Popek's EVO 13.5 Reef

[popek]

Hi Guys!

 

Opening a new thread that will serve as a nice little journal of my first ever saltwater tank.

Very excited to start in this wonderful hobby! I have some background in freshwater tanks, where I used to keep and breed Discus. Also, have some experience keeping stingrays.  Can't wait until I can set up another tank with them. Moved from Slovenia to Toronto, Canada and unfortunately, until I buy my own house I have to stick to a small and manageable tank. A great excuse to finally get some salt on my hands! 🙂

 

Have been reading a great amount on this forum and believe I finally learned enough to start a tank. No real experience yet but I am sure I will be able to draw on the vast experience of this superb community.

 

Yesterday I visited a coral shop and bought some equipment.

 

1. Fluval EVO 13.5 Tank

2. RO/DI Unit

3. 50W Cobalt Heater

4. 1.0 SICCE Syncra pump

5. Red sea salt

6. Refractometer

7 Caribsea sand and Dry rock

8. ammonia, No2 & No3 tests

9. filter floss and tunze nano glass cleaner

10. Startup bacteria

 

After the tank is done cycling I will be purchasing an  Aqua Illumination Prime HD, nano tunze ATO and inTankmedia basket for chamber one. And a powerhead if more flow is needed. ( the wallet can take a breather till then 😛 )

Not yet sure if I'll be buying a skimmer and making a refugium, will see how the tank fares with weakly wc.

 

Livestock will consist of 2 clownfish and some cleanup crew ( would welcome any recommendations for some interesting crabs and snails)

As for corals, i will start with the newbie friendly ones and progress with time and experience to more demanding ones.

 

As I understand I should be ditching the foam that came in with the tank and put some carbon and chemi pure in the chamber.

Until my ro water is ready for mixing im playing around with aquascaping.

 

 

As the tank is visible from 2 sides I pushed all the rock to the back to gain more space in the front, left enough clearance for the magnet to pass.

The intent here is to provide some hiding spaces for livestock and platforms for attaching corals.

 

 

I have also played around with this setup as it looks to me that it provides more space to attach corals, but less hiding spots for livestock would appreciate some feedback on this.

(This is where experience kicks in I bet and could save me some hassle down the road.

 

 

Can't wait till i can post some more progress.

 

 

 

• Report pos

 

 

 

 

[WV Reefer]

41 minutes ago, popek said:

Hi Guys!

 

Opening a new thread that will serve as a nice little journal of my first ever saltwater tank.

Very excited to start in this wonderful hobby! I have some background in freshwater tanks, where I used to keep and breed Discus. Also, have some experience keeping stingrays.  Can't wait until I can set up another tank with them. Moved from Slovenia to Toronto, Canada and unfortunately, until I buy my own house I have to stick to a small and manageable tank. A great excuse to finally get some salt on my hands! 🙂

 

Have been reading a great amount on this forum and believe I finally learned enough to start a tank. No real experience yet but I am sure I will be able to draw on the vast experience of this superb community.

 

Yesterday I visited a coral shop and bought some equipment.

 

1. Fluval EVO 13.5 Tank

2. RO/DI Unit

3. 50W Cobalt Heater

4. 1.0 SICCE Syncra pump

5. Red sea salt

6. Refractometer

7 Caribsea sand and Dry rock

8. ammonia, No2 & No3 tests

9. filter floss and tunze nano glass cleaner

10. Startup bacteria

 

After the tank is done cycling I will be purchasing an  Aqua Illumination Prime HD, nano tunze ATO and inTankmedia basket for chamber one. And a powerhead if more flow is needed. ( the wallet can take a breather till then 😛 )

Not yet sure if I'll be buying a skimmer and making a refugium, will see how the tank fares with weakly wc.

 

Livestock will consist of 2 clownfish and some cleanup crew ( would welcome any recommendations for some interesting crabs and snails)

As for corals, i will start with the newbie friendly ones and progress with time and experience to more demanding ones.

 

As I understand I should be ditching the foam that came in with the tank and put some carbon and chemi pure in the chamber.

Until my ro water is ready for mixing im playing around with aquascaping.

 

 

As the tank is visible from 2 sides I pushed all the rock to the back to gain more space in the front, left enough clearance for the magnet to pass.

The intent here is to provide some hiding spaces for livestock and platforms for attaching corals.

 

 

I have also played around with this setup as it looks to me that it provides more space to attach corals, but less hiding spots for livestock would appreciate some feedback on this.

(This is where experience kicks in I bet and could save me some hassle down the road.

 

 

Can't wait till i can post some more progress.

 

 

 

• Report pos

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to NR! 😊

 i like both scapes but the arch is nice. 

[SliceGolfer]

I like the second scape, more place for corals. I found my fish and snails live in the rock as much as under and behind it. Looking good!

[asting]

Nice tank! I like the first better, but maybe less practical.

[748S911]

#2 scape looking good. Welcome to the fun. 

[bomerst]

15 hours ago, popek said:

Hi Guys!

