Fluval Evo 13.5 Owners Thread

[748S911]

This thing is a beast now 😂 

[748S911]

For refugium, i’m using eggcrate and amazon red/blue grow light strips on 8hr timer for 17.99 

 

It’s growing my chaeto like crazy!

 

 

[NaturallyKait]

Alright, after a rocky start we are finally cycled!

 

Stocking talk, what does everyone have in their evos? I’ve been thinking just a pair of clowns, the tiny reefer needs clowns. People keep asking me about any other fish though and I’m just worried about bio load and aggression from the clowns. Am I wrong to think that the two clowns may be the limit for this little tank?

 

How about CUC? We don’t really need any yet because we have no fish and no algae yet, but thinking ahead to when we’re fully stocked. I really like pom pom crabs and I’m hoping I can get my hands on one, along with a shrimp (cleaner? Fire? Can’t decide.) and some snails and maybe hermits. 

 

Would love some input from those with more experience 😊

[Mike P]

FTS

 

 

[Mike P]

35 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

Alright, after a rocky start we are finally cycled!

 

Stocking talk, what does everyone have in their evos? I’ve been thinking just a pair of clowns, the tiny reefer needs clowns. People keep asking me about any other fish though and I’m just worried about bio load and aggression from the clowns. Am I wrong to think that the two clowns may be the limit for this little tank?

 

How about CUC? We don’t really need any yet because we have no fish and no algae yet, but thinking ahead to when we’re fully stocked. I really like pom pom crabs and I’m hoping I can get my hands on one, along with a shrimp (cleaner? Fire? Can’t decide.) and some snails and maybe hermits. 

 

Would love some input from those with more experience 😊

I have a citrinis clown goby and tail spot blenny in mine. As for clean up crew I have two bumble be snails, two mexican turbo snails, 2 astrea snails, and 1 Halloween hermit. I also have a Pom Pom crab who only comes out after lights are off and is very timid. 

[ValerieR]

I'm a tad bit overstocked at the moment. I've got a small mantis shrimp, a purple firefish, a ghost ribbon eel, an anemone crab, a misc feeder shrimp, 3 blue leg hermits and a 2 large turbo snails. The eel was not exactly planned, and I'm going to be watching water parameters closely until I can get my JBJ 28 out of storage and cycled for it.  

[pricewayne]

32 minutes ago, NaturallyKait said:

Alright, after a rocky start we are finally cycled!

 

Stocking talk, what does everyone have in their evos? I’ve been thinking just a pair of clowns, the tiny reefer needs clowns. People keep asking me about any other fish though and I’m just worried about bio load and aggression from the clowns. Am I wrong to think that the two clowns may be the limit for this little tank?

 

How about CUC? We don’t really need any yet because we have no fish and no algae yet, but thinking ahead to when we’re fully stocked. I really like pom pom crabs and I’m hoping I can get my hands on one, along with a shrimp (cleaner? Fire? Can’t decide.) and some snails and maybe hermits. 

 

Would love some input from those with more experience 😊

My favorite CUC:

- Tiger conch -- they are so stinkin' cool and fun to watch even when buried in the sand (they keep their eyes popped out and it's adorable. 

- Staghorn crab -- also awesome and active. Sifts through my sand bed all day. Can be a hazard to themselves (every so often it will get stuck in the rock work and needs a little nudge).

- Nassarius snails

- Pom Pom crab -- I love them and have one, but just heads up I rarely see mine (they're nocturnal). If it's expensive to source, I may skip this addition. I do burst with joy when on the rare occurrences he comes out to wave his poms after lights out, though.

- Fire shrimp -- mine's been quite active and not skittish, so he's great. He's grown a little larger than I'd have preferred.

- Ninja Star Snails (astrea) -- are SO cool. I want some.

- Turbo Snail -- stick to one or two max (and go for smallest you can find). They are poop factories, but incredibly efficient CUC.

- Sexy Shrimp -- super fun & dance-y.

[NaturallyKait]

8 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

My favorite CUC:

- Tiger conch -- they are so stinkin' cool and fun to watch even when buried in the sand (they keep their eyes popped out and it's adorable. 

