UGH I just love everything about your videos. The information you give, your personality and the way you edit everything together so smoothly. Teach me your ways, Mr pecktec
GREAT tank!!! Your cholla wood planters are one of the most unique things I've seen in aquascaping in a long time!!! Can't wait until it grows in and has the shrimp or fish in it!!! You've really inspired me!
Cool! I really like how you used the cholla wood as little planters. That was a great idea! I also really admire & appreciate your editing whenever there are clones involved!
Once I saw the unboxing last weekend for this little beauty I was smitten with it and I just had to have one because I’ve not been that successful with keeping shrimp. After much searching, was not even advertised on the Fluval website, the only site I found the new Fluval EBI 2.5 gallon Freshwater Shrimp kit on was “Saltwater Aquarium” - lots of the old model was listed but nothing on the new model. The cost at Saltwater Aquarium was $119.99 but after several discounts I was able to bring it down to $98.00. It arrived in great shape and I’m working on the fun part - the setup - but I was waiting to watch your video today and it was very, very helpful to me. I’ve learned so much from watching your videos. I’m looking forward to getting this little tank setup and cycled so I can add shrimp. Take care and as always “keep a clean tank”.
Awesome video as always. My fancy goldfish nearly had heart attacks watching you get rid of the duckweed. They think and I agree that you need a goldfish tank that you can put all of the duckweed from your other tanks in. I never have duckweed problems because the goldfish eat it faster than it can grow.
Fluval stratum is my fave for planted tanks all time fave! I have had good growth every time and have it currently in my fluval spec for the last 4, 5 years still going and it is in my 25 gallon as well and I had it in the 66 also. Great stuff!.
Your vids are my go to whenever i need some advice on the fish hobby. Seems like you really enjoy making these videos which makes them really enjoyable to watch :) Keep up the great work!
Wow, I bought the normal spec version of this last week for $65 (actually $35 with employee discount at the LFS I work for). Incredible that this was selling for a c note in June. Also, “EH BEE”.
That's a nice aquascape! I tried Monte Carlo in a Fluval Spec V, but because I'm in the proces of moving I had to take the tank down before it could grow back. Most of it turned brown and was slowly transitioning. I have some monte carlo in a 10 gallon and it looks really good. The area where there is less light because of the plants growing and skimming the water surface the monte carlo has tiny leaves... nice George Farmer pose, his aquascapes are stunning!
I had to block that little opening at the bottom of the substrate for the pump. Because I have had baby shrimp get sucked in. I used a thin piece of Plexiglas.
Living in the UK we never get things like this a thought it would be a great gift idea so I contacted Fluval here who at first said the Ebi was discontinued which I knew. but this seemed a new product, when I pointed them in the direction of this and a website link the said this was not an Ebi but a spec :) seems even Fluval don't even think this product exists.
I used some cholla wood "coins" like these for planters for some mini trident java fern. After a year they look amazing in my shrimp tank :) Mine were smaller, though. I would love to find some bigger ones like you have.
I recently discovered your channel when searching for fluval aquarium decor ideas. I much prefer a tank with natural looking plants, rocks ect.. I really like your style. I want to purchase a piece of driftwood that won't/minimal cloud the water of my 5 gallon fluval chi ii. My betta fish, Moe, recently died and I want to change the decor for my new Betta Pee Wee.
Wood normally will add tannins to the water but doesn’t make it cloudy. It’s perfectly ok though and will go away. You can minimize it but boiling it first. I recommend spider wood.
Thank you for getting back to me and for your driftwood recommendation. Since discovering your channel I've watched a lot of your videos. Once again, I really like the natural decor of your tanks.
Love those little tanks! Do you notice your specs getting kind of stale water in the pump chamber? Mine (the spec v) seemed to be a little murkier looking and had biofilm on the surface water of that chamber while the rest of the tank looked fine. When I moved that tank recently I pulled that hose out and poked a few holes in it so that it would agitate the water in there some. I also put in a few cubes of Poly Filter to pull out the toxins that stuff takes out. Seemed to help.
goodstrong I had the same problem on the Spec V. Seems like the 5 gallon tank is too big for the pump. I would get a film of buildup on the opposite side,because of the lack of water flow. I took mine down because I was moving. I also used a air stone in the pump chamber to agitate the water.
Hi there pecktec, I love watching your filter and aquarium kit videos. I suggest you have a look and research 'top filters' for your aquarium. They have really large media boxes so put anything you want.Would open a new world of filters for you. They're the filter type that's really popular here in Asia.
pecktec it works similar to king of diy's overhead aquarium sump the difference is you buy it ready to be used out of the box and it also comes with a powerhead
Hi Sean! The pronunciation of "Cholla" is choy-ya... its Mexican cactus that grows in the Mojave (mo-hav-e) desert in California and Arizonia. I used to live the the Mojave and collected tons of this stuff. Love the looks in gardens.
I would go with something a little bigger. It’s nice for a little min aquascape or a quarantine for new shrimp but I’ve noticed that they never get to their full size unless they are in a bigger tank.
I have the same tank and I have it set up for shrimps (no shrimps yet). What I don't like is that one cannot adjust the power of the water flow. And it is way too strong for shrimp, I'm afraid. How did you remedy this problem? Great video. Thank you!
I used to slip a sponge over the place the water comes out. Those tube shaped ones for intakes work well. Kind of big though you may need to cut it in half.
Might be cool to take like 10 to 15 seconds video s once a week and when the tank fills in string the videos together and watch the progress. Otherwise another awesome video!
