Jared's Fluval Evo 13.5 - "Redemption"

[cpllongjk]

Good Morning...

Just FYI, Its 5am somewhere.... and it just happens to be 5am here in California too!
I couldn't sleep and thought I share a new build I'm putting together.
I plan on keeping track of this tank's progress throughout the whole journey and all of its goods and bads.

I've been in the hobby since age 14-15, and I'm currently 42...
I started with a 29g FOWLR tank. While I was in the military I had a 7g bowfront tank.
In college serval tanks ranging from 20-75 gallons. And after college many different sized tanks the largest being my 100g Waterbox Frag tank I just broke down a year ago.
In short, I took a little over a year away from the hobby because my youngest son decided to throw in a few K-Cups (Keurig Coffee Cups) into my fully stocked and expensive reeftank and frag system in the garage and kill all my fish and corals. I think I lost over 5k in fish and corals from this one incident, no joke. It has taken me a while to get over the trauma and heartache of what happened.
I just happened to be looking at some youtube videos at work and saw the Fluval EVO 13.5g and thought, "That would look great on my kitchen counter." I've never had a peninsula tank before and always wanted a tank viewable from 3 sides. I also have had many "nano" tanks in the past and know how to manage them. IMHO, if you set them up correctly they are much less maintenance intensive than larger tanks. When I was younger, Larger was always better, but as I get older and my time demands streched, I find smaller tanks are much more enjoyable.

Enough with the dribble, you came here for pictures. And while I don't have a lot now, there will be more to come as I plan on keeping this thread updated throughout its journey. I am also going to ask the community for help with possible upgrades since Ive been away for a year and am out of the loop on new tech.

Gear list so far:
Fluval Evo 13.5g Tank with Stock Light
Stock Return Pump
AquaEL 100w UltraHeater
Tunze Osmolator Topoff
Approximately 10lbs of Crushed Coral Substrate
Approximately 10-12lbs of "Real Reef Dry Rock"

Possible Upgrades?:
Replace Stock Light with AI Prime 16HD or 12" AI Blade - Coral Grow or Somethin else (Would like to keep the hood if possible)
Replace Stock Pump
Gonna try to stay skimmer-less, but if I remove the hood I might try a manual filter roller, for now Im content with filter floss
When I add corals I will probably add a wavemaker, maybe a AI Nero because they can go on the back wall and are sleek.

I apologize for the bubbles, the tank was setup last night and I am now adding salt.

 

[juanrmattos]

This is a very nice reef to work with and you will enjoy it plenty.

Best of luck to you.

I do have a full build thread on one just like it in my profile if you need inspiration

 

[cpllongjk]

This is a very nice reef to work with and you will enjoy it plenty.

Best of luck to you.

I do have a full build thread on one just like it in my profile if you need inspiration

Thanks for responding. Ill check out your thread.
I've been debating setting the larger tank back up, I never sold a single piece of gear... however I think my kids aren't ready for a larger tank and my heart cant handle another expensive wipe.

 

[Mac8128]

I just came back to the hobby myself a few months ago. I started up the same as you, pretty much a stock 13.5g Fluval Evo. I gotta tell you (heavily mentioned in My Build Thread) that I went with live rock and live sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater. It's been about 2 months since started and not one uggly. Nothing. Some light algae on the piece of Marco rock that I put in the tank and some algae on the glass. Otherwise, perfect. I swear by live rock & live sand and with a nano I could easily justify the cost.

I just ordered a 12" AI Blade - Coral Grow from BRS yesterday. I expect it here middle of next week. I can't wait to see what the tank looks like with the new light.

 

[cpllongjk]

I just came back to the hobby myself a few months ago. I started up the same as you, pretty much a stock 13.5g Fluval Evo. I gotta tell you (heavily mentioned in My Build Thread) that I went with live rock and live sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater. It's been about 2 months since started and not one uggly. Nothing. Some light algae on the piece of Marco rock that I put in the tank and some algae on the glass. Otherwise, perfect. I swear by live rock & live sand and with a nano I could easily justify the cost.

