so perfect. like it was designed for that purpose. this may be an easier way to plug that hole up instead of silicone.... my betta parks himself right on the intake grate...at first it freaked me out....he enjoys that spot better than his betta hammock. even with the flow on high it was not enough to suck his fins through the slits....every morning when i turn on the light there he is, asleep. it's super cute actually. even my snail goes across the intake grate to feed on detritus and he isn't sucked in. keep in mind, this may not be the case for your inhabitants. so be careful. i do believe every betta in this tank does the same. if you're worried, take the handle on the sponge filter....lift it up and tie a bread-tie or even better the black one that are wrapped around the pumps cord from the packaging to hoist it up over the slits. i didnt bother... this tank does require modification....which i stated earlier almost deterred me from purchasing it. however, i think you'll find that every tank is going to be far superior to some DIY modifications. there is so much information regarding this tank online you should have absolutely no problem making it work for you. this tank is a bit more expensive...but you will be glad you got this one. it is high, high quality....the Cadillac of nano tanks so to speak. fluval is also amazing for customer service...i accidentally ripped my outflow tube trying to get the elbow off of it...they shipped me out another one for free, no questions asked, for warranty...they didn't even ask for proof of purchase.... i love this tank. i truly do. and i can't wait to get another Fluval, this time the Fluval Flex 15 gallon. also, ordering a tank online comes with risk of damage in the process of shipping. i was worried. this arrived very well insulated...and it's $20 cheaper than at PetCo or Petsmart. everything you need to get this tank up off the ground and running smoothly is right here on Amazon....don't waste more money than you need to at a major pet store. please get yourself this tank! don't be afraid of the modifications.....DO IT! UPDATE 8 October 2018: my aquarium sprung a very small leak....it has been leaking water out from under the base....i assume this leak is on the seals holding the bottom glass into the tank. i contacted Hagen Fluval, sent them pictures, explained my situation and they have shipped me out a new tank/glass only portion of the Spec V. They had absolutely lovely customer service.

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.html This 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.

I purchased two small aquariums. This one and the Marineland ML90609 Portrait Aquarium Kit, 5-Gallon . This Fluval Spec III Aquarium Kit, 2.6-Gallon,...

After reading so many reviews online, I decided to purchase this tank despite its slightly hefty price tag. I will say the set up was very easy and the instructions were pretty straightforward. My problem with this tank is that the filtration system is too strong. The currents that it creates in the water is too rough for certain fish. I lost a total of one betta, two goldfish, and two guppies at separate times because of the tank. After having all water parameters, trouble shot with an expert at an aquatic center, the only thing that I could not rule out was the stress of the strong current created by the filter on the fish. None of the fish wanted to swim around the tank and they would always collect themselves in a far corner at the bottom of the tank. It was very hard for them to feed because the current of water push the food around very quickly. And when the fish would try to swim, you could see them struggling against the current from the filter. I am extremely disappointed as I had high hopes for this tank based on some reviews. However, when I did more research on blogs and such many people complained about the strength of the filtration system and offered modifications that may help. I did try these and they were able to no avail, as I still lost all of my fish. I even reached out to the fluval customer service, and they were not very helpful. I will not recommend this tank and I will not buy it again.

