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Finally got my Fluval Evo!!


leaveittoweaver

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leaveittoweaver

Hey guys!

I had asked for a Fluval 13.5 for Christmas and they had sent the wrong tank, the 5 gal. So finally I have received my 13.5 and I am super excited! I have been researching for a while and trying to come up with a list of things I need to buy. This would be my first saltwater tank. I have kept Freshwater fish for 10 years and feel ready to take the plunge. I do have some experience from taking care of salt tanks in the past at my job. 

So far what I want to buy is:
-Intank media basket(I think I might just make this. Is there any reason I should buy it over making it? Just seems expensive.)
-Smart ATO(I honestly suck at topping off my freshwater tanks sometimes when life gets busy and I know this would be fatal for my salt tank so I think this is a worthwhile expense. Thoughts?)
-I have an Aquatop Circulation Pump. It is the smallest one, I believe it does 660 GPH. Is this good enough? 
 

So for filter media, my understanding is to buy
-Filter Floss
-Purigen
-ChemiPure Elite

Does this sound right? And if so, what chamber in the media basket should each go into?

I have not bought a heater yet either. I would like a recommendation and not to mess around on heater quality with the salt tank. It seems a lot of people use the Jager?

Anything else I should buy? I have a refractometer. I am planning on buying a test kit. I have always used API for my freshwater tanks but I get the impression, the salt tank world does not like to use this kit. What kit do you recommend? Sera?

I plan on using Live Sand and Live Sea water with Live rock to kick start the tank. It should cycle itself fairly quickly in this case correct?

I am using the stock light and not going to upgrade for awhile on the light. I plan on just doing some soft corals, have one clown fish, and probably a clean up shrimp or a goby? Any suggestions here would be great? 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice. Please let me know if I"m missing anything!

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I'm fairly new to reefkeeping but i'll try to help!

 

I believe you could make your own media rack with eggcrate. Although The intank rack has solid walls I believe so it will force water through it unlike the eggcrate one which will have water go around it. I just got a nuvo 10 and I think i'm gonna get the intank rack too. 

 

I would definitely get an ATO. Manualy refilling due to evap gets very annoying after a while lol....Atleast for me. It might not be too bad though on the evo since It has the lid. Theres a lot of different ATO. A lot of people like the Tunze ones but it's really up to you just make sure to read some reviews. Theres also a pretty cheap diy one on Bulk Reef Supply for around $40. Not 100% sure how reliable it is?

 

If you are just doing softies you probably wont need to test for much besides basic things like ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and maybe ph. Good salt and changing a decent amount of water each week should be fine

 

Are you going to get liverock from a lfs or online?

 

 

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You can make a basket with eggcrate if you want to save money and later order one if you want to upgrade.

 

I like the cobalt neotherm heaters, very slim and shorter than most. Baggers are great heaters but fairly large.

 

I manually dose and manually top up. Both take a few mins every morning. No biggy for me.

 

For cycling Api testers for ammonia and nitrate are fine.

 

For alk I love the Hanna checker.

 

Ca salifert or red sea

Magnesium salifert

Phos salifert or Hanna checker

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leaveittoweaver
26 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

I would not start off with purigen or chemipure. Those are “fixes” if you encounter specific issues, not requirements. Keep it simple

Ah gotcha. That makes sense. Hey I'm all for simple. What would you recommend? Just the filter floss? 

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Just now, leaveittoweaver said:

Ah gotcha. That makes sense. Hey I'm all for simple. What would you recommend? Just the filter floss? 

 

Yessir! KISS- Keep it simple, stupid! ?

 

Ive don’t use any chemical filtration and have a highly successful reef, check out my signature. It’s not necessary. If you are dealing with something like high phosphates or other nasties it is a good bandaid, but both times I tried chemical filtration since “It’s the new thing!” it severely harmed my reef. 

 

I love @inTank media baskets, they are a perfect fit and very efficient given all water is forced through them. I use their floss too. I had two of their baskets on my original 28g AIO, then used two on my 45 gallon, and now sadly have a sump that they don’t make products for :( 

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leaveittoweaver
23 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

 

Yessir! KISS- Keep it simple, stupid! ?

