Fluval Evo 13.5 Setup

[Jup_adr]

Hey guys new to saltwater fish keeping. I purchased a Fluval 13.5. My goal is to keep it as stock as possible but if there were 2 or 3 upgrades what would you guys upgrade? As of now I’m only planning on buying (InTake) chamber 1. Any input is appreciated

 

[Tahoe61]

Get an ATO, upgrade lighting and display flow. Either do routine water changes or look into a skimmer.
Congratulations on your new tank. :)

 

[Dragen Fiend]

1. ATO
2. Upgrade the light if your planning on a mixed reef. The light is weak and if you like the more blue spectrum, it cuts the par significantly.
3. Swap the nozzle out for Dual RCAs

 

[Jup_adr]

Get an ATO, upgrade lighting and display flow. Either do routine water changes or look into a skimmer.
Congratulations on your new tank. :)

Thank you I did purchase a flow maker & was looking into upgrading lighting already. As for the ATO which one exactly would you recommend?

 

[Jup_adr]

1. ATO
2. Upgrade the light if your planning on a mixed reef. The light is weak and if you like the more blue spectrum, it cuts the par significantly.
3. Swap the nozzle out for Dual RCAs

I’ll have to look into the Dual RCAs & for the ATO which one exactly would you recommend?

 

[Dragen Fiend]

I’ll have to look into the Dual RCAs & for the ATO which one exactly would you recommend?

ATOs are all about how much money you want to spend. I'm not too picky for my nano builds. So I just get the cheap ones off amazon that cost less than $50. I've been using Magtool ATOs for a better part of a year with no issues.

For my 5 gallon tank I'm using this $30 one. Amazon product ASIN B0CS2Z681F
The only thing I noticed with these at that any sort of air bubbles can stop the pump. Every so often I need to give it a good shake to clear it out.

 

[Tahoe61]

Thank you I did purchase a flow maker & was looking into upgrading lighting already. As for the ATO which one exactly would you recommend?

I have had a lot of ATO over the years. Tunze has always been the best. I just put a Tunze 3 Nano on my IM 14 gallon, thus far it's perfect. It's really easy to get Tunze replacement parts, and it comes with a warranty. The Duetto was not trustworthy on my tank. For some reason it would over flow, cleaning the sensor was not the issue.

 

[Jup_adr]

ATOs are all about how much money you want to spend. I'm not too picky for my nano builds. So I just get the cheap ones off amazon that cost less than $50. I've been using Magtool ATOs for a better part of a year with no issues.

For my 5 gallon tank I'm using this $30 one. Amazon product ASIN B0CS2Z681F
The only thing I noticed with these at that any sort of air bubbles can stop the pump. Every so often I need to give it a good shake to clear it out.

I’ll have to

ATOs are all about how much money you want to spend. I'm not too picky for my nano builds. So I just get the cheap ones off amazon that cost less than $50. I've been using Magtool ATOs for a better part of a year with no issues.

For my 5 gallon tank I'm using this $30 one. Amazon product ASIN B0CS2Z681F
The only thing I noticed with these at that any sort of air bubbles can stop the pump. Every so often I need to give it a good shake to clear it out.

I’ll definitely keep the second option in mind. I like how simple the setup is . Sorry for all these questions but as for an upgraded return pump would you say the Sicce 1.0 is the best option ?

 

[Jup_adr]

I have had a lot of ATO over the years. Tunze has always been the best. I just put a Tunze 3 Nano on my IM 14 gallon, thus far it's perfect. It's really easy to get Tunze replacement parts, and it comes with a warranty. The Duetto was not trustworthy on my tank. For some reason it would over flow, cleaning the sensor was not the issue.

Thank you for all the info I’m definitely going to buy one if it’s not now later down the road . As for a return pump which one would you recommend? I see a lot of people replace the stock one w/ the Sicce 1.0.

 

[Tahoe61]

Thank you for all the info I’m definitely going to buy one if it’s not now later down the road . As for a return pump which one would you recommend? I see a lot of people replace the stock one w/ the Sicce 1.0.

I am using a Sicce right now, I have had some noise issues with this one. Typically I like Sicce but when I do upgrade again I am probably going to try an IM Maxjet. I am not sure if they fit in other brands of AIO.

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Dragen Fiend]

Thank you for all the info I’m definitely going to buy one if it’s not now later down the road . As for a return pump which one would you recommend? I see a lot of people replace the stock one w/ the Sicce 1.0.

Sicce is a nice pump, but if you ever want to adjust your pump flow in the future, I think its a PITA to get your hands wet in the tank to adjust. Especially in the fluval. I personally prefer ones with controllers on the outside.

For smaller tanks my go to has been IOAOI adjustable pump. Its 185gph which I think will be perfect for this tank.

 

[Jup_adr]

Sicce is a nice pump, but if you ever want to adjust your pump flow in the future, I think its a PITA to get your hands wet in the tank to adjust. Especially in the fluval. I personally prefer ones with controllers on the outside.

For smaller tanks my go to has been IOAOI adjustable pump. Its 185gph which I think will be perfect for this tank.

Thanks for all the help ! Excited to get things going and setting it up

 

[robottaway]

Hey there welcome to the hobby! You picked a great little tank to start with.

I have had my 13.5 for three plus years. I took it slow when it came to upgrades. Tank can do a lot just as it comes from Fluval.

The light is probably the big one. You can grow zoas gsp simple stuff with the stock light. For lps I upgraded to a kessil 160 blue which is probably overkill. That was maybe after a year.

You might want an aftermarket lid depending on light upgrades due to fish easily “escaping” the tank. That said I know some folks on this forum were able to just swap the stock light for the AI blade which works in the stock lid and therefore a cheap option for a brand name product.

Ceramic media is cheap and can help with making the tank mature quicker and more stable.

Tank is pretty simple being so small. I don’t think it is worth spending much to upgrade. Not right away anyhow. stuff will wear out at which point can swap in something better. If I can offer advice I would say focus on getting clean rodi, mixing consistent salt water, and doing weekly water changes. Take it slow don’t over do it there is a long learning curve. Good luck!

 

[robottaway]

I am using a Sicce right now, I have had some noise issues with this one. Typically I like Sicce but when I do upgrade again I am probably going to try an IM Maxjet. I am not sure if they fit in other brands of AIO.

I went with the smallest ioaoi pump recently for the money I don’t think there is a better choice out there for this tank. If you have money to burn the AI version also gives phone app control and iirc some extra flow patterns. Can’t speak for others but the stock pump was fine for years paired with a good dc powerhead making most of the flow. It started to die on me after 2.5 years. Worst thing about it was the little foam insert in it which clogs up quick so I had to clean that with each water change.

 

[Tahoe61]

I went with the smallest ioaoi pump recently for the money I don’t think there is a better choice out there for this tank. If you have money to burn the AI version also gives phone app control and iirc some extra flow patterns. Can’t speak for others but the stock pump was fine for years paired with a good dc powerhead making most of the flow. It started to die on me after 2.5 years. Worst thing about it was the little foam insert in it which clogs up quick so I had to clean that with each water change.

My goal was to keep sps.

 

[Just John]

It may be too late to send you advice now, but Fluval makes a light that fits in the opening in the lid, if you wanted to keep that. Also, after doing a lot of looking into it, I decided to get a Tunze Osmolator 3 nano ATO. If you look on Amazon, they also make another nano ATO, but don't get that one. I emailed the company and they recommended the one I purchased because the other one had not been very reliable, so it was discontinued.