I bought this tank to house dwarf shrimp and micro-crabs. This tank is perfect for micro/nano environments. Do not house fish that produce large amounts of waste. 6 inches front to back glass, 7 1/2 inches for the base front to back. 11 1/2 inches bottom with base to top of lid, about 13 1/2 top of light bar. 19 1/2 inches from side to side glass. 20 1/2 inches side to side base. The glass side to side measure may be off 1/2 inch because there are metal sleeves over each corner, looks to be the same material as the light bar. The sleeves are capped with small plastic clips that also have the grooves for the lid pegs. I actually like the metal sleeves on the corners, I have never been a huge fan of looking at silicone joints. The base is slightly tapered so I measured the widest points at the very bottom. I did not try to take the base off because I liked it, but it looks like it can be removed if you are very careful. The silicone work was beautiful. very clean, no smearing. It looks like machine silicone work, very precise. The pump is very small, but powerful enough to move water in the entire tank with a decent current. The pump itself fits easily one way, but that puts the intake against the glass. Fitting the pump to face the filter to get maximum intake was a very snug fit. I had to use a long bbq skewer to push the pump to the bottom of the well. Do not expect to use your hands, the well is only a fraction larger than the pump. Unfortunately, to remove the pump you will have to pull it up by the power cord. Big no-no in my book but no other options unless you put a retrieval line on it before pushing it into the tank. Fishing string would work fine. The pump outflow is on the wrong side, but the flexible hose to the nozzle still fits and did not have any issues being on the far side of the well. I highly recommend the pump be installed this way, the intake will be severely crippled if you put the pump in any other direction. I did not receive any instructions for installation of the pump. The filter was self explanatory. Just remove the plastic bags, rinse the packets, put them back where you found them in the filter sponge, the handle faces up(obvious). The carbon will run out after a week or two, but I run a different system and will eventually replace it with more material for bio-colonies. The carbon is good for starting the tank but useless once the tank is established. I have the tank 1ft from my head and the only time I hear the pump is when the room is dead silent, even then it is hardly a hum and it gets completely lost in the background. If you fill the water above the nozzle you will not hear water movement either.. On that note, you cannot fill this tank to the top. The separator between the pump well and the filter compartment is shorter than the rest of the tank walls about 1/2 inch. Raising the water above this will prevent the water from being filtered. I currently have the water about 3/4 inch from the glass top edge. Just above the nozzle and just below the pump wall. I turned the nozzle to point along the glass and down toward the far corner. It creates a large amount of water movement but leaves a very big area in the center and on the filter wall side that is calm enough not to bother the tiny shrimps. Sensitive fish like Betta would be happy in the current if it was properly angled out of the nozzle away from the center of the tank. The filter is a nice large size which will allow the tank to run for a long time with a big bio-system. The majority of the water flows into the filter through a grate at the top, this is fine for a very light waste load, but with heavier waste the bottom will need to be vacuumed occasionally. This grate is wide enough for babies to swim through, the filter foam does not reach the top. I recommend adding an extra piece of foam snug against the grate if you plan to have anything giving birth in this tank. The filter housing has a small slit opening into the tank a few inches from the bottom, I suspect this has something to do with making sure the pump doesn't burn out if the water somehow dropped really low. This is fine for adult size fish, but babies and the micro-crabs can crawl through the slit and become residents of the filter housing, or sucked into the pump. I recommend filling the slit with a small piece of foam. The slit itself is very small, i would say half an inch long and maybe wide enough for a stick of spaghetti to fit in. Normally not an issue, but in my case from a breeder/nano standpoint the tiny hole can be a big problem. The black part of the filter housing outside the tank is not solid black, It is a honeycomb pattern on tinted glass. Dark enough to not notice the inner guts from normal distances, but transparent enough up close that you can see the pump in case it gets clogged, and you can tell if the filter needs to be rinsed. My tank sits where light can pass through here, but I don't notice it because it is such a small area. Putting this tank with the pump against the wall will shadow it enough that you should not be able to see through it. The tank itself is roomier than the picture suggests. In the pic it looks very slim. I was happy to find the floor space front to back was not as slim. I have 5 fist-sized mossballs, a 6 inch crystal cluster, a 10 inch mopani wood, a 6 inch petrified stone, a 3-tube stack shrimp house and about 20 micro-plants. Also have 2x 12 inch strands of red ludwigia. All said the tank still looks very open and spacious. I used a 3lb bag of aragonite sand and it covered the entire floor about 1 1/2 inches deep. Perfect for micro plants and deep enough to look nice. The light bar is very slim, very lightweight. It feels like aluminum, but I didn't check the manufacturer. The lights are tiny squares with a silicone type gel poured on top of them. looks like they will be waterproof for about a thousand years. The lights are bright enough to make the tank stand out, but not so bright that it is glaring. I put my tank in a window for the live plants because the light itself is not sufficient for high-light plants. Any low-light plants should be more than happy. The light puts out a very small amount of heat which is mostly dissipated by the movement of air in the room. I only had the tank warm up on me once when the house itself got too warm and I forgot to turn off the light while the sun was blaring on the tank. Even then it took all day to go from 68 to 80. I would not trust the light bar to stand up to a cat landing on it, it may bend at the elbow... it is strong enough for its purpose, but it is a little springy to the touch.The switch for the light is a small square touch-pad sensor on top of the bar. 1 touch for all lights, 2 for blue lights(1 blue light at each end of the bar.) 3 to turn it off. The lid is a thin but stiff clear plastic. It looks much nicer than the traditional big plastic hoods. It rests on top of the tank with little peg legs to line it up to grooves in the corners. The lid also has a long hole in the center below the light that is just a bit wider than the light. This makes adding food or fishing around with plant tools easier, but if you really need to get in there the lid is super easy to put on and take off, even in a tight space with limited clearance. The light and pump are on separate cords. Both are only a couple feet long. The light has a small box on the plug end like a cell phone. Cord length is fine for a short distance from an outlet, otherwise I have to use a multi-outlet extension to reach the plug from the shelf. The light has a safety cord, so it came in 2 pieces. I suspect this is also to replace the outlet box without replacing the entire light bar. I like that option! So far this tank has exceeded my expectations. With a proper biological system I feel this tank could run for months with limited maintenance. With nothing but my filter compartment and live plants the water is crystal clear and the chemical parameters stay constant. I have not had to use any sort of additives or treatments. I do not know how the filter would function in a non-planted tank with a heavy fish load. The filter is larger than you find in most tanks this size. A small school of nano-fish, maybe 15-20 cardinal tetras or something in that range, would fair well in my planted tank, but not sure about a non-planted tank. I would probably not house more than 4-5 nano-fish until the system had been running for at least 6 months and the bio-colonies had fully established throughout the tank. I am not one to do the constant water changes, chemical treatments, etc. This tank has worked very well for my form of fish keeping. I will be buying a couple more of these in the future for my nano tanks. I included a couple pictures to show how much space this tank has.