 

Ive don’t use any chemical filtration and have a highly successful reef, check out my signature. It’s not necessary. If you are dealing with something like high phosphates or other nasties it is a good bandaid, but both times I tried chemical filtration since “It’s the new thing!” it severely harmed my reef. 

 

I love @inTank media baskets, they are a perfect fit and very efficient given all water is forced through them. I use their floss too. I had two of their baskets on my original 28g AIO, then used two on my 45 gallon, and now sadly have a sump that they don’t make products for :( 

Hey that makes sense! I try to keep my planted tanks really low tech. Just a sponge filter and the live plants do most of the work. No chemical filtration, I never run carbon. 

I will start out that way and see how it goes!

Is the pound of rock per gallon rule still true or is this outdated information?

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2 hours ago, leaveittoweaver said:

Hey that makes sense! I try to keep my planted tanks really low tech. Just a sponge filter and the live plants do most of the work. No chemical filtration, I never run carbon. 

I will start out that way and see how it goes!

Is the pound of rock per gallon rule still true or is this outdated information?

 

You CAN do a per gallon, or half a pound, or two pounds, not really critical!

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leaveittoweaver
22 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

 

You CAN do a per gallon, or half a pound, or two pounds, not really critical!

Just so I understand, the amount of rock doesn't really matter? Why is that? I thought the live rock would be my only form of bio filtration which as I understand from freshwater, is the most important filtration. Am I incorrect?

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13 minutes ago, leaveittoweaver said:

Just so I understand, the amount of rock doesn't really matter? Why is that? I thought the live rock would be my only form of bio filtration which as I understand from freshwater, is the most important filtration. Am I incorrect?

 

The surface area of the sand is quite high compared to most rock. Biological filtration is important for preventing waste from becoming toxic, but you have mechanical filtration (filter floss, etc) which also removes that waste. 

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leaveittoweaver
On 2/19/2018 at 8:05 AM, HarryPotter said:

 

Yessir! KISS- Keep it simple, stupid! ?

 

Ive don’t use any chemical filtration and have a highly successful reef, check out my signature. It’s not necessary. If you are dealing with something like high phosphates or other nasties it is a good bandaid, but both times I tried chemical filtration since “It’s the new thing!” it severely harmed my reef. 

 

I love @inTank media baskets, they are a perfect fit and very efficient given all water is forced through them. I use their floss too. I had two of their baskets on my original 28g AIO, then used two on my 45 gallon, and now sadly have a sump that they don’t make products for :( 

Another question! So in the Intank media basket what exactly do you run on each shelf? Should I just use filter floss in all three compartments? Thank you!

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9 minutes ago, leaveittoweaver said:

Another question! So in the Intank media basket what exactly do you run on each shelf? Should I just use filter floss in all three compartments? Thank you!

 

To begin with, you could have just floss on the top shelf. There it is easiest to see if it is dirty and swap out without removing the basket. 

 

I used a razor to remove some of the black vinyl on the glass behind the middle of the media basket, and then put a refugium light there. Then you can put chaeto between the shelves, which is excellent natural filtration and a home for pods. 

 

A LOT of people run carbon in their tank for water clarity and removing toxins. 

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leaveittoweaver
12 hours ago, HarryPotter said:

 

To begin with, you could have just floss on the top shelf. There it is easiest to see if it is dirty and swap out without removing the basket. 

 

I used a razor to remove some of the black vinyl on the glass behind the middle of the media basket, and then put a refugium light there. Then you can put chaeto between the shelves, which is excellent natural filtration and a home for pods. 

 

A LOT of people run carbon in their tank for water clarity and removing toxins. 

Thanks for all the help. Do you run carbon?

Do you have a picture of the way you have the refugium?

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10 minutes ago, leaveittoweaver said:

Thanks for all the help. Do you run carbon?

Do you have a picture of the way you have the refugium?

 

Heres what I am talking about- not my photo:

(you have intank baskets instead of DIY)

 

b8fFhYt.jpg

 

No carbon for me, I tried it once (following directions, rinsing+made sure it wasn’t tumbling) and it disintegrated into a powder with awful results. I don’t have any need for it, so why add more complexity (and inevitably risk). But I will say that most reefers seem to use it successfully, describing higher water clarity. 

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