13.5 gal Fluval Evo Nano Reef (First Tank Ever!!)

[Gary S]

Hello all!

If you read the title of the thread you may have taken notice that this is my first tank build ever, of any kind!! The parts and pieces have yet to all arrive, yet I decided I'll start the thread now and update every time a package comes in, until i have all of them. Once all of my packages come in, I'll post the whole setup, and then update weekly with water test results, and every time I get new livestock, and any other interesting news regarding my tank. I'll do my very best to interact with those of you who reply to my posts and look forward to any and all advice.

Thank you all for your patronage and support, and hope you'll join me for the ride!

Gary S.

 

[bdejong1112o]

Going to watch since a small tank is in my future for sure.

 

[OhDumb]

I have this tank and have done some easy mods. The Fluval light that mine came with worked out fine for the first 4 months or so until I could save up for an AI Prime. So, don't feel like you need to rush and upgrade lighting right away. You still need to cycle and get it stable.

This was last month right before I upgraded lights. Good growth on everything as long as you can keep your water parameters stable.

 

[Gary S]

I have this tank and have done some easy mods. The Fluval light that mine came with worked out fine for the first 4 months or so until I could save up for an AI Prime. So, don't feel like you need to rush and upgrade lighting right away. You still need to cycle and get it stable.

This was last month right before I upgraded lights. Good growth on everything as long as you can keep your water parameters stable.

That's a beautiful tank! From what I've read and understand, the fluval light it comes with has a temperature of 11,000k which should be able to support coral...have you considered adding a refugium to the back of the tank, in the already existing chambers? Just had the idea and wondered if it would even be possible...

 

[Gary S]

Also a heads up, I had a few packages that were supposed to be delivered today, however due to severe weather, they have been delayed. That simply means that my build will be postponed a few days, but will still be continuing to post and keep you guys up to date.

 

[bluebowtie]

That's a beautiful tank! From what I've read and understand, the fluval light it comes with has a temperature of 11,000k which should be able to support coral...have you considered adding a refugium to the back of the tank, in the already existing chambers? Just had the idea and wondered if it would even be possible...

People have done a refugium with a small light on the back of a chamber.

Cool tank, I have new build going with this tank. So far it seems like a good base to start from. I have went a little overboard on parts for it already, since I have came across a lot of good ideas from others after reading a lot of threads here. Will follow along to see your updates, always good to see others ideas.

If you wanted to see my tank and upgrades here is my Build Thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fluval-evo-13-5-build.347627/

 

[OhDumb]

That's a beautiful tank! From what I've read and understand, the fluval light it comes with has a temperature of 11,000k which should be able to support coral...have you considered adding a refugium to the back of the tank, in the already existing chambers? Just had the idea and wondered if it would even be possible...

The light I had came rated as 14k, but it was really white. I would run it 10-12 hrs a day and corals would brown up, but growth was great. I did have algae blooms that had to be dealt with, but overall it worked. It isn't the best looking light, but it works while you dial in your water parameters the first few months.

I contemplated doing a refugium to help with nitrate control. But, I already had the skimmer in the first chamber so I've been doing carbon dosing with NOPOX. I made a media basket for the second chamber out of eggcrate and run Carbon and GFO. I had a heck of a time getting nitrates and phosphates down at first, but with this combo I'm at near 0 levels for both. I still do weekly water changes of 1-2 gallons (super easy). Plus, dose B-ionic at 3ml to keep up with alk and calcium up take from all the corals.

Here is my tank as of last night with the AI Prime HD. You can tell how much more colorful everything looks and that is the real reason for upgrading. That and control-ability. The manual on/off of the stock light gets old after awhile, especially if you aren't home.

Side note: I went through all the normal "ugly stages" and you just gotta hang in there those first three months or so. I had green algae soup, brown diatom blooms, bad cyano, hair algae, etc... these are typical phases and you just gotta deal with them individually. But, you come out the other side with a stable tank and bigger understanding of reef keeping for sure.

I have done a couple of easy mods I would recommend. So, ask anything and I'll do my best to help out.

 

[OhDumb]

BTW - I don't know why I didn't realize this was your build thread at first. So, if you want me to delete my pics I will. Sorry about that!

