show your fluval evo 13.5

Mattj815

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Hey. Been lurking for a little bit. Have my tank set up for a little over two weeks now.

Saw this thread and wanted to post mine and maybe get some feedback. Im new to the hobby. So far everythings going good. Lot of info out there, often contradictory.

Just recently added a clown some snails and a few frags. Dealing with diatoms so tank doesnt look as clean as im hoping it will in the future.

After looking in here I feel like I have too much rock going on. Any criticsm is welcome.

Thanks

20170401_091819.jpg
 

reef-rc

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Hey. Been lurking for a little bit. Have my tank set up for a little over two weeks now.

Saw this thread and wanted to post mine and maybe get some feedback. Im new to the hobby. So far everythings going good. Lot of info out there, often contradictory.

Just recently added a clown some snails and a few frags. Dealing with diatoms so tank doesnt look as clean as im hoping it will in the future.

After looking in here I feel like I have too much rock going on. Any criticsm is welcome.

Thanks

20170401_091819.jpg

@Mattj815 - 1st post! Nice! I remembered my 1st post...jk :rolleyes:

A little info on the tank itself will be helpful. Like did you use anything to start cycling the tank (i.e. live rock, live sand, water from another tank, etc.)? I am currently on my 6th weeks and started cycling with red sea mature pro kit.

I have suggestions and thoughts hopefully will help based on my experiences with the tank itself.
  • "too much rock" - Looks alright to me. I can't see around tank the however. You may want to leave a little room for the front both for both cleaning and corals/frags down the road.
  • I see you have the cleaning crew in already so that will help. You may want to watch out for how many hours your lights are on (assuming you are using default light). Long time-frame will only increase algae growth (6-10hrs are the typically range). I know when I had the standard lights on for 10 hrs, algae was growing fast. IMO 6-8 hrs is ideal since the default light has no intensity control.
 
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Mattj815

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@Mattj815 - 1st post! Nice! I remembered my 1st post...jk :rolleyes:

A little info on the tank itself will be helpful. Like did you use anything to start cycling the tank (i.e. live rock, live sand, water from another tank, etc.)? I am currently on my 6th weeks and started cycling with red sea mature pro kit.

I have suggestions and thoughts hopefully will help based on my experiences with the tank itself.
  • "too much rock" - Looks alright to me. I can't see around tank the however. You may want to leave a little room for the front both for both cleaning and corals/frags down the road.
  • I see you have the cleaning crew in already so that will help. You may want to watch out for how many hours your lights are on (assuming you are using default light). Long time-frame will only increase algae growth (6-10hrs are the typically range). I know when I had the standard lights on for 10 hrs, algae was growing fast. IMO 6-8 hrs is ideal since the default light has no intensity control.
Thanks

Yeah I think I may have to cut back on lighting. Does the "blue" light also promote algae growth?

I used live rock, some straight from some of the display tanks at the LFS. I also used live sand and used Fluvals enhancer. I put a piece of shrimp in the tank to get my ammonia and start the cycle. So far my water has been great. I use an API kit which I hear isnt the most accurate but according to that im good. And everything is still living and eating.

My corals seem to be ok so far also except for the kenya tree, which I heard is one of the easier corals. But torch coral and duncan look good.
 

reef-rc

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Does the "blue" light also promote algae growth?

I am not sure. I do know the intensity on blue seems much less and will help with coral growth. Having said that, I am not clear if there is enough intensity with just blue to run them long periods other than with sunrise and sunset effects or the occasional moments.
 

WarEaglesReef

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I may be be running out of real estate from the set of frags I picked up the other day....what you think? :rolleyes:

IMG_20170402_221740.jpg
Man, you weren't kidding. That's a ton of frags! My little tuxedo urchin would have a field day wearing those all as hats. :p Can't seem to keep him away from all of my frags that aren't glued down. He had a GSP hat last week, and zoas are his fashion accessory of choice currently.
 

reef-rc

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tuxedo urchin...or algae bulldozer? :)

Last week reefing event was a nice haul for me. I came away with 24 frags + 1 Maxi mini carpet anemone. There are 6 frags around the back which is not shown.