 

Opening a new thread that will serve as a nice little journal of my first ever saltwater tank.

Very excited to start in this wonderful hobby! I have some background in freshwater tanks, where I used to keep and breed Discus. Also, have some experience keeping stingrays.  Can't wait until I can set up another tank with them. Moved from Slovenia to Toronto, Canada and unfortunately, until I buy my own house I have to stick to a small and manageable tank. A great excuse to finally get some salt on my hands! 🙂

 

Have been reading a great amount on this forum and believe I finally learned enough to start a tank. No real experience yet but I am sure I will be able to draw on the vast experience of this superb community.

 

Yesterday I visited a coral shop and bought some equipment.

 

1. Fluval EVO 13.5 Tank

2. RO/DI Unit

3. 50W Cobalt Heater

4. 1.0 SICCE Syncra pump

5. Red sea salt

6. Refractometer

7 Caribsea sand and Dry rock

8. ammonia, No2 & No3 tests

9. filter floss and tunze nano glass cleaner

10. Startup bacteria

 

After the tank is done cycling I will be purchasing an  Aqua Illumination Prime HD, nano tunze ATO and inTankmedia basket for chamber one. And a powerhead if more flow is needed. ( the wallet can take a breather till then 😛 )

Not yet sure if I'll be buying a skimmer and making a refugium, will see how the tank fares with weakly wc.

 

Livestock will consist of 2 clownfish and some cleanup crew ( would welcome any recommendations for some interesting crabs and snails)

As for corals, i will start with the newbie friendly ones and progress with time and experience to more demanding ones.

 

As I understand I should be ditching the foam that came in with the tank and put some carbon and chemi pure in the chamber.

Until my ro water is ready for mixing im playing around with aquascaping.

 

 

As the tank is visible from 2 sides I pushed all the rock to the back to gain more space in the front, left enough clearance for the magnet to pass.

The intent here is to provide some hiding spaces for livestock and platforms for attaching corals.

 

 

I have also played around with this setup as it looks to me that it provides more space to attach corals, but less hiding spots for livestock would appreciate some feedback on this.

(This is where experience kicks in I bet and could save me some hassle down the road.

 

 

Can't wait till i can post some more progress.

 

 

 

• Report pos

 

 

 

 

Looks Great!  A lot of people plug up the hole towards the bottom of chamber 2 with marine epoxy:  doing that helps pull more water through your filter material.

[asting]

27 minutes ago, bomerst said:

Looks Great!  A lot of people plug up the hole towards the bottom of chamber 2 with marine epoxy:  doing that helps pull more water through your filter material.

Also, I plugged some of the top ones between chamber 1 and 2 to force flow through the filter floss at the top of my chamber one.

[bomerst]

1 minute ago, asting said:

Also, I plugged some of the top ones between chamber 1 and 2 to force flow through the filter floss at the top of my chamber one.

I keep my water level a few inches lower in the back chambers, for me that accomplishes the same thing

[popek]

Few hours and ill have enough RODI to start mixing.

Yes, I will be plugging the small bottom hole, haven't stopped by my local dollar store to get the gel super glue yet.

Now just dwelling over the scape haha, decisions decisions 😛

 

 

[asting]

21 minutes ago, popek said:

Few hours and ill have enough RODI to start mixing.

Yes, I will be plugging the small bottom hole, haven't stopped by my local dollar store to get the gel super glue yet.

Now just dwelling over the scape haha, decisions decisions 😛

 

 

Nice. Its definitely easier to do before you fill.

 

I'm not sure how easy it will be to use super glue (I used epoxy). Make sure you get super glue gel.

[bomerst]

28 minutes ago, popek said:

Few hours and ill have enough RODI to start mixing.

Yes, I will be plugging the small bottom hole, haven't stopped by my local dollar store to get the gel super glue yet.

Now just dwelling over the scape haha, decisions decisions 😛

 

 

It is much easier to use epoxy instead of super glue.  Look for any marine-rated epoxy, you should be able to find it at any hardware store or your LFS.

[popek]

Filled up the Tank with water. I put in 10.2 gallons. was surprised that sand and rock displaced 3.3 gallons.

Things are looking good.

The only issue is the pump, I can hear it as it appears it's vibrating against the tank. It's quite a tight fit to get it in.

Do pumps need a while to break in and get quieter? Otherwise, it was a bad call to put the tank next to my desk.

 

Turned on the heather, will start adding bacteria tomorrow when the water heats up.

 

 

 

[popek]

Quick question, I prepared 2 buckets of saltwater both came in at 35 salinity.

After I put everything in the tank the salinity reads at 38?

Any idea why the increase ? was I not mixing it long enough (30 mins per bucket). I did not heat it, might that be the issue?

[748S911]

7 minutes ago, popek said:

Quick question, I prepared 2 buckets of saltwater both came in at 35 salinity.

After I put everything in the tank the salinity reads at 38?

Any idea why the increase ? was I not mixing it long enough (30 mins per bucket). I did not heat it, might that be the issue?

