Fluval EVO 13.5g / 52L Build

[Crazeh]

I finally managed to get an EVO in the UK (think Fluval have had supply issues recently?)

Set up is all standard with added Fluval Sea CP1 pump and the Fluval SEA skimmer. Need a new heater as current one is old and too long, jacking up the small hood. Blue vinyl to add to the back, once cut to size. Cabinet is a Marina Premium 54 Cabinet in black.

Sorry poor photo - tried to show cabinet...

Layout:

Substrate is Caribsea Arag-alive Live Fiji Pink, and I have ~2kg of cured live rock and ~4kg dry (about 6kg/13lbs total). I like the layout at the moment, gives some space to attach corals, but feedback welcome.

I setup with the rock > sand > water route, and after the water cleared up I’ve noticed the live rock seems to have a fine covering in the 'dust'. Despite blowing it with the pump it’s not clearing off - should I be concerned about this or does it appear normal? To be honest it’s hard to tell if it’s dust or not, the LR looks so different to how it did in the store I assume because of lighting.

Readings 9hrs after setup:
Ph8.2
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Salinity 1.024

My understanding of cycling with cured live rock is that I may or may not see an ammonia spike depending on what died off on the rock/sand from store to my tank. I’m going to test daily and see what happens, but is there any merit in adding some fish food to try and force an ammonia spike? Otherwise it seems I'm just waiting for diatoms then addition of CUC.

Thanks!

 

[Tony Thompson]

I finally managed to get an EVO in the UK (think Fluval have had supply issues recently?)

Set up is all standard with added Fluval Sea CP1 pump and the Fluval SEA skimmer. Need a new heater as current one is old and too long, jacking up the small hood. Blue vinyl to add to the back, once cut to size. Cabinet is a Marina Premium 54 Cabinet in black.

Sorry poor photo - tried to show cabinet...

Layout:

Substrate is Caribsea Arag-alive Live Fiji Pink, and I have ~2kg of cured live rock and ~4kg dry (about 6kg/13lbs total). I like the layout at the moment, gives some space to attach corals, but feedback welcome.

I setup with the rock > sand > water route, and after the water cleared up I’ve noticed the live rock seems to have a fine covering in the 'dust'. Despite blowing it with the pump it’s not clearing off - should I be concerned about this or does it appear normal? To be honest it’s hard to tell if it’s dust or not, the LR looks so different to how it did in the store I assume because of lighting.

Readings 9hrs after setup:
Ph8.2
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Salinity 1.024

My understanding of cycling with cured live rock is that I may or may not see an ammonia spike depending on what died off on the rock/sand from store to my tank. I’m going to test daily and see what happens, but is there any merit in adding some fish food to try and force an ammonia spike? Otherwise it seems I'm just waiting for diatoms then addition of CUC.

Thanks!

Hi, Great looking little nano tanks those Evo`s. From the photos your rock seems to be covered in dust. Did you rinse the sand ? Maybe give it a blast with a turkey baster .

I also noticed you are using what appears to be "Ocean Rock" alongside your live rock. This is a very heavy and dense form of limestone. It is rarely used in Marine aquariums, You see it more in High PH freshwater aquariums, such as Rift Valley Cichlid Tanks, its main use is a a PH buffer. It is fine to use in salt water but if it is to act a your main biofilter, then its dense form make it a poor alternative.

If you need more information on cycling your tank. There are many excellent videos and articles available from reputable sources. My favorites are BRS TV and Dr Tims One and only website.

I am a Nano and Pico enthusiast myself. IME using a bio media in the rear sump to cut down on the amount of rockwork required in the DT makes things a lot easier. Water volume in a nano is one of the biggest restrictions, so more space can only be a benefit.

Be very careful with that swing arm hydrometer. They are notoriously inaccurate. If any small bubbles or detritus get on the arm they will show a false reading. I would also strongly recommend an Auto top up device and a Thermostat control for your heater. If something goes wrong in a nano things can go seriously wrong very quickly. Best to take precautions.

Good luck with your tank, hope it all works out for you. Have a look around the nano builds on this forum for some tips.