I just ordered a 12" AI Blade - Coral Grow from BRS yesterday. I expect it here middle of next week. I can't wait to see what the tank looks like with the new light.

Let me know how the AI blade works out? Im loving this hood with the tank. After 3-4 days I've only lost 1 waterbottles worth of topoff. Im fearful oh what will happen if I remove the hood to add a light that doesnt fit.

The blade looks like a solid choice but Ive also got my eye on the new hydra edge 44, which may be overkill but is a solid option. I also have a ai prime 16 standing by.

 

[t-roy]

Wow, lots of new Fluval Evo users here. I’m downgrading to one too. Moving from a Reefer 350 that has 2 clowns and full of 8 year old live rock. Ordered a Fluval marine 3.0 light and some other goodies to get it going.

 

[nanofordad]

I used to have this setup. Loved the hood and minimal evaporation. I threw a cheap led tube style light under the hood to add some extra juice. Grew coral - at least lps and softies great.

 

[cpllongjk]

I used to have this setup. Loved the hood and minimal evaporation. I threw a cheap led tube style light under the hood to add some extra juice. Grew coral - at least lps and softies great.

Thanks for the tip. I really miss the hood already after adding my HD 16 Prime. Definitely a lot more evaporation being added... but that will be a good thing down the road because I plan on using kalk in my top off to increase pH slightly.

 

[cpllongjk]

Wow, lots of new Fluval Evo users here. I’m downgrading to one too. Moving from a Reefer 350 that has 2 clowns and full of 8 year old live rock. Ordered a Fluval marine 3.0 light and some other goodies to get it going.

Yeah I couldn't see setting up another "big" tank right now with the kids being little still. Too many accidents and its heartbreaking when a crash happens. For now, I am content with a small tank to get my "fix"

 

[nanofordad]

The evo13 is such an easy starter tank and so easy to add mods. We had a heater malfunction and cook the tank…what’s heartbreaking so out it away for two years.

Just upgraded and rebooted with an IM20. Now with an inkbird temp controller! Get one!

 

[cpllongjk]

The evo13 is such an easy starter tank and so easy to add mods. We had a heater malfunction and cook the tank…what’s heartbreaking so out it away for two years.

Just upgraded and rebooted with an IM20. Now with an inkbird temp controller! Get one!

Im using an AquaEL Ultra Heater currently but its being backed up by my Profilux Mini controller. I agree back up is very important on any equipment!

 

[Mac8128]

Sorry it took so long to get back. I have the exact same tank and I upgraded to a 12" AI Blade Coral Grow. The lights is fantastic and it fits perfectly in the hood with NO mods needed. Just clip on the brackets that come with the light and it fits right into the hood.

 

[cpllongjk]

Updates:
The tank is progressing slowly. I wanted to add a starter coral and saw a torch at the store for a good price so here goes... I have a bit of hair algae which Im not to worried about and am removing it slowly. I currently have doing a 50-75% water change once a month using my ReefFloat AWC.

Current Livestock:
1x maroon clown
1x royal gramma
6-8x small hermits
1x smaller turbo snail
PomPom MacroAlgae
1x starter torch (no name- color kinda drab)

Equipment Changes:
I took the tank off my coutner and added it to a nice stand I found on amazon. My mom said the cord on my kitchen counter were unsightly.
I added a fluval ps2 skimmer for now. I know there are better ones but i just needed something temporary to add some oxygen to the water.
I ran out of electrical plugs so I swapped out my profilux mini for my profilux 4 with 2 power strips.
I had an 10g top off container sitting in the garage and will put that to use. It should last 2-3 weeks by my calculations.

Future Plans:
Over the next few months I plan on adding 1-2 more small fish as well as a few more corals.
Once the corals start taking off, I plan on using my alkatronic and dosing tropic marin all for reef.
Also once the corals start growing, I will probably change the AI 16hd for a 32hd or the new edge light.