The light stopped working after two weeks. Other than that it’s a great tank.

While there seem to be a number of reviews that cite some of the well-documented shortcomings of this tank I think it remains a top contender in it's size for a aesthetically pleasing tank. Size While only being ~5 gallons it offers a nice 17" swim lane, making it more roomy for horizontally moving fish (most of them) than just about any other 5 gallon tank. Will it ever be as roomy as a 20 gal? No, but for what it is I think this offers one of the best 5 gallon tanks out there. It's definitely viable for a betta, a nano fish tank (I've got Celestial Pearl Danios), or a Red Cherry Shrimp tank. There's a lot of possibility with it. Design This is where the Spec shines - The design is a great starting point and usable as it comes out of the box but I really see it more along the lines of a modular, upgradable platform. The filtration isn't great (the sponge kinda sucks) but there are fantastic plastic baskets that have been designed to fit in the filter slot allowing for 3 stages of filtration. When upgraded, I've never had clearer water. The pump isn't great but still produces a lot of current for fish like Bettas, sometimes too much, and is serviceable for most tanks. There is no heater out of the box but many small heaters can fit unobtrusively in the pump stage and, if you poke holes in the hose, you can get nice heat and flow from it without it hanging ugly in the tank. The LED lights are nice looking but not strong enough to grow much however they are easily upgraded with aftermarket grow lights that can fit right on the tank or lid. The long, thin design of the tank also maximizes it for viewing from either side giving you more view than a traditional rectangular tank. The one design "flaw" is the lower inlet for the pump. As many other reviews have pointed out, this is where the majority of suction comes from and it's generally fish/shrimp height near the bottom and can easily snare any unsuspecting critter. It's easy enough to plug with Silicone before adding water or planting in front or to reduce some of the current but it's still not idea. The purpose is to prevent your pump from running dry in the event you don't top off the water for a few days and it falls below the top flow section so it's smart in theory but only in theory. Price It's expensive for what you get. The lighting isn't powerful, the filtration is not great and the pump leaves much to be desired but what you are paying for is the design and the upgradable platform that the Spec offers. No other tank can be upgraded and still look this clean so, for someone for whom design is an important element, the Spec still wins. Overall a great tank for those willing to spend the dollars to upgrade it to what can be the finest 5 gallon tank around.