Dreamy Fluval Evo 13.5

[robottaway]

Seems there is a bajillion build threads on this tank. I reckon its popularity comes down to being able to have a legitimate reef tank, and other required kit, for sub $500 all in. Should be very low stress too. Mixing a 5 gallon bucket of saltwater every week or two should be just fine maintenance wise for me. I am looking forward to having this tank setup in my bedroom where I can doze off watching some softies swaying around. I am not sure if I will add a fish. Any clownfish would outgrow this pretty quick and most small fish I know of are too high maintenance. I may just add a shrimp or two, or three. Open to other ideas, please feel free to offer your opinion.

Little backstory. I broke down my tanks and sold a them and the inhabitants off when I made a big move six months ago. I had montis, favia, a hammer and torch, zoas, some chalices. Sure I am leaving out a few others. Some not so simple corals. I really enjoyed these for their color but most were very static ie not a lot of movement. My fish and inverts kinda made up for that. So lately I have been itching to get another tank going. Really wanted to go 60ish gallons and a more traditional setup with a sump… but being I am renting and all decided against that. It required a fair bit of self control to not pull the trigger on one of the red sea setups during black friday. I have quite a lot of gear already some of which I will be reusing in this build.

I picked up the Fluval Evo 13.5 at a Petco a few blocks from home last weekend. They had 20% off going on so I think I paid around one fidy before tax. Then I jumped onto BRS and Amazon and picked up:
* 50w ehiem jager heater
* 10lbs carribsea fiji pink live sand
* fritz fishless fuel (for cycling)
* fritz turbo start 900 (for cycling)
* aquatilife ro buddy with di
* bucket of instant ocean reef crystals
* API master reef kit
* 10lbs of purple dry rock

also these are gear I already had laying around which I am using in this build:
* Autoaqua Smart ATO Micro
* Jebao SLW-5 Wavemaker
* Neptune Apex

the Apex is overkill IMO but seeing I have no other tank right now might as well put it to use. Not counting what I already owned I have around $400 in the above purchases.

I will look to stock sometime after new years. I am sure I could do so earlier but never hurts to let the tank cycle a bit extra. Also with the holidays I will probably be in and out of town. Any reefers in the Los Angeles area that can help me with some zoas, gsp, xenia at a good price? Looking for things with good movement and not super pricey.

Here is the tank setup and dosed with turbo start 900 5 days after purchasing:


thank you for taking the time to check out my build thread!

 

[Mike from TN]

Evo is a great choice for a Nano!
Following along!
Love my Evo!

 

[robottaway]

Evo is a great choice for a Nano!
Following along!
Love my Evo!

Thank you Mike! I just went through your build thread and wow. If my evo ends up half that cool I will be 100% satisfied.

 

[robottaway]

Nothing much to report. Turbo start 900 should be doing its thing to cycle the tank. Have an API Reef kit coming sometime today so I can start tracking nitrate production and look for it to taper. Thwn some water changes followed by critters.

my Jebao pump on lowest settings is clearing that corner out. Wish I would have gone the special grade over the fiji pink.

 

[Mike from TN]

Clearing up nicely.
Maybe try mounting the wave maker a little bit lower in the tank and among it upward. That should lower the turbulence in that front corner.
Cant wait to see this tank “come to life”!

 

[robottaway]

Hit my first real challenge. My 3 year old decided to do tank maintenance while I was making dinner last night

Found a battery, assorted tank related stuff, a facemask and not joking a kazoo in the tank. Worst of all was the top of the fritz fishless fuel bottle… I immediately knew that its contents had been dumped in the tank. According to the bottle it was 300 gallons worth. Guess my lttle gal wants this cycle done asap!

had some rodi already and started brewing some more. Drained as much from the tank as I could. with new salt water. Tests still show off the charts high ammonia and nitrtite. Will do another drain and refill here later today.

From left to right: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

 

[robottaway]

Clearing up nicely.
Maybe try mounting the wave maker a little bit lower in the tank and among it upward. That should lower the turbulence in that front corner.
Cant wait to see this tank “come to life”!

Mike not only did that do the trick with respect to not moving the sand, but I also was a le to kick up the flow a notch. Thank you for the excellent suggestion!

 

[robottaway]

After another near 100% water change results look better. Now under the 1ppm ammonia fritz calls for for cycling and nitrites are zeroed

 

[Brit’s Fish]

Hit my first real challenge. My 3 year old decided to do tank maintenance while I was making dinner last night

Found a battery, assorted tank related stuff, a facemask and not joking a kazoo in the tank. Worst of all was the top of the fritz fishless fuel bottle… I immediately knew that its contents had been dumped in the tank. According to the bottle it was 300 gallons worth. Guess my lttle gal wants this cycle done asap!

had some rodi already and started brewing some more. Drained as much from the tank as I could. with new salt water. Tests still show off the charts high ammonia and nitrtite. Will do another drain and refill here later today.