 

[Gary S]

No problem with the pics at all, in fact I appreciate them. [emoji6]

What are the typical phases of the "ugly stages"? To my understanding, diatoms are generally a sign that the tank is just about stabilized, however I thought hair algae and cyano were rather controllable through the usage of a cleanup crew, and having proper parameters.

 

[Gary S]

Also, what caused the coral to brown? Diatoms?

 

[OhDumb]

No problem with the pics at all, in fact I appreciate them. [emoji6]

What are the typical phases of the "ugly stages"? To my understanding, diatoms are generally a sign that the tank is just about stabilized, however I thought hair algae and cyano were rather controllable through the usage of a cleanup crew, and having proper parameters.

I had a 90g SPS awhile back and now I'm running this Fluval nano. Both went through an "ugly" phase, but keep in mind every tank is different. But, Diatom bloom usually come first and that goes away. Then you'll typically get the green bloom. This covers the glass and rocks, kinda like Diatoms. But, if your parameters are pretty out of wack you can get green water. Just keep the lights out for a few days and continue to work on controlling Nitrates and Phosphates. Then as your Chemistry starts to balance you'll start to get macro algae blooms from your LR. These pop up through out the life of the tank, the main thing is to get out ahead of it now. Cyano is hit or miss, I had a bad outbreak in my Fluval because of low flow and high nitrates/phosphates. My old 90g I would only get it in spots early on, but it typically will go away with flow and good water chemistry. This time around it got pretty bad so I used Chemiclean and cleared right up no problem.

Also, what caused the coral to brown? Diatoms?

The stock lights were lower PAR and not the best spectrum. Growth and polyp exentsion were great, but color was bland. You can tell from my two pics how the Ricordia and Montipora Digi really pop now under the right spectrum. But, both were still super healthy. It's more an aesthetics thing. I focused on water chemistry first and now focusing on color. But, you can do both from the start if you got the lighting.

If I was to do it again I would...
1) Start your cycle with TurboStart 900. This really kicked my cycle off right
2) Start running GFO and Carbon early
3) Make sure you have lots of circulation from the beginning (I have two powerheads plus return)
4) Be patient
5) Keep fish to a minimum
6) Keep you water topped off. This is important in a nano when cups equal full percentages of your volume. I lose about 4-cups a day in evaporation in the winter when the heater is on and top off 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. Don't forget if you are running a skimmer to top off the same amount in salt water that you lose in skimmate.
7) Test, test, test
8) Keep records. I like Aquarimate, but it is expensive for an app. There are others out there. Or do old pen and paper logs. But, keep records of test results, live stock additions, water changes, etc.. so if something goes down hill you can figure out what and when something changed.
9) Don't overstock clean up crew. It's a nano and they poop too. I have 4 hermits, 3 Trocus snails, and a Cleaner Shrimp. You can do more or less, but don't dump 13 snails in based on the "One per gallon" rule websites like to sell you. They'll just starve and that's a lot of bioload in a nano. Start small and add later.
10) Have fun. Step back, drink a beer and enjoy your hard work from time to time.
Bonus) The key to success in reefing is stability and consistency.

 

[Gary S]

Got the tank running on pump, light and filter, to let the water wash out any factory chemicals out of the system, and changing the water every hour.

 

[Gary S]

Well I've gotten the majority of my supplies now. Installed the heater, thermometer, rock , and LS.

 

[Gary S]

However I found some life in the live sand (go figure).

 

[Gary S]

However I found some life in the live sand (go figure).

Does anyone know what that is?

 

[Gary S]

However I found some life in the live sand (go figure).

Does anyone know what that is?

 

[Gary S]

However I found some life in the live sand (go figure).

Does anyone know what that is?

 

[Gary S]

I keep finding more of these floating around. Does anybody know what they Are?

 

[Gary S]

Also quick update, I've gotten most of the rest of my odds and ends so the tank is fully operational now and tomorrow I'm getting ammonia chloride solution to start the nitrogen cycle. All other parameters are in range except for ph which is 7.8, however that is acceptable.

 

[chuckfu5]

Have fun.

They are a fun and challenging tank for sure.