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Fluval Evo 13.5 - first post


deltabluefin

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deltabluefin

My first post here. Sharing my first venture into reefing. Thoughts on how to address the issues below?

Current Issues:

1. Hair algae – Hopeful the CUC and phosphate lowering strategies will help (GFO in reactor, chaeto, get rid of stock sponge).

2. High phosphates – 36 ppb (0.108 ppm)

3. High nitrates  - 10-20 ppm

4. No coralline algae – I read it only takes about 8 weeks to get rocks covered, but nothing. Does it take longer on non-live rock like CaribSea LifeRock? Have some neon green coralline but hasn't really progressed to the purples.

5. Trachyphyllia #1 expelling zooxanthellae and Trachyphyllia #2 starting to fade in-color (I am decreasing the light intensity and shortening the photoperiod; used to be 12 hours, gradually brought it down to 9 hrs).

6. Acan coral not colonizing/not sprouting new heads – I’m trying to work on phos and nitrates.

I'm probably overfeeding (Daily 1/4 cube of frozen mysis or New Life Spectrum 1 mm pellets 3-4 pellets per clown)

Parameters: pH 8.3, temp 78,  ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10-20, phosphorus 36 ppb = 0.108 ppm, salinity 1.024-1.025.

10-30% weekly water change with Red Sea Coral Pro Salt and LFS RO/DI.

Some background info…

Bought the Evo 13.5 middle of Feb, my first saltwater tank. Lots of stuff to learn and research, but it’s been an enjoyable start. Original plan was to keep everything stock, then I guess the reefing bug urged me to upgrade some.

Tank Build/Equipment:

  • Evo 13.5 with 12 lbs of CaribSea Life Rock and 10 lbs of CaribSea Arag-Alive Hawaiian black substrate.

  • PS2 skimmer in 1st chamber (will move to 2nd chamber when I get the inTank media basket, shipping today)

  • Eheim 50 w heater in 3rd chamber

  • Still with stock sponge filter with stock carbon and biopellets (will toss it out when I get inTank basket)

  • Upgraded pump to Hydor centrifugal 300 gph

  • Spinstream nozzle

  • Nanobox Mini Tide Plus M

  • GFO + Rox Carbon in media bag (waiting for IM Minimax reactor)

  • Soap-dish with Chaeto in display tank (waiting for Aquafuge2 hang-on refugium – will use stock light for refugium)

  • Turkey baster and python siphon

Testing kits: Started off with API kit and swing-arm hydrometer. Eventually got a refractometer, Hanna Checker for phosphorus ULR. Waiting for Salifert Nitrate delivery.

Livestock:

  • Pair of Davinci clowns

  • Cleaner Shrimp

  • Clean-up crew package for 10 gallon tank from John at Reefcleaners

  • LPS and soft coral
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:welcome:

 

Sound like you have a lot going on in there!  I would take a breath and a break before starting to address your core problems.  

 

You provided a good amount of info but no real background.  Live rock? Live Sand? How did you cycle the tank? When was the cycle complete? How long have the fish and corals been in there? ......just to start.

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deltabluefin
7 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

:welcome:

 

Sound like you have a lot going on in there!  I would take a breath and a break before starting to address your core problems.  

 

You provided a good amount of info but no real background.  Live rock? Live Sand? How did you cycle the tank? When was the cycle complete? How long have the fish and corals been in there? ......just to start.

Thank WV Reefer. Yeah, I'm putting on the brakes on adding corals/livestock or even adding equipment. No plans of adding until I get nitrates, phosphates down. LFS recommended Caribsea Life Rock, 12 lbs. Found out later it's not really live rock. Sand was Arag-alive Hawaiian Black, 10 lbs. Cycle completed 2 months ago, since then nitrites have been zero, and nitrates trending up gradually to 10 or 20 ppm. Fish added when it was cycled. Corals added later, maybe 6 weeks ago.

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29 minutes ago, deltabluefin said:

Thank WV Reefer. Yeah, I'm putting on the brakes on adding corals/livestock or even adding equipment. No plans of adding until I get nitrates, phosphates down. LFS recommended Caribsea Life Rock, 12 lbs. Found out later it's not really live rock. Sand was Arag-alive Hawaiian Black, 10 lbs. Cycle completed 2 months ago, since then nitrites have been zero, and nitrates trending up gradually to 10 or 20 ppm. Fish added when it was cycled. Corals added later, maybe 6 weeks ago.

 

I would just concentrate on reducing your levels and that will likely solve the other issues.

 

As far as the coralline......that can depend on the system.  I run a very basic system and it took several months before i started to see any real color on the rocks.  It showed up on the back wall and powerheads first.  

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SaltyBuddha

Welcome! Addressing the feeding, adding a fuge, and using the GFO reactor will reduce your phosphates. This should allow your CUC to take on the GHA better. I've also heard that you need to go slow with GFO so I would look into that.