I think your leak is coming from the bracket of the light. I had the same with an Eheim corner filter that hung on the glass. Water would run UP and over the side over time. Bizarre.
Ok that’s the original one. It’s an 8 gallon. They actually don’t make it anymore. I really love those tanks though. You can still find them for sale sometimes.
I realize this video is old and you may have already scrapped this tank but I was just wondering how many shrimp you'd recommend could be put in this tank?
This would be ok for just a few shrimp. Like if you got some new ones and wanted to keep them separated. If long term you want more permanent home I would move up to a larger tank. Like 10 or so gallons. I tried and tried with these smaller ones but they never did as well. Not terrible mind you. But not great either. Keep about 10-15 in there should be fine.
I got the fluval 6 edge I had limited space for an aquarium and I love how yours looked. I want get a little white tree like the one you had in an video. I have not seen one here. where can I get a one.I think you said it was a boni you put little plants in it.? thank you
What's the point of something that small? Especially if you want to keep Caridina shrimp like it says on the box, there's no way you'll be able to keep the water parameters stable enough for sensitive shrimp with a tank that small. I suggest the Aquael shrimp set, it's a 30 liter tank, with a light, heater and aquael pat mini filter, and it costs under 80 dollars, leaving you money left for substrate, food etc
The problem here is that YOU have no idea what you're talking about and you're basing your opinion of Caridina shrimp on just Caridina Multidentata, aka Amano shrimp, which is one of the hardiest shrimp around. When a shrimp keeper talks about Caridina, they mean Bee or Tiger shrimp. Try keeping a bunch of Taiwan Bees in that tank and see what happens.
I've just bought the Aquael shrimp set 30 and was originally going to get shrimp for the first time but was put off by the parameters that need to be kept in check as it seems quite difficult. You seem to know a lot about shrimp, is it tough to keep shrimp and their parameters in check? I'm also afraid that by using Ada Amazonia it has buffered my ph to the point where I can't have neocaridina shrimp but instead crystal reds which I've read are difficult to keep especially for a beginner who's never kept shrimp before. Help would be much appreciated.
Depending on what ph Ada amazonia buffers your water to you might be able to keep Neocaridina without any problems. From my experience they can handle ph as low as 6 without any issues, the main thing you have to keep in mind is stability. Always acclimate shrimp or fish very slowly to new parameters (google drip acclimating if you're not familiar with it) - and then keep them STABLE. If you're using tap water that is not too soft to begin with, Amazonia should buffer it to around 6, using RO would buffer it to 5.5 or lower. I recommend testing your water, both out of the tap and after being in the tank for a while, to know exactly what you have. Then you can think of which shrimp or fish to get. If you're using Ada amazonia for the first time, keep in mind it leeches ammonia for a long time, up to two months from setup.
tougemaster Thanks for the help! I will definitely keep shrimp on my radar. My tank has been cycling for a month now and I don't plan on adding anything any time soon as I'm quite content with watching the plants grow in, though I do hope I'm lucky and that it cycles a tiny bit earlier since my last exam is in two weeks and it would be nice to be able to reward myself with either some shrimp or some small fish for the tank. As for the drip acclimation I knew it should be done for shrimp but not for fish, it makes sense since due to the Amazonia the parameters will be quite different to that of my pet store which doesn't use aqua soil. Again, thanks for the info.
I get what your saying here. This is not a tank to raise a lot of shrimp in especially the more difficult ones. However, you can make a nice small Aquatic garden of your cubicle at work, or other small space and keep a small number Neocaridina davidi or maybe a few other types. If the plants are going well you can keep things going ok for a small amount of a lot of different things. I’m not saying the box isn’t “reaching” though. And if I was keeping those expensive ones I’d want them to breed and would go for a bigger home for sure. I’m just making a cute little tank for a few shrimp no need to read more into it than that.
great video. i love my fluval spec 5 new edition. great for a low tech set up. would love your feedback on my low tech update video" serenity". cheers. LOL at 25:02 George farmer pose!
Actually I had anubias with a small top light. I use to pour flourish excel also. But it started to grow algae on top of the leaves. Then I someone told me to place the light few inches above the tank, just to avoid high luminosity. Now it's perfect and I don't see any brown dots over the leaves.
Be careful with that Duckweed and other aquatic plants. If it's introduced to any local waterways, then the riparian ecosystem will start to rapidly deteriorate. AZ Game and Fish has been known to cite people for these violations. The fine can be pricey. As aquarists, we have a responsibility to maintain proper ethical procedures for disposing of our non-native plants and animals. Fortunately for most of us here in Arizona, all we have to do is remove the unwanted plant material, leave it outside for one day and it'll dry up and die by tomorrow morning. I have dwarf water lettuce that requires constant removal. I take all of the extra vegetation and put it in a ziplock bag, then place that bag inside my BBQ for 24 hours (leave it off of course). The next day I'm left with zero moisture and a bag of dead material. Lastly at the 9:26 - 9:28 mark, it appears as though you did lose at least one shrimp. It washed away into your lawn by your left foot. You can see it wiggling as it gets pulled by the current to its eventual demise. Collateral damage is to be expected. If you continue to setup these Fluval Spec tanks - then you may have to change the name of the channel to "Spectec". Never lose that gifted imagination of yours. Gives me hope that mine may not be entirely lost yet. Keep up the great work my friend.
Yeah, that's very true. That's why I did it mostly on the sidewalk. I try to keep it from the sink. When I do have to use the sink I cover the drain with a mesh. I probably should have mentioned that. A tip I have heard on the water lettuce and some others is to use it for compost. But I don't have big gardening ambitions. :)
