Fluval Evo 13.5 Owners Thread

[NaturallyKait]

I ordered one of these tanks yesterday for my son’s birthday. Going to be our first saltwater tank. The fish tanks at the hospital are the only thing that makes him happy when he’s there, so we’re hoping he will love one at home too. Going to be setting it up in the living room for now and maybe in a few years when he’s older (he’ll be 4 in June) we’ll move it to his room. The goal is to aim to have it cycled and ready to go to add a fish or two on his birthday in June. Fingers crossed! 

[Maddie]

1 minute ago, NaturallyKait said:

I ordered one of these tanks yesterday for my son’s birthday. Going to be our first saltwater tank. The fish tanks at the hospital are the only thing that makes him happy when he’s there, so we’re hoping he will love one at home too. Going to be setting it up in the living room for now and maybe in a few years when he’s older (he’ll be 4 in June) we’ll move it to his room. The goal is to aim to have it cycled and ready to go to add a fish or two on his birthday in June. Fingers crossed! 

Congrats! I wish you much luck, and I hope your son loves it. Coincidentally, my birthday is also in June, so yay for June babies! May he be healthy, happy and at home for his birthday and the addition of his first fish. 

[afcajax73]

its all gone a bit quiet! :)

[NaturallyKait]

The tank arrived on Friday. I just need to get a chance to leak test it, and build the stand. Hopefully next week, we’re away this week for one of the kids to have surgery. 

 

Planning to to run it with the stock set up for now. Hoping that works out for a bit. I don’t want to get too complicated with it right now since it’s mostly for the soon to be 4 year old. I have a 40b in the basement that can be my fun tank later haha. 

[748S911]

Not much going on with the EVOreef.  Got some more cleaners and a starfish. waiting on coraline algae to start growing. After tank is a little bit older I will add more coral. For corals I have a gorgonia, kenya tree frags, gsp, some zoa's. I have ordered the Tunze return pump, thanks for the recommendation@gooner.  

[Hannahhhh]

Hey guys! I have a question about the evo’s stock lighting. I’m new to the hobby, so I’m still trying to figure out coral care. When corals need “low,” “moderate,” or “high” lighting, can the evo accommodate those? If it needs moderate lighting, should I place it high up in my tank? What has been successful for you guys? Thank you!!

[Hannahhhh]

On 4/2/2019 at 12:22 PM, NaturallyKait said:

The tank arrived on Friday. I just need to get a chance to leak test it, and build the stand. Hopefully next week, we’re away this week for one of the kids to have surgery. 

 

Planning to to run it with the stock set up for now. Hoping that works out for a bit. I don’t want to get too complicated with it right now since it’s mostly for the soon to be 4 year old. I have a 40b in the basement that can be my fun tank later haha. 

Best of luck for their surgery! I hope it’s successful 💚

[bomerst]

11 hours ago, 748S911 said:

Not much going on with the EVOreef.  Got some more cleaners and a starfish. waiting on coraline algae to start growing. After tank is a little bit older I will add more coral. For corals I have a gorgonia, kenya tree frags, gsp, some zoa's. I have ordered the Tunze return pump, thanks for the recommendation@gooner.  



What kind of starfish is that?  Looks gorgeous!!

[748S911]

1 hour ago, bomerst said:

What kind of starfish is that?  Looks gorgeous!!

Thanks thats a black tipped fromia starfish. I saw it a my lfs, and had to get it. 

[bomerst]

54 minutes ago, 748S911 said:

Thanks thats a black tipped fromia starfish. I saw it a my lfs, and had to get it. 

How old is your tank and how long have you had it?  I was under the impression that our tanks were too small for starfish

[748S911]

15 minutes ago, bomerst said:

How old is your tank and how long have you had it?  I was under the impression that our tanks were too small for starfish

Tank is over a month old now.  I wouldn't put a big linkia in here or larger star.  They are really sensitive to changes in salinity,  if your tank params stay stable they do great in systems.  I've always had starfish in my 10-15 gallon set ups.  I tend to have good luck with stars, but the key is keep your water params stable. 