 

The nano box is highly recommended but I know they are strong. Would not be hard to bleach some corals over time with that light. Reducing the light period will also help with algae issues.

 

My corraline was introduced into my tank by a LFS frag plug. After two days with it in my tank, I noticed very small areas of growth in my rock. It is very slow going but I do see it on all my rocks now. I'm thinking it might take 8 months (compared to the 8 weeks) to entrust the entire system. Corraline must be introduced into a system and will not start on its own.

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deltabluefin
2 hours ago, SaltyBuddha said:

Welcome! Addressing the feeding, adding a fuge, and using the GFO reactor will reduce your phosphates. This should allow your CUC to take on the GHA better. I've also heard that you need to go slow with GFO so I would look into that.

 

The nano box is highly recommended but I know they are strong. Would not be hard to bleach some corals over time with that light. Reducing the light period will also help with algae issues.

 

My corraline was introduced into my tank by a LFS frag plug. After two days with it in my tank, I noticed very small areas of growth in my rock. It is very slow going but I do see it on all my rocks now. I'm thinking it might take 8 months (compared to the 8 weeks) to entrust the entire system. Corraline must be introduced into a system and will not start on its own.

Hoping the different strategies will bring nitrate and phos down. 

I'm liking the nanobox, but I did have to lower in intensity. 

One of the corals is attached to a rubble with coralline, maybe that will spread when parameters improve. Thanks. 

 

 

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deltabluefin

I think I also have some cyano in addition to GHA.

 

My plan of action based on what I learned from others' posts:

1. Feed less, and rinse frozen mysis cube. - used to feed daily without rinsing the food; will reduce to every other day, and spot feed with a dropper.

2. Remove sponge filter and replace with inTank basket with filter pad (being delivered today)

3. Let chaeto establish itself in hang-on refugium (will be delivered next week)

4. GFO + ROX Carbon in reactor (currently in media bag, reactor delivered next week).

5. 30% water change per week (up from 10%) with substrate siphoning - started doing last week

6. Continue to turkey baste detritus off the rocks.

 

Maybe Nopox dosing if levels remain high.

Maybe Dr. Tim's Waste Away if still nuisance algae.

 

Hoping these would work in bringing down nitrates and phosphates and get rid of the nuisance algae.

 

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Hey, nice set-up and welcome.  I also have the Fluval EVO 13.5 and I love the foot print of the tank, but it does need some tweaking and upgrading.  If you haven't done so already, I would strongly recommend plugging the hole in the center of the false wall between the display and the AIO chambers.  I ran my tank for about month (maybe a little more) with out doing this and I had issues with detritus building up in the back chambers.  Plugging the hole will force more water into the back chambers through the overflow and directly through your filter floss and media basket, thus preventing detritus from entering and building up in the chambers.  This may end up going a long way to curing/preventing any algae and cyano issues you are experiencing.  Certainly continue with the other corrective measures you are planning on, but this is a quick fix that should help as well. 

 

I simply plugged mine with some purple aquarium epoxy used for securing rocks and mounting corals.  Its not the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but it does the job and shouldn't be noticeable once the false wall is covered in coralline.  At least that's what I keep telling myself. 

 

 

 

 

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deltabluefin
12 minutes ago, TheBig053 said:

Hey, nice set-up and welcome.  I also have the Fluval EVO 13.5 and I love the foot print of the tank, but it does need some tweaking and upgrading.  If you haven't done so already, I would strongly recommend plugging the hole in the center of the false wall between the display and the AIO chambers.  I ran my tank for about month (maybe a little more) with out doing this and I had issues with detritus building up in the back chambers.  Plugging the hole will force more water into the back chambers through the overflow and directly through your filter floss and media basket, thus preventing detritus from entering and building up in the chambers.  This may end up going a long way to curing/preventing any algae and cyano issues you are experiencing.  Certainly continue with the other corrective measures you are planning on, but this is a quick fix that should help as well. 

 

I simply plugged mine with some purple aquarium epoxy used for securing rocks and mounting corals.  Its not the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but it does the job and shouldn't be noticeable once the false wall is covered in coralline.  At least that's what I keep telling myself. 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I've noticed some buildup of detritus/left over food in the side chambers. I'll plug that hole. I was thinking of supergluing a small piece of acrylic to cover it. I'll also try to siphon out the chambers.

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1 minute ago, deltabluefin said:

Yeah, I've noticed some buildup of detritus/left over food in the side chambers. I'll plug that hole. I was thinking of supergluing a small piece of acrylic to cover it. I'll also try to siphon out the chambers.

Definitely siphon the build up out the back chambers during each water change. You will still get some build up using the media basket and with the hole plugged, but not nearly as much. 

