Corals with Fluval Evo 13.5 stock light.

[Jim80]

Hello,

 

I’m looking at starting to stock my Fluval Evo 13.5 with corals. Will the standard light support LPS?

 

Does anyone have any pictures of their stock light Evo with LPS and softies?

 

Im new to marine tanks so any help will be great..

 

Thank you

[NuisanceAlgaeCultivator]

The Marine Fluval EVO 13.5 has a 14000k light which would be strong enough to support some LPS. 

[MSunkin23]

There are people growing torch corals, acans, and other LPS with stock Fluvial EVO 13.5 

 

I think you would have a problem with SPS, but LPS and Softies should be fine.

 

Should be fine for quite some time!

 

 

[Clown79]

The light is suitable for lps. Lps are low to moderate lighting with some enjoying/can handle high light.

 

Some hobbyists have had less demanding sps closer to the top.

 

Hammers, frogspawn, torch, blasto, acans, fungia plates, favia, enchinata, chalice, duncans, will all work with the light

[hyoib]

See my thread. I’ve had success with Duncan’s, acans, torches and frogspawn.

 

Not the fastest of growth rates but still getting new heads form!

 

 IV

[4Swanson2Reefer0N00b]

[wuzzo]

Lol!  you people are a little funny.  I have 38 frags of Acans, Shrooms, Blastos, Zoas, Montis, Euphyllia, and many other softies and things.  If you want more coral, get a couple frag racks and get frags.  That's theway I'm going but I am going to straighten it out soon.

[Clown79]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the light.

 

Its 14k.

 

The only issue is that it doesn't offer a lot of controllability but that's not an issue.

 

You can keep lps and softies with some easier sps

[Jim80]

Thank you all for your posts. It has really helped me.

 

@Clown79 I have one of those Fluval light controllers which seems ok. You get sunrise and sunset over 15 min period and if you set the moon light option to 1% you get low blue light for the evening. 

[Jim80]

@4Swanson2Reefer0N00b your tank looks really nice 👍 

 

@hyoib I’m looking forward to reading your thread tonight. 

 

Again in thank you all for your posts so far.

 

 

[Clown79]

3 hours ago, Jim80 said:

Thank you all for your posts. It has really helped me.

 

@Clown79 I have one of those Fluval light controllers which seems ok. You get sunrise and sunset over 15 min period and if you set the moon light option to 1% you get low blue light for the evening. 

That's fine.

 

For years and years there was no ability to control lights, it was on and off...ppl kept corals this way.

 

 

You will be fine with the various coral options everyone has suggested.

[Maddie]

I'm glad I found this thread, I'm picking this tank up in a couple weeks and it's good to know I can grow all that without upgrading! One question: can it grow gorgs? 

[cabezatuck]

@Jim80

You mentioned you use the Fluval light controller to get ramping effects, i.e. sunrise/sunset. Is this in conjunction with the stock light on the SeaEVO 13.5? If so, can you provide the model controller you are using with the light?

 

Currently I am using a Nearpow digital timer switch to control on/off for specific days but I cannot control light intensity or program ramping. I hate watching my fish have to endure the sudden blast of light when it pops on.

 

I think the stock light looks great, but I’m used to my Fluval Aquasky and Current USA lights with all the great customization. If there is no way to do that with stock light I will probably upgrade.

 

[Fishy 2019]

This is the light controller I use. I think it's the one mentioned above. It has the sunrise/sunset and moon setting.

[cabezatuck]

Nice,

I just ordered the Fluval ramp timer. I have heard some conflicting reports on it, but if it allows me to ramp and control intensity with the stock light then I will be pleased.

[cabezatuck]

Here is a picture and some information on my Sea Evo 13.5 progress. I am an experienced freshwater aquarium keeper but this is my first saltwater system. It is currently one month old: 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, and 4ppm Nitrate.  I used alternating regular doses of Seachem Prime and Seachem Stability and one initial dose of Fritz Nitrifying bacteria and a Damsel to cycle. I am using the stock lighting and pump, though I just ordered the Eheim compact 1000 pump for better flow through my media baskets. I also just ordered a reef master test kit, currently using the saltwater test kit, in order to monitor phosphate, calcium and carbonate hardness levels more closely before adding any corals.