- Staghorn crab -- also awesome and active. Sifts through my sand bed all day. Can be a hazard to themselves (every so often it will get stuck in the rock work and needs a little nudge).

- Nassarius snails

- Pom Pom crab -- I love them and have one, but just heads up I rarely see mine (they're nocturnal). If it's expensive to source, I may skip this addition. I do burst with joy when on the rare occurrences he comes out to wave his poms after lights out, though.

- Fire shrimp -- mine's been quite active and not skittish, so he's great. He's grown a little larger than I'd have preferred.

- Ninja Star Snails (astrea) -- are SO cool. I want some.

- Turbo Snail -- stick to one or two max (and go for smallest you can find). They are poop factories, but incredibly efficient CUC.

- Sexy Shrimp -- super fun & dance-y.

Sexy shrimp were originally on my list too, but I read clowns can get aggressive with them over anemones? Clearly we’re no where near ready for a nem yet but I want one in the future...

[pricewayne]

Just now, NaturallyKait said:

Sexy shrimp were originally on my list too, but I read clowns can get aggressive with them over anemones? Clearly we’re no where near ready for a nem yet but I want one in the future...

I've read they can be -- it can happen if the sexy shrimp are trying to host an anemone that the clown either wants to or already is hosting. I have sexies in my pico tank (no clowns) so no direct experience with it. Sexy shrimp will host rock flower anemones though (clown fish rarely host RFAs) -- so would be smart to have a couple RFAs for the sexy shrimp with some distance between the RFAs and wherever the clowns are hosting. In this case, may be safer to have your clowns for a bit and figure out what areas or "territories" they have -- add the RFA and/or sexy shrimp to a distant part of the tank. Just my guess, though lol.

[NaturallyKait]

4 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

I've read they can be -- it can happen if the sexy shrimp are trying to host an anemone that the clown either wants to or already is hosting. I have sexies in my pico tank (no clowns) so no direct experience with it. Sexy shrimp will host rock flower anemones though (clown fish rarely host RFAs) -- so would be smart to have a couple RFAs for the sexy shrimp with some distance between the RFAs and wherever the clowns are hosting. In this case, may be safer to have your clowns for a bit and figure out what areas or "territories" they have -- add the RFA and/or sexy shrimp to a distant part of the tank. Just my guess, though lol.

Oh I didn’t know they’d host RFAs, tucking that info away for later. 

[OptiKen]

My 13.5 has a 3 inch live sand bed with lots of live rock.

Shouldn't that be enough to take care of biofiltration or do I still need to add some bio-ball type media to the sump.

Right now, there is a bag of Fluval bio balls in there but I am thinking of taking it out due to the amount of grunge that it accumulates.

[Maddie]

I have a Rainsford Goby, and I plan to add a pair of Bluestripes pipefish. 

[Garf]

2 hours ago, OptiKen said:

My 13.5 has a 3 inch live sand bed with lots of live rock.

Shouldn't that be enough to take care of biofiltration or do I still need to add some bio-ball type media to the sump.

Right now, there is a bag of Fluval bio balls in there but I am thinking of taking it out due to the amount of grunge that it accumulates.

Three inches is a lot of sand. "Lots of live rock" is not so quantitative. Do you have a ballpark estimate of how much live rock?

 

Most people will forgo any back chamber biofiltration media as long as the live rock and sand are capable of handling your load. 

[OptiKen]

Thanks Garf.  The sand is for the burrowing gobies, crabs, and starfish.

That's what I thought.

I have probably 10 lbs of live rock.

[Nano Rob]

All I have in there is a domino damsel, named Captain Ahab 🤣. A coral bandit shrimp, two turbo snails, and two cerith snails. 

[Garf]

Anyone running an all LPS tank? Well, mostly all LPS, a couple zoa frags, and a few descendants of my hairy shrooms that have been with me since my JBJ 6 in 2005. 

 

Looking for info on flow, coral placement and nutrients. What works for you, and any tips on my corals. I have to admit my last 4 coral choices were made to fill specific places in my tank, and care was the last criteria I cared about.  