 

[rich nyc]

Nice tank. What are you going to grow in it?

 

[Mikedawg]

I finally managed to get an EVO in the UK (think Fluval have had supply issues recently?)

Set up is all standard with added Fluval Sea CP1 pump and the Fluval SEA skimmer. Need a new heater as current one is old and too long, jacking up the small hood. Blue vinyl to add to the back, once cut to size. Cabinet is a Marina Premium 54 Cabinet in black.

Sorry poor photo - tried to show cabinet...

Layout:

Substrate is Caribsea Arag-alive Live Fiji Pink, and I have ~2kg of cured live rock and ~4kg dry (about 6kg/13lbs total). I like the layout at the moment, gives some space to attach corals, but feedback welcome.

I setup with the rock > sand > water route, and after the water cleared up I’ve noticed the live rock seems to have a fine covering in the 'dust'. Despite blowing it with the pump it’s not clearing off - should I be concerned about this or does it appear normal? To be honest it’s hard to tell if it’s dust or not, the LR looks so different to how it did in the store I assume because of lighting.

Readings 9hrs after setup:
Ph8.2
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Salinity 1.024

My understanding of cycling with cured live rock is that I may or may not see an ammonia spike depending on what died off on the rock/sand from store to my tank. I’m going to test daily and see what happens, but is there any merit in adding some fish food to try and force an ammonia spike? Otherwise it seems I'm just waiting for diatoms then addition of CUC.

Thanks!

Here's a good guide for cycling your tank: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/
I assume you didn't rinse the substrate and what you're seeing is aragonite dust. Even though your bag probably came with a flocculent which binds these particles together, it doesn't necessarily get them all. They'll disappear in time and I would rinse return and circulation pumps until your water is clear.
BTW, your skimmer can take a while to properly tune, but it is worth the effort; I finally got mine to where they worked pretty well and figured out that the water intake "guide" is important for best performance.
Finally, there are some good suggestions for upgrades, different media, etc. on this forum
Good luck.

 

[Crazeh]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Didn’t rinse the sand with it being live, just added the sachet that came with it, which did seem to clear it up nicely. I've just given the rock a more thorough blast and it's improved slightly so that's a positive.

Disappointed about the Ocean Rock point – I thought I had bought ‘dry rock’ that could be seeded! Will likely replace as I'd like to do this right.

Plan is ultimately a CUC, cleaner shrimp (or blood shrimp) and a clown pair. Later down the line when more comfortable would look at corals. Think that would be the limit of the tank going off other posts..

 

[Crazeh]

Went a bit further out to another LFS and got some dry reef rock to replace the ocean rock. Seems so obvious now comparing them. Will post pictures later once things have settled.

 

[Crazeh]

Yesterday, all readings remained at 0ppm. So either no LR die off or the existing bacteria from the LR and live sand coped (would have expected nitrates though?). Ghost fed some flakes yesterday to build some confidence in the tank, tested about 18 hr later (today)...

Ph8.1
Ammonia 0.5ppm
Nitrite 0.25ppm
Nitrate 5-10ppm

Seems I missed the ammonia peak but I'll keep an eye on it. Plan now is to wait till ammonia and nitrite are back to 0ppm and then consider a small clean up crew, depending on algae levels. Or, is it better to keep feeding till I see an ammonia spike of around 2ppm and then stop?

Swapped those rocks out on Saturday with dry reef rock, was a small pain but pleased I did it for the long run (thanks Tony!). Not quite happy with the aquascape so may adjust. Have seen a small crab feeding off the LR over the past few days, too small to get a photo and try to ID yet though (no bigger than small finger nail). Will just leave it for now. Have some green algae growing on the glass where I've kept the magnetic cleaner - it was last used in a FW tank (7 years ago) and was cleaned with white vinegar before being put in this tank.

If anyone can ID any algae/plant types on the LR I'd like to know (just curious).

Overall layout:

LR Upclose

Green algae by the hex pattern, where cleaner has been kept:

 

[Crazeh]

Today's update,

Ph8.0
Ammonia 0-0.25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 10ppm

 

[Crazeh]

Today's test update, all back to 0ppm.

