Budget equipment for a fluval evo 13.5

[gatling02]

Does anyone have suggestions for lights, refugium light, and an auto top off for a fluval evo 13.5. I'd also not like to break the bank.
I plan to keep corals like, zoas, gsp, and eventually get into hammer corals, torch, and frogspawn.

For some reason almost 90% of refugium lights I see are just as, if not more expensive than the ones for a main display despite having less of a color spectrum, is this just how it is or are there some good cheaper options? Is a refugium even worth having in a tank this small? I've seen most people say it is but they also tend to keep more sensitive corals than I will and usually had one if any fish.

And I'm not really sure what I'm looking for when it comes to an auto top off. I know I'll need one since its such a small tank, but most the ones I see are for much larger tanks.

If there's anything else in this tank that isn't great and needs an upgrade please let me know to, any help is appreciated.

 

[blaxsun]

Go with the default Fluval light (fine for the vast majority of corals). You don't necessarily need a refugium (or a skimmer). Good ATOs aren't cheap. But they're less expensive than an insurance claim.

 

[FishyFishFish]

People go mad with the Evo and upgrade things that don’t need to be upgraded. I’m not saying you can’t swap things out for something better, but it doesn’t need it.

Mine has the standard light but with a Nicrew Pro timer from Amazon, which cost about $12. I am keeping all sorts of corals with that light, including gsp, Zoas and a frogspawn. No skimmer or refugium in mine.

I’ve upgraded the pump to a Sicce 0.5 but I don’t know if it really needed it.

As for ATOs, I have 2 Evos and one has the ‘regular’ Tunze 3155 and the other has the Tunze Nano 3152. Both work fine but the 3155 is better if you can justify the extra cost.

 

[gatling02]

People go mad with the Evo and upgrade things that don’t need to be upgraded. I’m not saying you can’t swap things out for something better, but it doesn’t need it.

Mine has the standard light but with a Nicrew Pro timer from Amazon, which cost about $12. I am keeping all sorts of corals with that light, including gsp, Zoas and a frogspawn. No skimmer or refugium in mine.

I’ve upgraded the pump to a Sicce 0.5 but I don’t know if it really needed it.

As for ATOs, I have 2 Evos and one has the ‘regular’ Tunze 3155 and the other has the Tunze Nano 3152. Both work fine but the 3155 is better if you can justify the extra cost.

How long have you had your evo. I heard of the lights running super hot or failing after a few months. Thanks for the info.

 

[Danroo]

I just had my evo only upgraded the light to ai prime. Was thinking of replacing the pump and filtration but I’ll ride it out. My anemone and stylophora are doing great at the moment just have some particles which will go away once the life rocks have more diverse bio filtration. No need for upgrade your corals will be fine.

 

[JachPot]

Hey there! I'm in the middle of went nuts with the evo, but not too nuts. I'd recommend you check outy build thread!


I went with a smatfarms 95w led. I wanted to be able to grow anything and for $150 it wasn't a bad price.


As for the auto top off, I went super cheap! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B083TFLF9N?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I got that glug jug bottle top off and the evian 1L water bottle for about $16. It lasts 3 full days and has done a great job.


Personally I didn't want to lose my clowns to jumping so I built a window screen kit lid for my tank that was cheap as well!

 

[FishyFishFish]

Mine’s been running about a year. I have no problem with temps with the room air con set at 70F.

If you swap the light out for something else then you will need a screen (unless you’re happy to risk the fish jumping).

I would still recommend starting with the stock light with the Nicrew timer pro. If it fails in a few months, or you decide you want to upgrade, then you can do that at a later date.

 

[gatling02]

Mine’s been running about a year. I have no problem with temps with the room air con set at 70F.

If you swap the light out for something else then you will need a screen (unless you’re happy to risk the fish jumping).

I would still recommend starting with the stock light with the Nicrew timer pro. If it fails in a few months, or you decide you want to upgrade, then you can do that at a later date.

Ok thank you.

 

[gatling02]

Hey there! I'm in the middle of went nuts with the evo, but not too nuts. I'd recommend you check outy build thread!


I went with a smatfarms 95w led. I wanted to be able to grow anything and for $150 it wasn't a bad price.


As for the auto top off, I went super cheap! https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B083TFLF9N?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I got that glug jug bottle top off and the evian 1L water bottle for about $16. It lasts 3 full days and has done a great job.


Personally I didn't want to lose my clowns to jumping so I built a window screen kit lid for my tank that was cheap as well!

That ATO is actually a god send. I was worried this tank was going to quickly reach 1000$ with stock and everything else. I didnt realize that the light was built into the lid so I probably wont upgrade that just yet, but depnding on how things go I might, thank yoh.

 

[FishyFishFish]

I’m thinking of trying that gravity ATO on one of my Picos.

However, be aware that the only way that will work on the Evo is if you remove the filter cover. The way the hood fits, it could look a little ‘unfinished’ with the main hood section only fitted. It will work, it just depends what look you are after.