 

Finding it hard to find a flow that keeps them all happy. I have two Current USA eFlux 660 pumps with the eFlux controller, mounted on the back plastic wall in the upper corners. I have my Tunze 10073.008 return pump dialed all the way down, and the output nozzle pointed directly at my turbinaria. I have set the left pump to a 1 sec wave, at 40%. The right pump I have set to a surge at 7 secs, at 20% flow. That gives me about 30x tank capacity as flow, which should be fine for LPS tank if I want to believe BRSTV and Happy Ryan.

 

My nitrates always measure low, I am usually around 2ppm, sometimes it tests 3ppm and I think I am making progress. Phosphate is similarly low, 0.02-0.06 recently. I am target feeding corals, every other day, usually 1/2 cube PE Canalus, a similar size of reef frenzy, or reef roids. Fish get pellets every night. I change the small filter pad I put in my first chamber after I feed corals. I have a small bag of carbon below that filter pad, and that is about it. I have a cheap grow light in my middle chamber, and a tiny bit of chaeto stuffed in a cell of eggcrate that I am trying to coax to grow. So far it hasn't, nor has very much algae grown on the eggcrate. I have 12lbs of liverock, and a bit over 11lbs of sand.

 

I am doing a 1gallon water change every other day until my parameters level out with my new salt mix, Fritz RPM. I am slowly bringing down my dkh from around 11 to the 9 the salt mixes at. At the same time, I am seeing some decrease in calcium, probably due to coraline algae and my corals uptake. Alk has tested at 10.8, 10.4, 10.2, 10 with each WC. Halfway there..

 

Most of my corals are smaller frags, with the Duncan having 4 heads, with 3 other baby heads. All other corals are doing fine, though not as open as I would like. That is understandable given I have been messing with the flow a lot, the frequent water changes and the lowering of the alk with the new salt mix.

 

I have had two casualties, an Acan frag and a two headed torch frag. The torch died a few days ago, the acan a few weeks back. I tore a chunk off a couple of the acan heads removing it from the frag disc. Killed the torch by too much moving around and flow. 

 

Inhabitants, in order of appearance:

 

Two clowns

3 hairy shrooms

2 rock flower anemone

Duncan

Cyphastrea, metor shower

Torch RIP

Acan frag RIP

1 rock flower anemone

Hammer

Elegance Coral

Acan frag

Two zoa frags

Green pachyseris

Yellow polyp turbinaria

Green long polyp galaxea

Grape euphyllia cristata

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shyla8]

Hey guys, question for you all. I want to get my daughter a tank and I was looking at this one and the 5 gallon. I have never seen them in person but is this one a lot bigger than the 5? it seems to be about the basic footprint of a regular 10 gallon. I am debating go with one of these or just making a 10 gallon tank setup but I tend to like the all in ones. Help lol

[748S911]

I would recomend you start with the 13.5 EVO, The 5 is tiny. Much more options when it comes to keeping coral, fish, upgrades down the road. 

[Garf]

49 minutes ago, Shyla8 said:

Hey guys, question for you all. I want to get my daughter a tank and I was looking at this one and the 5 gallon. I have never seen them in person but is this one a lot bigger than the 5? it seems to be about the basic footprint of a regular 10 gallon. I am debating go with one of these or just making a 10 gallon tank setup but I tend to like the all in ones. Help lol

I have the Fluval Spec V behind me, and on the desk an EVO 13.5

 

Yes, it has a bigger footprint, but not that much. My 5g measures 19 3/4" front to back, and the 13.5 22" The biggest difference is the height and width. You will have a lot more room to work with in the 13.5g tank. I had the 5g on my desk next to where I work, and the 13.5g is in the same space. Of course it is bigger, but not overwhelmingly larger.

 

The real deciding factor is what you will be doing with it, or what she will be doing with it. I assume you have an existing tank from which you will support the EVO? You appear to be a seasoned reefer.

 

I am kind of in the same boat, I am debating what to do with my 5g, I was thinking of setting up a tank in my sons room, not expecting him to take care of it. Was going to swap it to freshwater, but then decided I could use some extra space to banish things to. 

[Shyla8]

11 hours ago, 748S911 said:

I would recomend you start with the 13.5 EVO, The 5 is tiny. Much more options when it comes to keeping coral, fish, upgrades down the road. 

