Fluval Flex 15 gallon build thread

hey ttf, for those of you who don’t know i used to have 4 tanks setup and the maintenance was too much and i didn’t have time, so i sold all my stuff because i couldn’t maintain all of them. anyway im starting up a new build because i’ve realized how much i’ve missed it.

anyway, its going to be a freshwater planted build, i’m not sure about stocking yet, im thinking either a single betta (if my LFS has some really good ones) or a small school of peaceful schooling fish, im thinking ember tetras or something similar (no aggressive tetras), a small shoal of cory’s, and shrimp. (crystal, blue velvet, etc)


here’s the tank right now (yes i know it’s very dirty i’ll clean it later)



here’s the list of things i can think of off the top of my head, that i need to buy to get this tank going:

• substrate (i’m thinking Stratum but i’m not sure yet
• hard scape (dark driftwood and dragon rock)
• heater
• live plants
• live bacteria (to cycle quicker)

hopefully i’ll be able to take a trip to my LFS tomorrow or the next day to get some of this stuff rounded up. i hope to get it wet by this weekend

i’ll definitely be updating frequently as new stuff occurs

Sounds awesome! Out of curiosity... how big is the tank? (Unless I'm just blind and the thread said).

PygmyPepperJulli said:

Sounds awesome! Out of curiosity... how big is the tank? (Unless I'm just blind and the thread said).

Click to expand...

Thanks! it’s 15 US gallons





i’m hoping to go to petco tomorrow and get substrate, live bacteria, and a heater, so i can at least get the tank wet and the cycle started

I have the same tank- I love it! I have Stratum with some pebbles in it. I'm able to grow plants well, but honestly, I think I would have done just as well with cheaper substrate. I put tabs in it regardless.

Mine is somewhere close to 2 years. This post shows the breakdown of what is in it and a video.

I put my heater in the return chamber on the right- keeps it out if sight. I also had an airstone going for awhile- i put it in the same place- it's nice to have that to hide other equipment.

I replaced the ceramic substrate and the carbon with K1 media- much more surface area available for bacteria to attach and work from.

Good luck with it, I'm excited to see what you do with it!

hope y’all had a merry christmas!

here’s the stuff i picked up from petco today:

• fluval stratum (might return it, i’m unsure if it’s worth the $30 for it)
• fine black sand (i was planning on capping the stratum with this sand but i might just go with this sand and save money from the stratum)
• tetra live bacteria
• sicce 100W heater (it was the best option i could find and it has an app with controls which i imagine will be really handy

i also found out that i didn’t sell some of my driftwood and i still have a few dragon rock pieces left, so i’ll be able to kinda scape some when i have a chance. i will definitely need to buy more hard scape in the future



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plan now is to try to work on it tomorrow, but i’m unsure if i’ll have the time. if not tomorrow then thursday


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i’ll post pictures of the stuff i got later tonight

I would recommend staying away from the stratum.
It's pricey and not worth it.
I have that in a 10g. Plants grow ok, but not great. I have had better results simply capping organic potting soil with pfs.

MuddyWaters said:

I have the same tank- I love it! I have Stratum with some pebbles in it. I'm able to grow plants well, but honestly, I think I would have done just as well with cheaper substrate. I put tabs in it regardless.

Mine is somewhere close to 2 years. This post shows the breakdown of what is in it and a video.

I put my heater in the return chamber on the right- keeps it out if sight. I also had an airstone going for awhile- i put it in the same place- it's nice to have that to hide other equipment.

I replaced the ceramic substrate and the carbon with K1 media- much more surface area available for bacteria to attach and work from.

Good luck with it, I'm excited to see what you do with it!

Click to expand...

thanks for the tips! will definitely ask you if i need any help with the tank

connorlindeman said:

I would recommend staying away from the stratum.
It's pricey and not worth it.
I have that in a 10g. Plants grow ok, but not great. I have had better results simply capping organic potting soil with pfs.

Click to expand...

gotcha, i might return it then, and just use the black sand i got (i have good root tabs left from when i had my other tanks set up)

okay, so this is everything i got tonight. like i said, im 99% sure im going to return the stratum, it just seems unnecessary and expensive



and here’s what i’m thinking as far as hardscape goes, this amazing piece of driftwood combined with plenty of dragon stone

plan for today is to wash the sand and at least get it filled, i’ll worry about the aqua scape later (i might put the driftwood in there just in case it needs to get water logged again)

i’m still unsure as to what i’m going to stock it will. i love bettas and always have, but i also like active fish and if i had cory’s and a small school of ember tetras i would have a lot more activity and color

PheonixKingZ said:

plan for today is to wash the sand and at least get it filled, i’ll worry about the aqua scape later (i might put the driftwood in there just in case it needs to get water logged again)

i’m still unsure as to what i’m going to stock it will. i love bettas and always have, but i also like active fish and if i had cory’s and a small school of ember tetras i would have a lot more activity and color

Click to expand...

Chili rasbora is one of my favorite nanofish right now. Their colors are deep, and they are pretty active as well.
I've got about 15 in a 10g.

PheonixKingZ said:

plan for today is to wash the sand and at least get it filled, i’ll worry about the aqua scape later (i might put the driftwood in there just in case it needs to get water logged again)

i’m still unsure as to what i’m going to stock it will. i love bettas and always have, but i also like active fish and if i had cory’s and a small school of ember tetras i would have a lot more activity and color

Click to expand...

You'll like the pygmy corydoras. I've got 6 in the 5 gal and they're doing great. If you plant it with enough they should be good with the betta and perhaps caridina shrimp.

connorlindeman said:

Chili rasbora is one of my favorite nanofish right now. Their colors are deep, and they are pretty active as well.
I've got about 15 in a 10g.

Click to expand...

i do like the look of chili rasboras, i absolutely love galaxy rasboras though and i’ve always wanted some, so that might be a good option

any other suggestions on small schooling species that would do well in a 15g are more than welcome

Tacocat said:

You'll like the pygmy corydoras. I've got 6 in the 5 gal and they're doing great. If you plant it with enough they should be good with the betta and perhaps caridina shrimp.

Click to expand...

i was thinking julii corydoras because i used to have them and i loved their behavior and activity level. i also used to have panda cory’s but they were so prone to disease i couldn’t keep them, so i wouldn’t go with that

PheonixKingZ said:

i do like the look of chili rasboras, i absolutely love galaxy rasboras though and i’ve always wanted some, so that might be a good option

any other suggestions on small schooling species that would do well in a 15g are more than welcome




i was thinking julii corydoras because i used to have them and i loved their behavior and activity level. i also used to have panda cory’s but they were so prone to disease i couldn’t keep them, so i wouldn’t go with that

Click to expand...

I've got some Emerald Dwarf Rasbora in my 20g. They have nice colors and personality.

Watching your thread intently I have considered totally downsizing my tanks, down to two now. Keep up the posts.