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deltabluefin

I received the inTank media basket last night and just realized the purpose of the stock surface skimmer. When I first set the tank up, I didn't know what that extra piece of plastic was for and put it back in box (fortunately didn't throw it away). I don't think I read anything about it in the manual, unless I wasn't reading carefully.

 

In just a few hours, the filter pad was already doing a good job collecting gunk. Filter pad on top rack of media basket, chemipure blue 2nd rack, biopellets bottom rack. Protein skimmer working well in its new spot in middle chamber. Hole in the wall is plugged. Side chambers siphoned. Will do my scheduled water change later, and hoping nitrates/phosphates would be trending down.

 

I wonder why Fluval designed the stock filter to be in the 2nd chamber ??? Seems to be a set-up for detritus build up.

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49 minutes ago, deltabluefin said:

 

I wonder why Fluval designed the stock filter to be in the 2nd chamber ??? Seems to be a set-up for detritus build up.

This.  And why they put the hole in the AIO wall to begin with?? 

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  • 4 weeks later...
deltabluefin

Numbers look promising after about 3 weeks of intervention.

Nitrates down to 1 ppm from 25 ppm.

Phosphorus down to 17 ppb (0.051 ppm) from peak of 65 ppb (0.2 ppm).

Corals definitely look happier.

Green hair algae and cyano are GONE! Still some film algae on wall that snails are working on.
 

Major things done: Changed sponge filter to media basket; put GFO in a reactor instead of media bag; hang-on back refugium with chaeto which is growing at a decent rate; feeding less and rinsing the frozen food.

 

I don't intend the nitrate to be zero, since I don't need it to be an ultra low nutrient tank (LPS/softy tank). Suggestions on how to keep nitrates in 1-5 ppm range? Maybe up the feeding an extra day? Went down from daily feeding to M-W-F-Su. Or reduce water change from 25% per week to every 2 weeks?

 

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  • 1 month later...

i know this is off topic, but do you like the replacement pump you purchased? is it noisy? i've been wanting to upgrade my flow and ditch the powerhead out of the tank, but all the replacements i've heard of (MJ900) get a lot of complaints for noise. any complaints about anything for this pump?

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  • 4 weeks later...
On ‎8‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 10:01 PM, dvs1986 said:

i know this is off topic, but do you like the replacement pump you purchased? is it noisy? i've been wanting to upgrade my flow and ditch the powerhead out of the tank, but all the replacements i've heard of (MJ900) get a lot of complaints for noise. any complaints about anything for this pump?

The replacement pump I got (Hydor Centrifugal 300 gph) is working well. It's quiet. It's significantly smaller than the stock pump that came with the Evo.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Has anyone taken the plunge and go to the AI Prime HD for lights? Any pitfalls removing the top? I would like more control of the lights... and cannot find a solution besides totally removing the cover... any thoughts or suggestions?

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4 minutes ago, kevinr621 said:

Has anyone taken the plunge and go to the AI Prime HD for lights? Any pitfalls removing the top? I would like more control of the lights... and cannot find a solution besides totally removing the cover... any thoughts or suggestions?

If you have fish, consider a screen top using mesh like Bulk Reef Supply sells when you remove the top. Pretty sure you do have to get rid of the top to upgrade the lights.

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Pop the top and go AI Prime. You wont regret it! But yeah, put a screen top over if you have fish or nerite snails (they might even crawl out with a top). You could even look for a used regular AI Prime (non-hd) with this tank. I have an HD over my EVO and I am currently only running the blues at 68%. Did have them up at 75% but my SPS up high started losing color, so I had to tone them down.  

 

Welcome to the EVO club....

 

 

E6AF6196-F0AD-402D-B69E-B8AEB57EE805.gif

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I used the BRS screen kit, but don't pay for that. Buy the mesh from them and go to home depot or lowes and get the window screen framing for much cheaper. If you got a nice chunk of change burning a hole in your pocket, you can spring for a custom acryllic framed lid.

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Dang it DeltaBlue your not making my decision of substrate any easier. I was originally set on Hawaiian Black, but now set my sights on some Fiji Pink and you go and post this gorgeous looking Black sand tank up! Got any pics of it up and running?

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/15/2017 at 1:20 PM, funkskunk said:

Dang it DeltaBlue your not making my decision of substrate any easier. I was originally set on Hawaiian Black, but now set my sights on some Fiji Pink and you go and post this gorgeous looking Black sand tank up! Got any pics of it up and running?

Good points on Hawaiian Black: easy to siphon, doesn't get blown off easily with flow, nice color contrast with corals. 

Bad points: magnetic. Sticks to the magcleaner if I get to close, and could scratch the glass. 

 

I don't have a full tank shot because every think looks purplish or blue with my lights, but here are some close ups. 

IMG_3435.JPG

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