 

My mods:

 

-Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 50 Watt. The suggested Fluval M50 50 Watt heater for this system does not fit unless you are OK with having the heater protrude out of the top of the Sump and not using the Sump cover. I am not comfortable jamming the heater next to the pump where they are making contact to accommodate the Sump cover as I have had heaters melt stuff before. Fluval obviously increased the size of the stock pump because even in the included literature and pictures they have it in a different configuration than what is actually possible with the included stock pump. I highly suggest this small and impressive heater. Fluval should consider making their own nano heater for this and similar models.

-Fluval PS2 mini skimmer. I have no complaints on this, it worked fine for me but is currently not in use and removed from Sump to allow for media baskets. May need once I have corals.

-InTank media basket for chambers 1 and 2. In these I have Fluval biomax, Eheim substrat pro, Chemipure Elite, Purigen, course sponge filter as well as some filter floss. No carbon. These baskets ramp up your filtration from what I perceived to be less than adequate to an efficient and productive level. You could easily DIY these, I just didn't want to mess with it. They are a little pricey but fit and work great.

-Hydor Koralia Nano 240 Circulation Pump. I used a drill to make a notch in the hood for the power cord, as I have this mounted opposite of the return and aiming towards the intake on the Sump. In other setups I have seen a circ pump in every possible location so not sure what is considered the ideal placement for it. Again I place opposite the return for better flow distribution and to push material towards the sump intake.

-Nearpow digital timer for lighting. I am exchanging for the Fluval ramp timer which I have just ordered in order to mimic sunrise/sunset. This is an impressive, highly programmable timer but I really want ramping so the fish do not scare every time the light turns on.

-Top-Fin digital thermometer, probe is in the sump.

 

Livestock:

 

-1 Dwarf Coral Beauty Angelfish

-1 Yellow-tail blue Damsel

-1 Ocellaris Clownfish

-2 Astraea snails

-1 Margarita snail

 

Substrate/rock/water:

 

-10 lbs of CaribSea Fiji Pink live sand

-7 lbs of purple base rock

-Instant Ocean saltwater mix for initial fill, used Agriculture Solutions salinity refractometer for measuring (I had no idea what a waiting game mixing was, have this stuff pre-mixed and at the ready!)

-RO freshwater for top offs

-Imagitarium pacific water for water changes (I know, I was lazy here and the parameters with this stuff are very inconsistent, I will go back to mixing. I just hate mixing!)

 

Thoughts so far:

 

I am so far very pleased with this system. If you are new to saltwater and/or reef keeping then I think it is a good way to get introduced. With the exception of a heater everything you need is included but based on my research for much healthier inhabitants and corals you will need to make some modifications. If all you want is a pair of Clowns and no coral then you probably do not need to change anything. I plan to keep LPS in this system along with the above livestock so I have made modifications to better accommodate them. I think my experience cycling freshwater tanks was beneficial in a successful and quick cycle with this system. After 3 weeks when my nitrite levels were still spiked, nitrate was barely readable and ammonia was gone I got an outbreak of diatom algae. When I see this in cycling freshwater I take it as a good sign that the cycling process is or is nearly complete and I assume the same here. This is when I added the snails and they have all but eradicated the unsightly diatoms. The algae is still visible in the photo I added which I took when I added the other two fish after nitrite bottomed out. I will upload a current photo showing the snails progress. I did only one small 10% water change during the cycling process, just my preference. I know some don't agree with fish-in cycling, but I believe it is the fastest and the most natural and effective way to cycle an aquarium. Using Prime every 1-2 days will bind to the ammonia and nitrite so they are not toxic to the fish, just follow the dosing ratio instructions. Prime does not inhibit the production of healthy nitrifying bacteria that you need to cycle. When you use Prime to detox you will still be able to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, test results may swing a little but will for the most part accurately show your levels, as these are still in the water they just have Prime bound to them. I never once saw any signs of stress with the Damsel in the tank using this method and he ate regularly and enjoyed defending his favorite hiding spot. Using the other methods like adding fish food will only make for an algae nightmare down the road but to each their own. I greatly appreciate all the information in this forum and I will try and post updates on my tank as it progresses to contribute to the community. 

[cabezatuck]

1 month later. Added the Red Sea Reed LED 50, Tunze 3155 ATO, DIY screen window kit for lid, corals LPS, SPS and softies.

[Jim80]

On 1/16/2020 at 3:51 AM, Fishy 2019 said:

This is the light controller I use. I think it's the one mentioned above. It has the sunrise/sunset and moon setting.

Yes this is the one I used.

[DMG85]

On 1/26/2019 at 8:20 AM, 4Swanson2Reefer0N00b said:

This is the nicest tank setup I've ever seen in a Nano, amazing job. Something for me to strive for.