Fluval Evo 13.5 (First Saltwater Tank)

[CrazyDuck959]

Hello,

I am gonna go ahead and start my Build Thread. As of the start of this post this tank has been up for around 7 months. It is a Fluval Evo 13.5 AIO Tank. This is my first saltwater tank. So I am learning as I go.

I decided to set up the fish tank on my desk next to my computer (Picture 1). I put it there cause that’s where I will see it the most.

I then made a scape that I liked at the time (Picture 2). I would later change the scape. But I can get into that later.

I filled up the tank and let it cycle for around 2 weeks, then I got my first fish. 2 Ocellaris Clownfish from one of my LFS’s (Picture 3). They are pretty chill clownfish at the time of this post. I have not seen any aggression from them but they definitely are not scared of anything.

It gets pretty boring from here. I get the average CUC (Nassarius Snails, Cerith Snails, Blue Legged Hermit Crabs, a Turbo Snail and Trochus Snail) I also got a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp but he would later die due to stuck molt. That was pretty sad.

After about the 4 month mark I changed the scape to a 2 island look. I felt this scape was better fit for the tank. And its what the tank currently looks like at this time.

At around the 5 to 6 month mark I got my third fish. A Firefish from my LFS (Picture 5). He was a pretty scared little fish when I bought him but now I see him at the front of the tank all the time. He’s my favorite fish in the tank at the moment.

And now most recently I have gotten my first coral, a Duncan Coral (Picture 6)! I got it cause everything I read and heard said it was a pretty easy coral to care for. My tank parameters were all good (Tested using the Red Sea Test Kits) The Duncan coral seems to be doing good, it’s open and out all the time I see it.

Now we’re all caught up with this fish tank. I’ll update this thread as I go from here on! Thanks for reading my first post!

 

[SPR1968]

Great start, and keep the pictures coming!

 

[islandstonashville]

I’m on my 2nd month now on my fluval evo 13.5. This hobby is very addictive.

Did you do any upgrades on the tank yet?

 

[CrazyDuck959]

So I’m going to go ahead and update, the tank is now on month 8! Im going to go over everything that has happened, so I will start with the good stuff! I have now upgraded my lighting! I decided I wanted to keep the lid so I went with the smaller Fluval Sea Light! The reason I went with it is because I can program it completely from a app. I did have to make a modification to the light to allow it to fit. It was a minor modification which I can go into if people would like to see it. I also got the Hygger Mini Wave Maker! I have not currently found a good setting to run it at, so if anybody who has one that can tell me how they set theirs up that would be really helpful! And to end off the good news the coral I have is doing great! It’s currently got 2 new heads growing in! So I will be getting some new corals soon!

Now to start the bad news. I’m currently having a huge algae problem and it’s getting to a point where my CUC can’t handle. If anybody can help me figure that out It would be helpful! Other then that the tank is doing good, I just really need to sort out the algae!

 

[CrazyDuck959]

I’ll be posting more updates, I am setting up a 75 gallon reef this summer. As I’m converting it from freshwater to salt. But I plan to continue this reef tank up even after I set that one up. But this tank will probably eventually turn into a small frag tank for me.

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I have done a update. So here is the 1 Year and 2 Month update! A lot of stuff has happened since my previous update! First off bad news, my first coral the Duncan Coral died due to my error. After that unfortunately my Firefish somehow got into the filter compartment of the tank and got stuck behind the filter media. It died by the time I had found it which is unfortunate. I have yet to find a replacement still on the look for one. Well that ends off the bad news. The good news is the coral death really got me to lock in and do water changes on a regular weekly basis. I also continued to vacuum the sand with a siphon on a regular basis as well. This allowed me to fix my algae problem that I had on my sand bed. By fixing my algae problem it has given me way more of a boost to continue maintaining this tank well. And so far it has been working for me. I have picked up a ton of corals since my last post. I have even been able to frag my first coral. It was my first attempt at doing something like this and I think it has turned out wonderfully.

My new Duncan Coral, Zoanthids, Candy Cane Coral, and Mushroom Corals have all been doing great! I have now also gotten a Rock Flower Anemone! The RFA has been doing great as well and I have set up a small section of the sand bed to put my future RFA's in as well. Overall the tank is thriving I am exited to continue it until the upgrade to the larger tank happens. The upgrade will be later this summer. But until then I will continue to update this thread. Thanks for reading everyone and here is the long awaited picture!

 

[JasonRJr2]

I’m on my 2nd month now on my fluval evo 13.5. This hobby is very addictive.

Did you do any upgrades on the tank yet?

have any advice or links you could message or reply with?! I’m looking into some upgrades to do to mine including one additional circulation pump, if i should change the flow nozzle to the one like yours, and the best light. I’m assuming that’s an AI Prime Reef Light? And are you using a skimmer? Altered filter method? Return pump?
Thanks so much in advance, i have a 13.5 evo and I’m getting it cycled. It’ll be my 4th saltwater tank but I’ve heard mixed reviews on the setup and what comes with it. I’ll attach a photo of my setup so far. (my heater there is obviously temporary)

 

[CrazyDuck959]

Small tank update, the reef tank is over 2 years old now (kinda lost track) and it’s gone through its ups and downs but it’s still going strong. Went through a period of not maintaining to a standard that I should have been which resulted in the loss of a good amount of corals. But in that time some of my corals did thrive and became an even bigger colony then what they were before. But overall the tank is doing great now!

This week I decided I wanted to finally bite the bullet and replace the sand in my reef tank with aragonite. I followed the method advised to me by @brandon429 which is seen in this thread (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/official-sand-rinse-and-tank-transfer-thread.230281/). Overall it was a quick and simple process that made my substrate look spotless! (Picture Below)

 

[brandon429]

That's pure eutrophication reversal by export and the pics show it. The reason it's unique among reefing options is because you're not giving the reef a chance to not comply.

Any other type of sandbed work or cyano work in the tank might produce low results or harm animals but a rip clean is forced compliance and always strong after pics

You really have to commit to it as well, any partial rinsing of the sandbed can easily become lethal to the system but with the harshest possible pre rinse you made the display comply now, really well done. I'm going to link your work to two rip clean threads so people can see your run of the event

Whether it's 3 gallons or 13 gallons or 130 gallons of work the steps are not different that's why all jobs well done need to be pattern linked plus we get to follow the progress after the rip.