Fluval Evo 13.5 Build

[kobe6710]

After almost a year, I have finally gotten around to creating a build thread for my Fluval Evo 13.5 tank. I started the tank in late June of 2026 and cycled it with all of the stock equipment with the addition of a Sicce Syncra 1.0 return pump.

I chose to do a fish-less cycle using Dr. Tim's formula, and started with a couple frags from a local reefer who was friendly enough to help me get started. My tank members currently consist of two paired clownfish, two emerald crabs, three hermit crabs, astrea snails, nassarius snails, trochus snails, Mexican turbo snails, and a peppermint shrimp. I had a tailspot blenny who unfortunately jumped out of my tank and it is just the clownfish for now.

Over the past year, I have ran into issues such as green hair algae, dinoflagellates and vermitid snails. I kept a FOWLR tank in high school and this is my first time getting into reef tanks. I absolutely love it and the information I've found on these threads has helped me immensely.

 

[Fish Fan]

Following along! Any pic of your system?

 

[RichWise73]

Please share your secrets of time travel, along with some pictures of your tank.

 

[kobe6710]

Picture from Day 1 setup

 

[kobe6710]

Please share your secrets of time travel, along with some pictures of your tank.

Started in June of 2025

 

[kobe6710]

This is my latest picture of the tank, I will post pictures and highlight the upgrades I've made over the year shortly.

 

[kobe6710]

First upgrades: RedSea Reef LED 90W Light, custom made glass lid, random flow generating nozzles.

I suspect the slightly overkill light intensity and high (unregulated) temperatures were large contributors to my early GHA problems.

 

[kobe6710]

First pic was a bit blurry

 

[kobe6710]

First coral placed in August of 2025: A duncan, Kenya tree, two kinds of montipora and zoas

 

[kobe6710]

September 2025: Green hair algae gradually took over and I was so caught up in fixing the problem I don’t have many pictures to show the worst of it.

I got some birdsnests and acros from some fellow reefers and they bleached almost immediately unfortunately. I thought I was providing too much light but I believe high phosphates and possibly other nutrient deficiencies did them in. I have my lights on a higher intensity with coral thriving currently.

Almost all the coral in the tank at this point was for free or sold very cheap from friends and hobbyists. I cannot believe the amount of great people I’ve met in this hobby!

 

[kobe6710]

November 2025

Phosphates climbed over 1.0, green hair algae continued to persist.

Notable upgrades and additions:

Hygger mini
Chamber media baskets
Chemipure blue
UV sterilizer

 

[kobe6710]

December 2025

Algae started to clear up, coral started to appear much healthier. The advice from threads on Reef2Reef helped me immensely with this tank. Special thanks to Randy Holmes-Farley and anyone else who has given me advice over this past year.

The addition of a UV sterilizer and chemipure blue combined with regular cleaning, maintenance and increased flow helped me combat GHA much more effectively.

Notable changes:
1/4” nozzles replaced with one 1/2” nozzle for more flow

 

[kobe6710]

January 2026

GHA bounced back again. Prolonged higher temperatures as I increased my light intensity (80-82 degrees) might have been a contributing factor. I also think my heater was running too hot for some reason.

Notable additions/changes:

-Egg crate lid for oxygen exchange and temperature control
-Inkbird controller


My tailspot blenny jumped the day I put the egg crate lid on. I wasn’t home at the time. I ordered a kraken lid the next day and I’ll never forgive myself.

 

[kobe6710]

Late January 2026

I realized I never actually listed all of my equipment and upgrades in the tank so I may as well now.

Tank equipment:
- Sicce Syncra 1.0 return pump
- Hygger mini 24V Wavemaker
- Hygger 5W UV sterilizer
- RedSea Reef LED 90W- diffuser / shade
- AquaEl 75W Heater
- Inkbird temperature controller
- 2 in-chamber media baskets
- Auto top-off system
- Kraken lid
- Jebao DP-4 doser

I held off on purchasing the auto doser to save money, and after a month of using it (purchased March 2026 in mint condition from a local reefer at a phenomenal price) I’ve realized I would’ve saved more if I had just purchased it this past August! My parameters are finally dialed in as of May 2026

 

[kobe6710]

February 2026

 

[kobe6710]

 

[kobe6710]

April 2026

While cleaning GHA I knocked my rockscape over and had to reconstruct everything. It was super frustrating but I kept my cool and fixed everything quickly enough.

I actually think the disaster has improved my water flow as I believe the middle arch was blocking a lot of water circulation.

I started a dosing regime in early 2026 which is now fully automated since early May.
Dinoflagellates came around as my nitrates bottomed out in March. NeoNitro dosing has brought them back to 5ppm and I have effectively eradicated Dinos twice now (once in March and again in May)


Dosing:

Ammonium Bicarbonate 1ppm daily
AFR 3 ml every 4 days
NeoNitro 2 ml daily
Hydrogen peroxide 1ml daily

I have been dosing AFR since this past summer and started dosing ammonium bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide a couple months ago to combat GHA.

 

[kobe6710]

Some pics from today

 

[kobe6710]

Swapped out my double 1/4 inch locline hose for a single 1/2 inch hose. Random flow is improved a bit with the half inch hose.

Also got a Hygger cooling fan to keep my tank below 80 degrees on warm days. 4 hour timer in the afternoon is perfect.

 

[Ollie67]

Looking good!