[russ722]

Just picked up a used Evo 13 with heater,wave maker ,fluval skimmer ,and a ai prime for $100.

Should I use the skimmer or go with media basket? As of right now I have no media ,what's the best way to go?

[bomerst]

2 hours ago, russ722 said:

Just picked up a used Evo 13 with heater,wave maker ,fluval skimmer ,and a ai prime for $100.

Should I use the skimmer or go with media basket? As of right now I have no media ,what's the best way to go?

Hey, welcome to the club!  You got an unbelievable deal on that gear!

 

So Skimmers and Mechanical filtration serve 2 different purposes in our tanks.  Mechanical filtration removes particles and detritus from the tank before they can harm water quality, and are essential fro nearly every reef tank.  Skimmers on the other hand are optional in tanks are small, and remove dissolved proteins from the water, keeping the water itself cleaner.  I say they are optional because frequent water changes (like we should be doing in a tank as small as ours) should also remove the pollutants.

 

People here are pretty split on if we should run a skimmer on our tanks:  the naysayers say that they can sometimes leave microbubles in the tank (which don't look great but dont harm anything), and some others say that they could keep the tank too clean to feed certain corals and inverts.  The people that do use them say that they get a lot less algae growth, and the skimmer really does remove some disgusting crap from the water.  Personally I don't run a skimmer, but that's mostly because I've got a tight budget and would rather throw my money at some fancy new corals instead.  Id say if you have it may as well use it!

 

Welcome again to the Evo Club, cant wait to see how your tank turns out!

 

[russ722]

12 minutes ago, bomerst said:

Hey, welcome to the club!  You got an unbelievable deal on that gear!

 

So Skimmers and Mechanical filtration serve 2 different purposes in our tanks.  Mechanical filtration removes particles and detritus from the tank before they can harm water quality, and are essential fro nearly every reef tank.  Skimmers on the other hand are optional in tanks are small, and remove dissolved proteins from the water, keeping the water itself cleaner.  I say they are optional because frequent water changes (like we should be doing in a tank as small as ours) should also remove the pollutants.

 

People here are pretty split on if we should run a skimmer on our tanks:  the naysayers say that they can sometimes leave microbubles in the tank (which don't look great but dont harm anything), and some others say that they could keep the tank too clean to feed certain corals and inverts.  The people that do use them say that they get a lot less algae growth, and the skimmer really does remove some disgusting crap from the water.  Personally I don't run a skimmer, but that's mostly because I've got a tight budget and would rather throw my money at some fancy new corals instead.  Id say if you have it may as well use it!

 

Welcome again to the Evo Club, cant wait to see how your tank turns out!

 

Thanks for the info, I've had tanks before just been awhile.

Would you recommend the intank basket and if so how would do it? Skimmer in 1 and basket in chamber 2?would you recommend getting the baskets at all? Right now I have no way to add filter floss.nothingbto put it in.

[pricewayne]

37 minutes ago, russ722 said:

Thanks for the info, I've had tanks before just been awhile.

Would you recommend the intank basket and if so how would do it? Skimmer in 1 and basket in chamber 2?would you recommend getting the baskets at all? Right now I have no way to add filter floss.nothingbto put it in.

Great deal on the tank and light!! I did a DIY media basket made out of egg crate (like $6-8 on Amazon) — simply cut the egg crate to size, zip tie together and done 🙂

 

Search the forums or YouTube for instructions — it was the easiest and most affordable hack I’ve done.

[748S911]

1 hour ago, pricewayne said:

Great deal on the tank and light!! I did a DIY media basket made out of egg crate (like $6-8 on Amazon) — simply cut the egg crate to size, zip tie together and done 🙂

 

Search the forums or YouTube for instructions — it was the easiest and most affordable hack I’ve done.

nice work!

[russ722]

On 4/10/2019 at 10:49 AM, pricewayne said:

Great deal on the tank and light!! I did a DIY media basket made out of egg crate (like $6-8 on Amazon) — simply cut the egg crate to size, zip tie together and done 🙂

 

Search the forums or YouTube for instructions — it was the easiest and most affordable hack I’ve done.