From left to right: ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

Sorry to hear that! Kids get so excited about the tanks. My 3 year old niece really wanted to pet all the fish and the anemone in my big tank. LOL

 

[Mike from TN]

Mike not only did that do the trick with respect to not moving the sand, but I also was a le to kick up the flow a notch. Thank you for the excellent suggestion!

Glad I could help out. Always willing to assist a fellow “Evo’er”!
I see you’re in San Jose. Spent most of my life in the Bay Area. So San Francisco, Redwood City, Palo Alto, SF and then Concord before moving to Tennessee.

 

[robottaway]

Sorry to hear that! Kids get so excited about the tanks. My 3 year old niece really wanted to pet all the fish and the anemone in my big tank. LOL

Hi Brit. That is funny I can see my daughter thinking the same things. She was so proud of herself, had a huge grin on her face when I found her work It was no big deal though no critters in the tank thank goodness and I learned some good lessons. I hope the excitement keeps up it would be awesome to share the hobby with her!

 

[GHOSTLY]

Looking good from one evo to another!

 

[robottaway]

So on a positive note it appears my apex probes all are functioning correctly despite being dry for a couple months. Salt and ph at least are inline with api tests . I may order some of the ph calibration packets just to be safe seeing the api ph is not super acc

I do have a bit of an issue with my ph. Seems to be right around or just under 8.0. I want something in the range of 8.2 to 8.4 correct? I believe in that past using instant ocran reef crystals I would have bang on 8.2 at salt level of 1.025. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Could it be the water?

Other than that just adding a bit of fish food and testing daily. Ammonia has been zero nitrites barely detected and no nitrates showing yet.

 

[Xero_ID]

Really excited to see some more pics as time goes by. I'll be starting mine up Jan 2nd as its a xmas gift and I'll be out of town till Jan 1st. Does your powerhead have a good guard to protect fish and can I see how you set the new spot for it. I'm thinking of a bt control powerhead to lower current as I'm worried about flow rate in such a tiny tank.

 

[jfoahs04]

So on a positive note it appears my apex probes all are functioning correctly despite being dry for a couple months. Salt and ph at least are inline with api tests . I may order some of the ph calibration packets just to be safe seeing the api ph is not super acc

I do have a bit of an issue with my ph. Seems to be right around or just under 8.0. I want something in the range of 8.2 to 8.4 correct? I believe in that past using instant ocran reef crystals I would have bang on 8.2 at salt level of 1.025. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Could it be the water?

Other than that just adding a bit of fish food and testing daily. Ammonia has been zero nitrites barely detected and no nitrates showing yet.

Looking great, and welcome to the EVO club!

I wouldn't go crazy chasing PH numbers. You're likely to do more harm than good trying to hit that 8.2-8.4. I generally test at around 8.0. It fluctuates a bit, and sometimes as low as 7.8 and other times as high as 8.2 depending on time of year and time of day (lower in the morning, higher midday). You should be find at around 8.0 or even just under.

 

[ISFNick]

If you snag the baby clowns from Neptune Aquatics they won't outgrow the tank for a while

 

[robottaway]

If you snag the baby clowns from Neptune Aquatics they won't outgrow the tank for a while

Thanks for reminding me to update my current location! I sure miss having such a neat LFS nearby. I have been meaning to visit Vivid who are about 1 1/2 hours south of where I live now. Probably where I will go when I do my initial stocking.

 

[robottaway]

Really excited to see some more pics as time goes by. I'll be starting mine up Jan 2nd as its a xmas gift and I'll be out of town till Jan 1st. Does your powerhead have a good guard to protect fish and can I see how you set the new spot for it. I'm thinking of a bt control powerhead to lower current as I'm worried about flow rate in such a tiny tank.

Per advice mounted it a bit lower and pointed up. I have it set to push more flow than I plan to long term. Just playing around with it to see where boundaries are. The sand does seem to shift regardless, but not as fast as it did where I mounted it before. I think it was 6-7 days before the corner was bare. I am fine with that seeing I can quickly level it all out during water changes.

believe the wavemaker is safe for any fish. Have had it in other tanks and no issue. Just gotta keep it set at a reasonable level. It has a controller with loads of flexibility for dialing it in.

 

[robottaway]

Looking great, and welcome to the EVO club!

I wouldn't go crazy chasing PH numbers. You're likely to do more harm than good trying to hit that 8.2-8.4. I generally test at around 8.0. It fluctuates a bit, and sometimes as low as 7.8 and other times as high as 8.2 depending on time of year and time of day (lower in the morning, higher midday). You should be find at around 8.0 or even just under.

Thank you for the advice! I guess the good news is it has settled in and is not moving around. Seems very stable at right around 8.

 

[robottaway]

Some corals I have had since February. Some things are growing fast some are slow. Decided I want to let the (coraline) algae start taking over the back wall and eventually add some movement back there with some corals.