Coral placement help in a Fluval Evo 13.5

[BluAqua4]

I’ve had this tank running for sometime and have gotten 2 corals so far.I want to expand on my coral collection but I’m unsure where would be the best placements and what corals would work best in my tank.Id appreciate any advice!
I don’t plan on keeping my hammer there just unsure of where to place it
Tank specs:
-10 lbs of Caribsea rock
- About 2- 2.5 inches of Caribsea sand
-Filteration: Intank chamber 1:
Filter floss,Marinepure gems.
Intank chamber 2:just has 1lb of Caribsea rock in there as of now(Would be open to ideas on what to put in there instead as well)
-75w heater in chamber 3 set to 79 degrees
-Upgraded Sicca 1.0 return pump with dual 1/4 inch nozzles (might upgrade the pump eventually)
-Hygger mini wave maker
-Ai Prime 16Hd light(Any good light schedule suggestions)

Stocking:
-Basic CUC:
cerith,nassarius,nerite snails mix about 6 total
4-5 red/blue hermits
2 emerald crabs
1 turbo snail
1 clown(would like to eventually give this one to my cousin and get a nice percula pair)
Would it be possible to keep a mandarin dragonet in this tank with its stocking?If not what other options may I potentially have?

I dose microbactor 7 every water change(20% every week)and add phyto every 3 ish days as well as add in copepods 2 times a month.Id appreciate any advice or knowledge you all can provide!

 

[BluAqua4]

I’ve had this tank running for sometime and have gotten 2 corals so far.I want to expand on my coral collection but I’m unsure where would be the best placements and what corals would work best in my tank.Id appreciate any advice!
I don’t plan on keeping my hammer there just unsure of where to place it
Tank specs:
-10 lbs of Caribsea rock
- About 2- 2.5 inches of Caribsea sand
-Filteration: Intank chamber 1:
Filter floss,Marinepure gems.
Intank chamber 2:just has 1lb of Caribsea rock in there as of now(Would be open to ideas on what to put in there instead as well)
-75w heater in chamber 3 set to 79 degrees
-Upgraded Sicca 1.0 return pump with dual 1/4 inch nozzles (might upgrade the pump eventually)
-Hygger mini wave maker
-Ai Prime 16Hd light(Any good light schedule suggestions)

Stocking:
-Basic CUC:
cerith,nassarius,nerite snails mix about 6 total
4-5 red/blue hermits
2 emerald crabs
1 turbo snail
1 clown(would like to eventually give this one to my cousin and get a nice percula pair)
Would it be possible to keep a mandarin dragonet in this tank with its stocking?If not what other options may I potentially have?

I dose microbactor 7 every water change(20% every week)and add phyto every 3 ish days as well as add in copepods 2 times a month.Id appreciate any advice or knowledge you all can provide!

Not sure why my image wasn’t added but here it is

 

[Hairyteeth]

I don’t think the pump needs any upgrading personally, I’ve never found the turnover rate for filtration to be an issue,
I would also avoid rock in the back chamber…I also did this at first, but really that rock just catches and collects junk in the back chamber
And lastly I would not add a dragonet into this tank, one fish is actually about what is appropriate imo for these tanks
I love my evos! Have 2 of em, just keep up on weekly 10% WC and testing and you’ll be golden!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I agree I would not put any mandarins in that size tank. A pair of clowns is a good stock, maybe room for one more small fish but nothing wrong with just 2 clowns in the tank.

Lots of room for corals on your aquascape, lots of corals will do well. Once pods are added I feel no need to add them again, especially not twice a month IMO.

