Fluval Evo 13.5 Lighting

[Nscalise]

I was just wondering what kind of schedule people are running on their Fluval Evo 13.5 with the stock lighting. I’m going to upgrade eventually but for now I’m gonna keep the stock lights. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated

 

[mikereefing]

Back when I had my stock lights, I had them on a timer to turn on for 8 hours. I also added some cheap blue LED strips to the underside of the hood and had them turn on together with the stock lights (+1 hour before and after the stock lights to simulate a "dawn" and "rise")

 

[abet]

Fluval doesn’t have a timer. White blue and off. Can anyone tell me what’s a good light with a timer. My son got this for early dec for an early Xmas gift. He now has 2 clown fish (Nemo marlon) dory and two anemones (he split). Is there any good lights with a timer anyone would recommend. I’m no longer working from home and would like to get this taken care of before I have to go back and the lights are running white for 10-11 hours a day

 

[169468]

Nicrew Pro timer from Amazon. It works with the stock light and is only $13!

 

[abet]

Can you share the link?!

 

[169468]

Can you share the link?!

To the timer? It’s here:

Amazon product ASIN B07WT8VK28

Get the Pro version (which is $1 more expensive!). Whilst it can’t control the blues and whites separately, in practice the whites dim down first when both are on. So by using this you do get blues in the evening and white during the day, even though it would appear that isn’t possible from the Fluval LED.

 

[Sardius]

So looking to upgrade lighting and have read several mixed reviews so looking for direction.
First off which will dictate lighting to a degree, hood (be it upgraded or stock) or no hood?
Then for the light, looking at the below two mainly since they are compatible with the Fluval Evo and they have built in timers (really like this aspect).

Amazon product ASIN B083Y6WQVQ​

or

Amazon product ASIN B07DWXBWB7​

I know a lot of folks say to go with AI 16:
Amazon product ASIN B0813T7DZ6but I am not seeing the big advantage compared to the others and would still need to also buy a timer etc for it. Am I missing something?

 

[169468]

What are you trying to achieve with the upgrade? That will determine what route to go.

My personal opinion, is that the Fluval options might not be a big enough step up over the original to make it worthwhile.

You won’t need a timer for the AI Prime. It is fully programmable using the AI app.

 

[Sardius]

What are you trying to achieve with the upgrade? That will determine what route to go.

My personal opinion, is that the Fluval options might not be a big enough step up over the original to make it worthwhile.

You won’t need a timer for the AI Prime. It is fully programmable using the AI app.

Want to be able to have some nice corals, nothing epic, just worth the adventure into saltwater. Most shops say the stock light won't cut it.

 

[169468]

Want to be able to have some nice corals, nothing epic, just worth the adventure into saltwater. Most shops say the stock light won't cut it.

Most shops are wrong then ;)

I have Zoas, Ricordeas, GSP, Duncans, War Coral, Blastos, Toadstool, Candy Canes, RFAs, Leptos, Acans and a Frogspawn all living under the stock light.

Is it the best? No.

Will it support corals? Absolutely.

I still believe that if you do feel the need to upgrade, of those options listed above I would only consider the AI prime. There are other options as well, that aren’t on your list.

You could always start with the stock light and decide if you want to upgrade later.

 

[Sardius]

OK so I went ahead and sprung for the AI and new lid from Kraken Reef. Lid won't be here for ~4 more days so just going topless for now. Have to admit, for $250 I expected a lot more detail on how to set it up. Local shop was courteous enough to share a couple of his percentages. Played around on my phone adjusting settings and think I have it laid out for now but, just guessing. Anyone have any successful layouts to share and is there anyway I can use my MacBook to access the light like my phone? I tried to put the serial number number in but it says its not part of my profile even though my phone recognizes it. Suggestions appreciated.

 

[169468]

There are some schedules on the AI website that you can download. There is also a BRS where they test them and give some suggested settings.

There’s a mountain of info on R2R as well.

I believe the Prime 16HD is Bluetooth only (earlier models were Wi-Fi as well), and the app only supports iOS and Android, so I don’t think you can control it with PC or Mac.

 

[FJReck63]

To the timer? It’s here:

Amazon product ASIN B07WT8VK28

Get the Pro version (which is $1 more expensive!). Whilst it can’t control the blues and whites separately, in practice the whites dim down first when both are on. So by using this you do get blues in the evening and white during the day, even though it would appear that isn’t possible from the Fluval LED.

Can you explain in more detail how this works?
I’m trying to use this timer with the stock light and can’t seem to understand how both white and blue lights can be on together to dim like you mentioned....
Thanks for any clarification!

Franz in NJ

 

[169468]

Can you explain in more detail how this works?
I’m trying to use this timer with the stock light and can’t seem to understand how both white and blue lights can be on together to dim like you mentioned....
Thanks for any clarification!

Franz in NJ

If you have the blue and white lights on, and use the Nicrew timer to dim them, then when it gets to a low percentage (e.g. 3%) then you can only see the blues.

Technically the whites are still on at this point but they are so dim that you can’t see them. At this point you can still clearly see the blues.

 

[FJReck63]

If you have the blue and white lights on, and use the Nicrew timer to dim them, then when it gets to a low percentage (e.g. 3%) then you can only see the blues.

Technically the whites are still on at this point but they are so dim that you can’t see them. At this point you can still clearly see the blues.

I was under the assumption that the touch switch on the hood only allows white, blue, off….I don’t see both white and blue at the same time…. I might be mistaken!

Thanks!

Franz in NJ

 

[169468]

I was under the assumption that the touch switch on the hood only allows white, blue, off….I don’t see both white and blue at the same time…. I might be mistaken!

Thanks!

Franz in NJ

No, the options are white AND blue, blue only or off.

 

[FJReck63]

No, the options are white AND blue, blue only or off.

Cool! Thanks for clearing that up!
Franz in NJ

 

[bearcatn8]

Answering the original question, I added a cheap LED strip to the hood that I got off amazon, and I run the stock light on a timer:

Amazon product ASIN B08THC4583
The schedule:

LED Strip:

12 hour cycle with dimmer; starts coming on at 10:30 a.m., goes off at 10:30 p.m. (fully automated)

Stock Light:

Turns on at 12:00 p.m.; I switch to blues between 4:00-5:00 and leave the blues on exclusively until the stock light goes off automatically at 9:30 p.m.


Been running this cycle since I started adding livestock to my tank in December and so far everything seems to be doing pretty well.

 

[VanIsleReefTherapy]

Answering the original question, I added a cheap LED strip to the hood that I got off amazon, and I run the stock light on a timer:

Amazon product ASIN B08THC4583
The schedule:

LED Strip:

12 hour cycle with dimmer; starts coming on at 10:30 a.m., goes off at 10:30 p.m. (fully automated)

Stock Light:

Turns on at 12:00 p.m.; I switch to blues between 4:00-5:00 and leave the blues on exclusively until the stock light goes off automatically at 9:30 p.m.


Been running this cycle since I started adding livestock to my tank in December and so far everything seems to be doing pretty well.

So, how do you get blues exclusively? My Evo has white, a mix of blue and white, and off. I have once or twice managed to get very blue light... but can't seem to get it on purpose. On mine, dimming the blue/white setting fades out the blue first, not the white. Any thoughts?

 

[169468]

Are you using the Nicrew dimmer?

On mine, very low percentage settings (e.g. 3%) results in blue light only (with both blue and whites turned on).