Ph8.1
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

Swapped old heater out for the fluval M50 - an extremely tight fit to get it in the sump, and the Fluval instructions (or lack of) for installing it by the return pump are shockingly bad.

Haven't seen the crab in about 48hrs now.

Fluval PS2 Skimmer not functioning correctly. Been off during cycle, turned on today to test it but it didn't start. Kept turning it off and on, sometimes it would spin up, sometimes not. Disassembled to the pump stage and turned it on (running dry), same issue - but if you ever nudged the impeller with your finger, it would start spinning fine but sounded strange. Did this multiple times. Reassembled and now turns on and off OK. Anyone else had a similar issue? Cautious of using damaged hardware.

 

[Crazeh]

Today's test update,

Ph8.2
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

 

[Crazeh]

No changes yesterday or today in results.

Noticed some GHA growing on the LR and the dry reef rocks are vaguely starting to get a bit of colour.

 

[Crazeh]

No testing today but redid the aquascape ahead of CUC soon. Skimmer now running.

 

[Crazeh]

Small CUC added on Tuesday (1 Blue Legged Hermit & 2 Turbo Snails). Have had lighting hours reduced to try and curb the GHA. Seems to be working (it's not getting rapidly worse). Hoping it's just used up all the nitrates from when I ghost fed. Thinking of waiting another week and doing a WC and adding a shrimp and a larger CUC. Will see how next week goes.

 

[Crazeh]

Still not added any further tank members just the small CUC and unidentified hitchhiker crab. Busy few weeks coming up so not going to rush. Green hair algae has been resolved. Some diatoms now appearing but I'm losing some of the existing coraline algae that came on the LR. Blue background added.

 

[Crazeh]

Diatoms well and truly in full swing. Hermit crab has had an upgrade - surprised it went for one of the largest shells!

k

 

[NanoDad]

Hows it coming along?

Here is my EVO (been running 6 months)

 

[Crazeh]

Sorry NanoDad didn't see your reply! Have just enjoyed your May update video, you've got a great range of corals would you recommend any as a good starter? Are those ocellaris clowns?

Mines coming along well. Have added a firefish and blood shrimp over the past few weeks but still taking it slow due to a busy few weekends.

Still a Hitchhiker crab to ID. Original blue legged hermit and turbo snails doing well but looking to add to the CUC soon.

 

[NanoDad]

Sorry NanoDad didn't see your reply! Have just enjoyed your May update video, you've got a great range of corals would you recommend any as a good starter? Are those ocellaris clowns?

Mines coming along well. Have added a fireshrimp and blood shrimp over the past few weeks but still taking it slow due to a busy few weekends.

Still a Hitchhiker crab to ID. Original blue legged hermit and turbo snails doing well but looking to add to the CUC soon.

Looks good! I have been lucky in the fact that most of my corals were given to me by a good friend. He fragged them out of his tank. The Pulsating Xenia is bulletproof, and all of my Zoas seem to flourish as well.

 

[Crazeh]

Added a pair of captive bread Percula Clownfish just over a week ago. Corals next.

Getting some bleaching of my LR on the top but also spots of corraline algae throughout the tank.

 

[Crazeh]

Update reflecting the last two months.

Purchased a Sunny D Zoa. A few weeks later lost one clown due to bullying by the other. I expected some aggression as they matured, but not a turn from best friends to a death within ~30hours. Couldn’t retrieve the body so the excess nutrients led to a massive algae bloom. Things are back under control through cleaning, water changes, bigger CUC, but the tank still has some progress to make (still dirty but not as bad). My Zoa hasn’t been opening up since the bloom but I’m hoping it comes back with stable water. I guess a good sign is I’m still spotting new polyps all the time (13 to 21 polyps within 2 months). Water quality is good except phosphate a little high. I’ve now noticed some worms growing in the sand bed and one in my filter sponge. Coralline algae now growing quite fast (see back wall). Big change within two months!

Stock now is 1 Nassarius snail, 2 Cerith snails, 2 Astrea snails, 2 Turbo snails, 1 BL Hermit, 1 Firefish, 1 Perc Clown, 1 Blood Shrimp.