Refugium - Fluval Evo 13.5

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Hi,
I'm interested in adding a refugium to my Fluval Evo.
Any advice/tips for those that have added it to their Fluval Evo?
Does it work best in chamber 1? Then chamber 2 can be filter floss, chemipure, etc, to catch any floaties to make sure it doesnt get into the display tank?
Any of you use the intank media basket for the refugium in chamber 1 or 2?
If the refugium is in chamber 1, are pods able to make their way into the display?
Light suggestions?
I'd love to see pictures of yours.
Thanks!

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

Good question! I'd love to see what people have to say about a fuge in the evo, something I've been trying to think about with my own to now avail- However I can say that pods can certainly make it into the display from the chambers. I got some reef rubble from my bosses tank, broke it down with a hammer, bagged it an shoved it down past the annoying little plastic tab at the bottom of chamber one, put half a box of aqueon ceramic rings in a filter bag on top of that, bag of carbon and then on the very top my floss. a few days later found a bunch of pods running all over all sides of the display!

Not sure if they went through the return or if they snuck out the little hole near the bottom of the second chamber wall but I'm assuming they've done both.

 

[ReeferJen]

I don't have an Evo, but I do have a fuge in my IM 14. I have my filtration in chamber 1, fuge in 2 and pump/heater in 3. Having the fuge before filtration would avoid "fuge gunk" getting into the display, but it might make you lazy. It may also gum up the filtration media faster, requiring more frequent changes. I have to do solid fuge cleaning every 4-6 weeks (every 4 really, but full time working mom, so 6 is really the max), and filter maintenance every 1-2 weeks. I will say, having the fuge with a good light is worth it's weight in gold when it comes to phosphate/nitrate levels. Mine seldom even register. A reading above 0/0.2 means I'm behind on maintenance. I have a chaetomax light and it's great.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Appreciate the info! Thanks!
Hoping someone else who has a fuge in the Fluval Evo will chime in.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

I used chamber one with filter floss (diy egg rack) then chemipure elite, and on the bottom of the rack I had chaeto with a grow light taped (3m double sided) to the back glass. Worked great and the chaeto would grow quickly and into a thick mat. Removed most of it about every 2 weeks.

If you're not running a skimmer in compartment 2, and don't plan to run a skimmer, I'd use that compartment for the chaeto and put some plastic screen between chamber 2 and 3 to keep the chaeto out of the return pump.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I used chamber one with filter floss (diy egg rack) then chemipure elite, and on the bottom of the rack I had chaeto with a grow light taped (3m double sided) to the back glass. Worked great and the chaeto would grow quickly and into a thick mat. Removed most of it about every 2 weeks.

If you're not running a skimmer in compartment 2, and don't plan to run a skimmer, I'd use that compartment for the chaeto and put some plastic screen between chamber 2 and 3 to keep the chaeto out of the return pump.

I'm not running a skimmer anymore (hated the fluval skimmer), so I will probably follow your advice and use #2 for a refugium. Do you think pods would find their way into the main tank from chamber 2? I'd love to have enough pods to sustain a mandarin goby.
Thanks!

 

[Reef of Fillory]

I'm not running a skimmer anymore (hated the fluval skimmer), so I will probably follow your advice and use #2 for a refugium. Do you think pods would find their way into the main tank from chamber 2? I'd love to have enough pods to sustain a mandarin goby.
Thanks!

It's so strange that people have such drastic experiences with the fluval skimmers. Mine worked great and pulled tons of dark sludge from my EVO.

Pods will definitely make it to the tank from chamber 2. I agree with most that a tank this size won't sustain a mandarin long-term. I don't think that a refugium in the AIO chamber can sustain a large enough pod population for a mandarin. With that said, I kept a mandarin in my 32 gallon Biocube, but I had a 10 gallon space packed with chaeto and the Mandaring was a BIOTA captive-bred and frozen-eating fish. It was tiny and I ended up rehoming him.

If you want to grow your own pod cultures, that could potentially help mitigate the costs, otherwise I think you'll be having to add a ton of pods pretty frequently to keep a mandarin fed. Not impossible but also not cheap/easy.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Thanks Reef of Fillory. When the skimmer was working good, it was great. But it just seemed that after most water changes I had to get it dialed in again. It was also loud, annoying. My tanks going great now without it. 2.5 gallon water change each week and intank media basket instead of the stock foam filter.
If I did get a mandarin, it would definitely be a captive bred Biota mandarin so it will also eat frozen and pellets. I would plan on buying pods every 2-3 months also.

 

[Reef of Fillory]

Thanks Reef of Fillory. When the skimmer was working good, it was great. But it just seemed that after most water changes I had to get it dialed in again. It was also loud, annoying. My tanks going great now without it. 2.5 gallon water change each week and intank media basket instead of the stock foam filter.
If I did get a mandarin, it would definitely be a captive bred Biota mandarin so it will also eat frozen and pellets. I would plan on buying pods every 2-3 months also.

If you have the space/cooperative spouse [LOL] I'd consider growing your own pods/phyto - i've always wanted to do it but I can't convince the wife to let me set that up in the house

There's one difference - I never did one water change on my EVO

 

[JDtimk]

I know it's not the same as a refugium, but in my evo 13 I just put some nice macro algae in the DT. Some dragon's breath algae. it's really a nice addition to the DT and it helps take up some of the nutrients and provides a place for pods to hide in. I am thinking about what other macro I would want as part of the display.

 

[ZipAdeeZoa]

I know it's not the same as a refugium, but in my evo 13 I just put some nice macro algae in the DT. Some dragon's breath algae. it's really a nice addition to the DT and it helps take up some of the nutrients and provides a place for pods to hide in. I am thinking about what other macro I would want as part of the display.

Thats a brilliant idea, I never thought of having a fuge in the display with some nicer looking macro algae, I think I'll give it a try with dragons breath!

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I know it's not the same as a refugium, but in my evo 13 I just put some nice macro algae in the DT. Some dragon's breath algae. it's really a nice addition to the DT and it helps take up some of the nutrients and provides a place for pods to hide in. I am thinking about what other macro I would want as part of the display.

Thanks! I might give that a try.