 

[squidarcher]

I’ve had this tank running for sometime and have gotten 2 corals so far.I want to expand on my coral collection but I’m unsure where would be the best placements and what corals would work best in my tank.Id appreciate any advice!
I don’t plan on keeping my hammer there just unsure of where to place it
Tank specs:
-10 lbs of Caribsea rock
- About 2- 2.5 inches of Caribsea sand
-Filteration: Intank chamber 1:
Filter floss,Marinepure gems.
Intank chamber 2:just has 1lb of Caribsea rock in there as of now(Would be open to ideas on what to put in there instead as well)
-75w heater in chamber 3 set to 79 degrees
-Upgraded Sicca 1.0 return pump with dual 1/4 inch nozzles (might upgrade the pump eventually)
-Hygger mini wave maker
-Ai Prime 16Hd light(Any good light schedule suggestions)

Stocking:
-Basic CUC:
cerith,nassarius,nerite snails mix about 6 total
4-5 red/blue hermits
2 emerald crabs
1 turbo snail
1 clown(would like to eventually give this one to my cousin and get a nice percula pair)
Would it be possible to keep a mandarin dragonet in this tank with its stocking?If not what other options may I potentially have?

I dose microbactor 7 every water change(20% every week)and add phyto every 3 ish days as well as add in copepods 2 times a month.Id appreciate any advice or knowledge you all can provide!

I wouldn’t do a mandarin. If you do want more fish I’d get rid of the clown and add maybe up to 4 micro gobies like those of the genus Trimma or Eviota, of different species

 

[BluAqua4]

I don’t think the pump needs any upgrading personally, I’ve never found the turnover rate for filtration to be an issue,
I would also avoid rock in the back chamber…I also did this at first, but really that rock just catches and collects junk in the back chamber
And lastly I would not add a dragonet into this tank, one fish is actually about what is appropriate imo for these tanks
I love my evos! Have 2 of em, just keep up on weekly 10% WC and testing and you’ll be golden!

Any ideas for what to put in the chamber instead of rock?

 

[BluAqua4]

I agree I would not put any mandarins in that size tank. A pair of clowns is a good stock, maybe room for one more small fish but nothing wrong with just 2 clowns in the tank.

Lots of room for corals on your aquascape, lots of corals will do well. Once pods are added I feel no need to add them again, especially not twice a month IMO.

Any recommendations for coral placements?

 

[BluAqua4]

I agree I would not put any mandarins in that size tank. A pair of clowns is a good stock, maybe room for one more small fish but nothing wrong with just 2 clowns in the tank.

Lots of room for corals on your aquascape, lots of corals will do well. Once pods are added I feel no need to add them again, especially not twice a month IMO.

Any recommendations for coral placements?

I also just recently started adding pods frequently trying to stock up for a mandarin but I’ll reduce the frequency since I probably won’t be adding one anymore.Any recommendations on what to add other then a pair of clowns?Out of curiosity

 

[Hairyteeth]

Any ideas for what to put in the chamber instead of rock?

You don’t have to put anything in them
It’s just a reason to be gear hungry…I’m very guilty, if you really wanted more surface area for bacteria you can use a sock of rubble that you can pull out and swish in a bucket to clean every now and then
but honestly a second heater if you don’t already have two in your tank…nanos can be very successful With the kiss method.

 

[squidarcher]

Any recommendations for coral placements?

The corals both look happy where they are tbh. It looks like the top of your scape may have too much flow for many corals besides SPS, but some softies like toadstools may like it. If you don’t like your current placement, move the coral around. If it opens after around 3 days, the its fine. It’s difficult for a new reefer, coral placement is something that IMO comes with experience. Also for that extra chamber, I used to run a refugium with some Chaetomorpha and an internal LED, but im not sure how effective that was. I also highly recommend running an ATO in a tank this small. A cheap aqua duetto works fine, but I would argue it’s necessary for this tank.

 

[BluAqua4]

Any recommendations for coral placements?

The corals both look happy where they are tbh. It looks like the top of your scape may have too much flow for many corals besides SPS, but some softies like toadstools may like it. If you don’t like your current placement, move the coral around. If it opens after around 3 days, the its fine. It’s difficult for a new reefer, coral placement is something that IMO comes with experience. Also for that extra chamber, I used to run a refugium with some Chaetomorpha and an internal LED, but im not sure how effective that was. I also highly recommend running an ATO in a tank this small. A cheap aqua duetto works fine, but I would argue it’s necessary for this tank.

I mainly have it like that for surface agitation.But your right I’ll probably test different areas for the hammer and see where it may like to be.Ill check different corals out too as I’m enjoying this hobby much more nowadays.And my ATO just got here this morning thankfully