Zoe's Reef - Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon

[splitting_lanes]

Haha they certainly can be trained—every time I walk past the tank everyone knows to start begging for food! lol

Thank you for the reassurance. Macroalgae... would this be making a refugium?

I grew macro algae in my biocube 29 for many years without a refugium, to keep nitrate and phosphate down without frequent water changes. So, you don’t have to add a separate tank for the macro algae. The goal is just to reduce the nutrients available for the GHA, so growing something you like, and something that is a little easier to harvest out when it needs it is a good way to approach the GHA problem

 

[Kjgaeta]

That's what I'm afraid of, and why I'm holding off on starting it.

I thought it would be an easy solution and it messed things up in my aquarium. I know a lot of people swear by it but I won’t be able to try that again. A lawnmower Blenny would possibly eat Green Hair Algae.

 

[azreefkeeper]

Hope that you won your battle with GHA! Fast forward 6 months and I'm just wrapping up my battle with a bad case of "young tank" with GHA. I tried everything, frequent water changes, emerald crabs, a lawnmower blenny, and eventually had the best success after introducing five Mexican Turbo snails from LiveAquaria. Now my algae grazers are starting to look at me through the glass for more of the green stuff.

I've started relocating a few of the turbo snails to my sump and increased lighting in my DT. At some point, I may have to give a few to my LFS for resale or use in their tanks. I'm keeping the emeralds and the lawnmower blenny though. They fun to watch and are all getting along in my 100g.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Nice tank! If I were you, I wouldnt be too concerned about the GHA if you keep up with manual removal and water changes and you’re seeing improvement. IME that’s all it took to get rid of it (so far anyway).

Emerald crabs are hit or miss. I got one to keep algae at bay but being opportunistic there is no guarantee. My emerald lived on a single isolated rock in my tank that was devoid of algae so I began to feed him meaty pellets that I feed my sexy shrimp. Anytime the feeding tongs were remotely close to him he’d freak, chase them down and attack. It was pretty funny.

I would try feeding your emerald a pellet or two every few days. Perhaps then he’ll be less inclined to scavenge for snail meat.

It is slightly odd though because the emerald crab SHOULD be going after the GHA and not the snails, there is an abundance of algae lol. Also I do believe males tend to be more aggressive and predatorial, so you may have gotten a male. Though I*had* a male and he was great, never hurt anything. (I remember first time I saw a hermit crab shedding I thought it WAS a dead hermit crab and I immediatly blamed my crab XD)

 

[Evo1]

Well, I'm a bit late to start a build thread, but considering that my tank is still less than a year old (started 4/12/2019), I'll use this space to continue to document my tank's progress and my saltwater journey.

Growing up, my family had a few freshwater tanks (at one point with two massive oscars), but we never had any saltwater experience. Fast forward to 2018, graduating from college, and discovering a really cool local fish store (shout out to Preuss Pets in Lansing, MI). I loved looking at all the tiny coral frags and dreaming of having a slice of the ocean in my own home. After researching different tanks, I finally settled on the Fluval Evo 13.5g for my starter tank. Nano but practical—the perfect size for a studio apartment. In April 2019, the water started filling, the pumps started flowing, and the rest is history...

Here's my current build thread:

+ Tank: Fluval Evo 13.5g with stock lighting + stock pump
+ Skimmer: Fluval Sea PS2 Mini Protein Skimmer
+ Powerhead: Sicce Voyager Nano 1000
+ Livestock: 2 Ocellaris clownfish, 1 Randall's goby + Tiger pistol shrimp, 1 Bicolor blenny, 1 Pom pom crab, and a troupe of other inverts that I check on daily (lol)

Where did you find that stick on rock???? What a great idea. I have the same tank.

 

[Zoe’s Reef]

Where did you find that stick on rock???? What a great idea. I have the same tank.

Replied in messages, but I'll reply here too.

Hi! It was technically sold as a frag rack, and at my local pet store - Preuss Pets in Lansing, MI. It was really cool when I had it, although it did cast some shadow on the bottom of my tank (I don't have my 13.5 anymore). If you google "frag rack rock" there are a few options out there, including some from BRS and Amazon. Happy reefing!

 

[Evo1]

Replied in messages, but I'll reply here too.

Hi! It was technically sold as a frag rack, and at my local pet store - Preuss Pets in Lansing, MI. It was really cool when I had it, although it did cast some shadow on the bottom of my tank (I don't have my 13.5 anymore). If you google "frag rack rock" there are a few options out there, including some from BRS and Amazon. Happy reefing!

Sorry, must have missed that post. Thank you!!!