 

nice,thanks for the pics

[russ722]

well i bit the bullet and bought both media baskets from intank. everything i need to start the tank up arrived today .

 

on a side note does anyone use the intank surface skimmer attachment?

[hyoib]

Anyone got an MP10 on their Evo?   I made my first real expensive equipment purchase in my reefing hobby and I ordered one tonight. Just wondering your experiences with it. Where have you placed it? What settings are you using etc?

[NaturallyKait]

What are you guys using for stands for your evos? I’m paranoid about stands not being strong enough and something terrible happening, especially around the kids and living in a rental. 

 

Originally we were hoping to DIY but the family member we hoped to borrow saws and such from fell through. We can’t decide what to do now. 

[pricewayne]

18 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

What are you guys using for stands for your evos? I’m paranoid about stands not being strong enough and something terrible happening, especially around the kids and living in a rental. 

 

Originally we were hoping to DIY but the family member we hoped to borrow saws and such from fell through. We can’t decide what to do now. 

I use a Husky tool cart and I'm obsessed with it lol. May not be for everyone, but the industrial look fits well with my other furniture. Love how useful it is, too -- supports upwards of 400lbs (so weight is no issue), has built in power strip, storage, rubber mat top, cabinet is super easy to keep clean -- the metal peg board is collapsible and/or removable if you wanted to keep all 3 viewing sides. AND it was only $100 from Home Depot -- just bought it few months ago, so it's possible they still have them in stock.

 

[NaturallyKait]

11 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

I use a Husky tool cart and I'm obsessed with it lol. May not be for everyone, but the industrial look fits well with my other furniture. Love how useful it is, too -- supports upwards of 400lbs (so weight is no issue), has built in power strip, storage, rubber mat top, cabinet is super easy to keep clean -- the metal peg board is collapsible and/or removable if you wanted to keep all 3 viewing sides. AND it was only $100 from Home Depot -- just bought it few months ago, so it's possible they still have them in stock.

 

Industrial wouldn’t bother me at all. Unfortunately it seems that the cheapest model in Canada is $200. Everything is so much more expensive up here! 

[pricewayne]

4 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

Industrial wouldn’t bother me at all. Unfortunately it seems that the cheapest model in Canada is $200. Everything is so much more expensive up here! 

Dang -- maybe search local hardware chains (or Amazon!) for "tool cart", "tool bench" or "workbench" and see if any more affordable options pop up?

 

I also have a taller//wider workbench I use as my at home standing desk lol. Similar to this from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Olympia-Tools-82-802-Multi-Purpose-Workbench/dp/B07362J8KZ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=workbench+with+outlet&qid=1555360182&s=gateway&sr=8-3

[748S911]

This is the stand I was looking at is 12x24 which is an exact perfect fit.  Its a 13.5 gallon aquarium, even if there was an accident its only 10-12 gallons of water.  Kids wise, there are furniture fastners that are attached to a wall. Cant beat the price for 37 bucks. 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Mark-Pierce-Table-Black/dp/B00EP6SQ74/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=aquarium+stand&qid=1555360928&s=gateway&sr=8-13

[NaturallyKait]

42 minutes ago, 748S911 said:

This is the stand I was looking at is 12x24 which is an exact perfect fit.  Its a 13.5 gallon aquarium, even if there was an accident its only 10-12 gallons of water.  Kids wise, there are furniture fastners that are attached to a wall. Cant beat the price for 37 bucks. 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Mark-Pierce-Table-Black/dp/B00EP6SQ74/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=aquarium+stand&qid=1555360928&s=gateway&sr=8-13

It’s less that I worry about the kids tipping the tank or something (the tank is going to live inside a baby jail gate, where we can control access but the soon to be 4 year old “owner” of the tank who has no concept of breakable things can still see when he wants to) and more just that if something happens then glass, water, rock, livestock etc everywhere is no fun if it happens with all 3 kids awake and in the room. Maybe I’m being overly cautious though, that’s definitely pretty typical for me.