Yesterday and today the frags are really popping out and showing their full self. To my surprised they're much bigger than at the event so I am very pleased.
 

WarEaglesReef

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tuxedo urchin...or algae bulldozer? :)

Last week reefing event was a nice haul for me. I came away with 24 frags + 1 Maxi mini carpet anemone. There are 6 frags around the back which is not shown.

Yesterday and today the frags are really popping out and showing their full self. To my surprised they're much bigger than at the event so I am very pleased.
No kidding about the bulldozer. I got the smallest one at my LFS, maybe the size of a nickel, and he has pretty much decimated all of the algae in my little Evo in about 2.5 weeks. He's a BEAST with the hair algae which is what I got him for, but I'm gonna have to start putting seaweed in the tank for him here shortly. Or leave the lights on all the time to make more algae for him (only kidding). :p

How big is your carpet nem? Wouldn't think one of those could fit in an Evo, but I guess they all gotta start small, eh?

Love when frags turn out way bigger than expected. That happened to me with the (what I thought was) tiny frag of alveopora I got at Reefstock. Hope you've got enough room for them all as they continue to grow! Or is that just forced incentive to upgrade?? :D
 

reef-rc

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Maxi mini carpet anemone imo are perfect for nano tank based on my limited research. They're hardy, relatively small (most will grow less than 5"-6") and comes in variety of colors. There are also rock anemone which are similar in size and also comes in variety of colors and often could be confused with a carpet until you look for one that looks like a regular carpet. I got these as I don't typically see them often, they're colorful and goes well with my plan to make this tank with beds of zoas, mushrooms and anemone. Mine are 2"-3". Clowns will not host them but read anemone shrimp, anemone crabs and sexy shrimp could.

Frags - I plan start placing them in their spot this coming weekend now that they have been somewhat acclimated and I can see what about the water flow and lighting they like or don't from inside the tank. The overall plan seem to be zoas and mushrooms on the right size mid-bottom level, acans across the tank at the middle level and leaving rooms for duncan and torches to grow straight up and eventually create shadows once grown out.

For now this is more than enough livestock the tank can hold. Long term may over grow the tank. I am cool to just watching this grow out and maintain the tank to ensure growth and color. No worries however, I have a 210 AGA Reef Ready system (still brand new) and much of the equipment to support the tank ready to upgrade if need be :rolleyes:

If you are bored, links to my old build thread on the 210 AGA RR which is still in progress apparently (10 yrs and going strong) :D
 

WarEaglesReef

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Any of you that have upgraded the lights on your Evo really liking the results you're getting? I want to upgrade from the stock light that came with the tank, but I'm not quite sure where I want to head with it (so many options!). I think I've got it narrowed down to either the Kessil A80 with the controller or the AI Prime, but I've heard mixed reviews of both. Currently got a mix of LPS and softies in my tank that are all doing alright but I know they would probably be served better by a higher quality light than the stock from Fluval. Curious what all of you are using and how you like what you've got running. :)
 

reef-rc

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Any of you that have upgraded the lights on your Evo really liking the results you're getting? I want to upgrade from the stock light that came with the tank, but I'm not quite sure where I want to head with it (so many options!). I think I've got it narrowed down to either the Kessil A80 with the controller or the AI Prime, but I've heard mixed reviews of both. Currently got a mix of LPS and softies in my tank that are all doing alright but I know they would probably be served better by a higher quality light than the stock from Fluval. Curious what all of you are using and how you like what you've got running. :)

@WarEagle88 - I recently did some PAR readings on the Kessil A80 on the Fluval Evo. Check out the link below. May help you decide on your next steps depending on your goal.

Kessil A80 Par Reading on Fluval Evo
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef-rc-13-5g-nano-reef.291996/page-2#post-3670250

btw - shortly I will be able "sunshine" more light the subject ;)
 

WarEaglesReef

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@WarEagle88 - I recently did some PAR readings on the Kessil A80 on the Fluval Evo. Check out the link below. May help you decide on your next steps depending on your goal.