Yeah thats what i was thinking too tho she really isn't into corals as much as the fish but mommy might be later on 🙂 I didn't realize they were so close in footprint originally.

[Shyla8]

10 hours ago, Garf said:

I have the Fluval Spec V behind me, and on the desk an EVO 13.5

 

Yes, it has a bigger footprint, but not that much. My 5g measures 19 3/4" front to back, and the 13.5 22" The biggest difference is the height and width. You will have a lot more room to work with in the 13.5g tank. I had the 5g on my desk next to where I work, and the 13.5g is in the same space. Of course it is bigger, but not overwhelmingly larger.

 

The real deciding factor is what you will be doing with it, or what she will be doing with it. I assume you have an existing tank from which you will support the EVO? You appear to be a seasoned reefer.

 

I am kind of in the same boat, I am debating what to do with my 5g, I was thinking of setting up a tank in my sons room, not expecting him to take care of it. Was going to swap it to freshwater, but then decided I could use some extra space to banish things to. 

Well we had an incident in our 55 tank where my female clown suddenly decided she wanted to kill our firefish and we couldn't save it from her. My little one cried and I told her ok maybe we will set you up a little tank for a firefish. She wanted to get rid of the clown but that clown and her mate is the whole reason we have that tank. My pair is 10 yrs old and I do love them, she just got angry with the firefish. So I started looking for a smaller one and looked at the all in ones, coming across these two. But then there was also the option of just doing a regular 10 gallon as well. I have an old 5 gallon I modded to be an all in one but the inside space ends up being 3-4 gallons or so and I didn't want to put a firefish in there.

With setting up a tank for her I am hoping she will also start learning how to take care of it and maybe grow into reefing but I am always there to help. So it just comes down to what tank exactly without having to spend a ton of money on the actual setup. Thanks!

[Shyla8]

ok so yeah looks like I am joining this club lol. About to order the tank from BigAls unless you guys think this would be an issue? Never ordered from them before. Also thinking of making a fuge in chamber one. Would this light work? - https://www.amazon.com/Mingdak-Aquarium-7-5-Inch-Brighter-Lighting/dp/B00X84LMHK/ref=sr_1_9_sspa?crid=1CHH43AWA25K3&keywords=magnafine+led&qid=1559666999&s=gateway&sprefix=magnafuge%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-9-spons&psc=1#customerReviews

[Garf]

2 hours ago, Shyla8 said:

ok so yeah looks like I am joining this club lol. About to order the tank from BigAls unless you guys think this would be an issue? Never ordered from them before. Also thinking of making a fuge in chamber one. Would this light work? - https://www.amazon.com/Mingdak-Aquarium-7-5-Inch-Brighter-Lighting/dp/B00X84LMHK/ref=sr_1_9_sspa?crid=1CHH43AWA25K3&keywords=magnafine+led&qid=1559666999&s=gateway&sprefix=magnafuge%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-9-spons&psc=1#customerReviews

 

I have that LED light, in chamber 2. I have it mounted on the outside, and taped onto the back as the suction cups dont hold well. Taped over with black duct tape since I dont want the light bleed at night. Can't tell you how it works, as I am not currently growing algae, my tank nitrates and phosphate are low. When I did have it on, it seemed to be plenty of light to grow things. I have the version by Panamire, it has a Bluetooth connection, so you can control it via an app. 

 

I see people putting powerful grow lights and strips on their tanks for a fuge, I think that is overkill. 

[Shyla8]

15 minutes ago, Garf said:

 

I have that LED light, in chamber 2. I have it mounted on the outside, and taped onto the back as the suction cups dont hold well. Taped over with black duct tape since I dont want the light bleed at night. Can't tell you how it works, as I am not currently growing algae, my tank nitrates and phosphate are low. When I did have it on, it seemed to be plenty of light to grow things. I have the version by Panamire, it has a Bluetooth connection, so you can control it via an app. 

 

I see people putting powerful grow lights and strips on their tanks for a fuge, I think that is overkill. 

Ok great thanks. Cheap enough to test out and easy enough to replace later 🙂

[Shyla8]

Can someone give me info on the loc line? Its it 1/2 inch without the arms and 1/4 inch arms?