Fluval Spec 2 gallon setup

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footballcs12

New member
I am new to the world of saltwater tanks and figured I would start with a small setup from my local pet shot. I am using a fluval 2 gallon tank with LED's and the filter built in. I already have the water cycling to bring it to a safe level to put fish in. I was looking for some advice on what to put in it as far as anemones, fish, and cleaners.
 
I have wanted to do a reef in a Fluval Spec for a while!Glad to see this, as far as Fish, a small Citron Goby Would be cool, Corals I would do some zoanthids, a few Acans, Favias, sexy Shrimp, If you want an anemone, that might be Difficult, the tank would need to settle down and Mature for about 6-8 months, maybe a Mini Carpet Anemone?You may need a 5 Gallon tank for it though.
 
I agree, go with a long tenticle plate coral instead of an anemone in that tank.

Also remember, the smaller the amount of water, the quicker things go wrong. You will really need to keep up with water changes and never skip any. This will be easy, though, as a 50% is just 1 gallon.

P.S. Plenty of people wish they had gone bigger, but very few wish they went smaller.
 
How often would you recommend the water change? Also would a long tentacle plate coral get too big too fast for a tank that small?


The only reason I went small is due to lack of space as I still live at home. Would love to get a big tank when I get a place of my own.
 
Ive had a Fluval Spec mini reef tank up and running for almost a year now. Pretty simple tank to run if you ask me.

Unfortunately I had to upgrade the stock lighting as the corals I had just were not looking good. Since changing the lighting the tank is running wonderfully. I have a Par38 LED lamp over the tank.

Tank has a small clean up crew, 2 sexy shrimp, a maxi mini carpet anemone and some various corals. Due to the small size I do not have any fish in there. I do weekly half gallon water changes.
 
I have a spec, have had it running for almost a year (I think?). I had to upgrade the light also. The stock LEDs are not sufficient for reefs. I went with a clamp on pc, so I can only keep low light stuff in it.

I've got a kenya, a couple mushrooms, and some "trash" palys doing well in there. There's a handful of dwarf ceriths, a tiny nerite, and a limpet. Some collonista snails went nuts breeding so they take care of the glass pretty well.

I would never put a fish in it, it's not nearly big enough. I even took out the hermit crab I tried in there, I just felt sorry for him.

I change half a gallon every week, but have to top off every other day. A lot of evaporation on a small volume of water can be troublesome if I don't stay on top of it.

I added an extra little filter for more flow. Might not be necessary, but the kenya looks cool swaying in the current. I had a JBJ mini filter with a spray bar available, it fits nicely in the back chamber. I gutted the filter area and filled it with rubble. I show a carbon pack in there, too.

Also, I don't think it actually holds 2 gallons, more like 1.5.
 
I think the spec is an easy tank. BUT, I think that because I started with a 90g.

I wouldn't recommend it to a new comer. Not only is it less stable, it just gets frustrating to be so limited.
 
Half gallon a week would be fine.

Also, to top off water, just keep a spray bottle full of RO water nearby. Everyday, just pour whatever is needed into the tank. Also, you can clean the glass and any salt creep with it.
 
Would this light be good enough for my needs or should i go better or is this too good?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/36-RGB-LED-Nano-Aquarium-Light-Red-Green-Blue-Daylight-/190461841196?_trksid=p3910.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5907325407344581664

Someone had also mentioned needing to target feed. How difficult can that be?

Would it be possible to put a small fish like a small velvet damsel, for example, and when/if it gets too big trade it in for another small one?

Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions, I just don't want to mess anything up. Thank you all for your responses.

Edit: Also found this LED. Which one would be better for my needs?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Finnex-21-Blue-White-LED-Aquarium-Light-Nano-Refugium-/190559441471?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5e3a523f
 
Last edited:
footballcs12 said:
Someone had also mentioned needing to target feed. How difficult can that be?
Click to expand...

It's super easy in a shallow tank, just get a pipette or syringe. It might not be necessary for most occupants. Maybe for the anemone or plate coral just to keep the tank cleaner.


footballcs12 said:
Would it be possible to put a small fish like a small velvet damsel, for example, and when/if it gets too big trade it in for another small one?
Click to expand...

It's not practical. Most damsels are already too big when you purchase them. Even if you find a tiny one for sale, it will outgrow the tank in weeks, not months. I've seen a neon goby kept in a spec tank for a while. The LFS didn't maintain the tank regularly so nothing stood a chance in it, but that fish is theoretically small enough.

Consider a cool invert. Some of the cool ones are so small and well camouflaged they are a waste in a big tank. Like a sexy shrimp or porcelain crab.


As for the lights, I'm not familiar with those. In general, I don't trust cheap LEDs. After all, that's what came with the Spec tank.
 
This is what I got:

9W%20fixture_resized.jpg

http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=451

It matches the sleek look of the tank. It's a lot brighter than the stock lights, but it's just enough to keep kenya and shrooms alive.

The par38 bulb mentioned earlier is very popular, and will grow more coral
 
No, those aren't great...

I *love* Hagen products, and their customer service is top notch, but they just haven't gotten around to great mini/compact lighting yet.

That light fixture has a weird bulb that cannot be replaced. Hagen doesn't even have access to replacement bulbs. At the LFS I worked at, we had that light over a FW planted tank. It went out after a while, less than a year. We had to replace the entire lamp. Hagen took care of it, but it would be frustrating for a hobbyist.
 
Where would you recommend purchasing that light? The site you linked is out of stock and I've been searching but coming up with nothing.
 
Are you a diy type person? I'm in the process of retrofitting the light that came with it to cree high outputs. When I work on it this weekend I'll post my build steps.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
 
The par bulb will be bright but not too bright. You'll have better looking corals with it. You can use a regular clamp on light, it doesn't have to be anything fancy. My clamp on pc light is enough but barely, the tanks I've seen with the par38 look much nicer
 
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