 

[Yamaha1634]

I have the Evo running for 3 months now. Went a little crazy with the upgrades if I'm honest.....

Stock light is fine, my corals were happy enough under it. I'm growing Hammer, Duncan, Rhodactis Mushroom, Candy Cane and trying a little SPS Monticap frag to see how it gets on.... Didn't run too hot from my experience but I didn't like the way it was either on or off, couldn't ramp up and down. My corals seemed to shrink back when the light came on as its quite a sudden shock for them I guess. I also prefer the look of an open top so I swapped for an AI Prime. Get a good deal on a used unit of ebay and they're not too bad, mine was well below half of the price of a new one.

I upgraded the filter to media baskets in chamber 1 and 2, maybe not required but makes life so much easier. I have floss, Purigen, live rock frags, coarse sponge (cut from the original that came with the tank) and 2 shelves of MarinePure gems for chemical filtration. Media baskets obviously give you so much more flexibility in what you can use. Also upgraded to the Sicce 1.0 pump, partly for better flow but mainly as the standard return pump can be noisy!

I have the H2Ocean ATO on mine in a 5l container below the tank. Not too expensive and keeps the tank looking clean. I didn't like the look of the gravity fed ATO and the water bottle above the tank. With the standard lid mine was losing around 450-500ml a week. with the open top its more like 4 litres a week.....

I don't have a skimmer or refugium. I do however have a little Fluval powerhead (CP1 I think) which adds to the flow

 

[FishyFishFish]

The stock light can ramp up and down if you add the Nicrew timer pro.

 

[Pale Morning1]

I have been running the Evo for over a year with the only upgrades being the heater and a powerhead. My corals and fish are doing great. I add about 1/2 cup of water to the filter area every few days.

 

[tpirovol]

Who uses the sponge?

 

[Pale Morning1]

You mean the stock filter that came with the tank? If that is what you mean, then I do.

 

[Yamaha1634]

Who uses the sponge?

I use a very small section in my filter basket

 

[3429810]

The stock tank is definitely not bad especially if you add a powerhead. I use mine for a coral qt and I was using it stock for a few months without issues. The return pump lost almost all its power at that point, not sure why, so I upgraded to a sicce 1.0. I got an aqua knight v2 after that so took the lid off and bought a reef breeders nano ato. Everything has been working fine but I’m torn on the light currently. I haven’t had any fish in there for two months and I’ve had the new light on for about that time and the corals are getting duller. I’m hopping it’s the lack of fish waste but it could also be the light.

You could just add a powerhead to the stock tank and probably be fine. Only sps I had under it was birds nest and it was growing fast so I would imagine some other hardier sps wouldn’t do bad either. I don’t know how effective a refugium that small would be but I have seen others do it successfully in the middle chamber on here.

 

[rmorris_14]

For the ATO- Im not sure that HAVE to do one unless you remove the lid. With the stock lid on mine, there really isnt that much evaporation. I mark the water line using a wax pen on the glass and then just keep an eye on it. To be honest, Since I do weekly water changes I rarely have to top anything off. I just make small adjustments at that time. Not super fancy.

 

[JoJosReef]

If going lidless, I support the gravity water bottle. Works great and cheap, and no risk of a huge flood. Some bottles work better than others.

Budget lights with some customizeability: take a look at 21LEDUSA (can even do under hood supplemental LEDs). I run two Blue Heavy ReefbarPros which should be enough for absolutely anything and they fit perfectly on the top. I previously upgraded to the Fluval Marine 3.0 bar, but ended up returning it right before the deadline as it just wasn't doing it. Bubble tip anemone starved and gave up as far as I can tell. Corals are much fluffier since the change. I know a lot of people have success with the stock light on a nicrew timer, and I think that is because you have to run the blues and whites at 100%, so likely getting some decent output.

I upgraded the pump twice, first to a cheap 210gph pump off amazon, then to a Sicce 1.0 with a random flow generator.

I also got both media baskets but am now only using the first chamber media basket--worth it--for floss pad, carbon/purigen, and live rock rubble. Didn't do well with chaeto, so the second chamber is now just a bunch of live rock rubble and Seachem Matrix in mesh bags.

If you get it right the first time you won't have to spend a fortune on serial upgrades!

 

[FishyFishFish]

I know I keep going on about the Nicrew timer, but I really think it is amazing for the price and I can’t imagine running the Evo stock light without it.

Just to clarify, it’s not just a timer but also a dimmer. You don’t have to run the light at 100% when using it. The only limitation is that you can’t dim the blues and whites independently. However, at low settings only the blues are visible. My Evo stock light brightens through blue to white in the morning, then ramps down to blue in the evening for a couple of hours before turning off.

People think that the stock light isn’t controllable, but it’s pretty good with that timer fitted, and it only costs about $12!