Kessil A80 Par Reading on Fluval Evo
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef-rc-13-5g-nano-reef.291996/page-2#post-3670250

btw - shortly I will be able "sunshine" more light the subject ;)
Awesome! Great to have some actual PAR readings in an Evo. Lower than I expected for that light at 100% though. Looks like it would be ok for the coral I've got now since I haven't tried my luck at the SPS game yet, but wouldn't really be suited for that in the future.

Love your build thread! Talk about a super tricked out tank...you've got lots of cool gadgets. Neat little HOB refugium you've got going.
 

reef-rc

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Thanks WarEagle.

On the Kessil A80 - keep in mind this was @ 6" above the water surface. Kessil had suggested 4" from water surface but I did not lower it as the tank itself is 18.5" long which is 4" longer than the 14"x14" they recommend for a mixed reef.
 

WarEaglesReef

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Not as good as some of the other post on this thread... Will be running for 4 months as of the 25th.

Looks good!! Those deep green zoas with the blue centers are beautiful. Haven't seen any that color in my trips to the local fish stores. Also, I'm impressed you have such little algae. Mine is about a month older and I had some ridiculous patches of green hair algae until I started running GFO and picked up a tuxedo urchin.
 

WarEaglesReef

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Spoke with the owner of my LFS this weekend about different lighting upgrade options and he said if he was going to set up an Evo himself he'd go with the AI Prime HD no questions asked. He thought the A80 just wasn't strong enough since it has no fan. He had systems of AI Primes running on several of his large frag tanks and all of his stuff was growing beautifully, so it was nice to get a look at them in person. Had some Amazon gift cards to burn, so I pulled the trigger and bought one this weekend. Now to patiently wait for it to get to me. *taps foot*
 

bir4y

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haha... I would go with the AI prime BUT it is just not in the price range for me right now. Thanks for the complement on the algae because it was not easy... the hair algae battle was the bloodiest. About the green zoas: My lfs said that they were Wow palys, but after looking at pictures, I cease to believe that. They were an impulse buy because I have never seen a shade of green like that in an reef
 

Sm51498

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Here is mine, running the stock light and filtration. I have been running this since late January and it is starting to really get out of the ugly stage. The algae and cyano are fading, coralline algae is growing in and the corals are starting to look nice. The only things I have added are a heater and a little hydor 180 pump with a rotating nozzle. It does pretty well stock but definitely needs more flow. I've thought about just switching the stock pump but I wanted to try this out first. My only maintenance is weekly 5 gallon water changes and glass cleaning.
FTS416.JPG
 

WarEaglesReef

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Here is mine, running the stock light and filtration. I have been running this since late January and it is starting to really get out of the ugly stage. The algae and cyano are fading, coralline algae is growing in and the corals are starting to look nice. The only things I have added are a heater and a little hydor 180 pump with a rotating nozzle. It does pretty well stock but definitely needs more flow. I've thought about just switching the stock pump but I wanted to try this out first. My only maintenance is weekly 5 gallon water changes and glass cleaning.
FTS416.JPG
Love your scape! Nice looking tank.
 

reef-rc

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Here is mine, running the stock light and filtration. I have been running this since late January and it is starting to really get out of the ugly stage. The algae and cyano are fading, coralline algae is growing in and the corals are starting to look nice. The only things I have added are a heater and a little hydor 180 pump with a rotating nozzle. It does pretty well stock but definitely needs more flow. I've thought about just switching the stock pump but I wanted to try this out first. My only maintenance is weekly 5 gallon water changes and glass cleaning.
FTS416.JPG
Looking good. Glad to see someone is staying with stock components to see the potential. Definitely would agree flow is the weakest aspect for this AIO unit.

It's ashame the vendors' themselves don't do this with a before + timeframe picture of what could be say 6 months, 1 yr, 1.5 yrs. with their unit so others could see the potential. I guess time to market and it's a potential catch 22 are strong reasons they don't I would assumed.
 
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