I usually mix a batch with fresh rodi, mix salt, throw heater and pump for circulation.  Next day test it to make sure its at 1.023 or so.

[Neb]

Whenever I mix cold rodi water with salt I get lower reading. If I may suggest - buy yourself a good 200w+ heater. By the time you finish mixing the salt, the water will be warm enough to add to tank straight away. 

+1 for the arc scape. I love it. If you decide to use epoxy for a scape, don’t make my mistake - wait for a very long time for it to cure. Instructions are more of a brag than reality. 

Good luck and can’t wait to see your next steps 😃

[popek]

27 minutes ago, 748S911 said:

I usually mix a batch with fresh rodi, mix salt, throw heater and pump for circulation.  Next day test it to make sure its at 1.023 or so.

I see, was reading on the box that they don't recommend mixing longer than 4 hours due to precipitation.

Do you mix it to 1.023 so you have that buffer space when it rises to 1.025 ?

 

12 minutes ago, Neb said:

Whenever I mix cold rodi water with salt I get lower reading. If I may suggest - buy yourself a good 200w+ heater. By the time you finish mixing the salt, the water will be warm enough to add to tank straight away. 

+1 for the arc scape. I love it. If you decide to use epoxy for a scape, don’t make my mistake - wait for a very long time for it to cure. Instructions are more of a brag than reality. 

Good luck and can’t wait to see your next steps 😃

Good idea! Might not need a 200w as ill be making 2 gal wc per week, cant fit that big of a heater in the bucket. 😄

Or do you make a batch and store it for a few water changes ? Do the parameter hold up for some time?    

 

Thanks, I love the arch especially as the tank will be empty for some time, i won't epoxy it just yet, have a feeling ill change the scape later on when i get more corals.

 

[asting]

Why would mixing longer matter? What do you think your aquarium powerheads are doing once you add to your tank.

[Neb]

Just now, popek said:

I see, was reading on the box that they don't recommend mixing longer than 4 hours due to precipitation.

Do you mix it to 1.023 so you have that buffer space when it rises to 1.025 ?

 

Good idea! Might not need a 200w as ill be making 2 gal wc per week, cant fit that big of a heater in the bucket. 😄

Or do you make a batch and store it for a few water changes ? Do the parameter hold up for some time?    

 

Thanks, I love the arch especially as the tank will be empty for some time, i won't epoxy it just yet, have a feeling ill change the scape later on when i get more corals.

 

It really depends on the salt you’re using. Mine says “can be used within one hour of mixing” which sucks as I have to prepare it and use it right away. I suppose their logic is mixing and leaving in a container causes salt to cluster at the bottom? Don’t know.. stupid. I’ve read around and some people store it for weeks.

[bomerst]

8 minutes ago, popek said:

I see, was reading on the box that they don't recommend mixing longer than 4 hours due to precipitation.

Do you mix it to 1.023 so you have that buffer space when it rises to 1.025 ?

 

Good idea! Might not need a 200w as ill be making 2 gal wc per week, cant fit that big of a heater in the bucket. 😄

 Or do you make a batch and store it for a few water changes ? Do the parameter hold up for some time?    

  

Thanks, I love the arch especially as the tank will be empty for some time, i won't epoxy it just yet, have a feeling ill change the scape later on when i get more corals.

  

I use a 150 watt heater for my water changes, and mix up 5 gal at a time even though i only do 2 gal water changes.  The params seem to be stable as long as you put a lid on your container

[unclepain]

Following along as I just set up the same tank today. 

[bomerst]

Just now, unclepain said:

Following along as I just set up the same tank today. 

The Fluval 13.5 seems to be the tank of the year!

[unclepain]

Just now, bomerst said:

The Fluval 13.5 seems to be the tank of the year!

Cant beat the price per gallon with a decent light and serviceable aio filter section. 

[pricewayne]

Like your scape!! Definitely agree epoxy will be easier to plug the hole in the middle chamber. Super glue gel is awesome for getting rubble or coral frags onto your rock though.

 

What brand salt are you using? Each salt will have a different mixing time — I use Aquaforest Reef and it only needs 15mins to mix (though I’ll run it a few minutes longer if the salt isn’t visibly fully dissolved). So be sure to follow the instructions that came with your salt — mixing your salt beyond the recommended mix time will cause the beneficial nutrients in the salt to evaporate//dissolve away.

 

Salinity will read differently based on the water’s temp — once you know how much salt is needed to mix to your salinity, you can then make a habit of repeating the same measurements each time you mix. I’d recommend you heat your RODI water first with your pump circulating the water while it heats up, once it reaches same temp as your tank, begin to add salt. Measure your salinity and keep track of much salt you’ve added until it reaches your desired salinity level. Then going forward you know exactly how much salt to add each time you mix.

 

Storing mixed salt is also dependent on the salt you’re using — mine is recommended to use within 5 days of mixing. Some probiotic salts are only recommended to use within 24hrs of mixing — so just research your particular brands shelf life once mixed. You’ll want to store it in a sealed container at room temp — when you want to reuse stored salt water, you’ll want to add heater and circulate with a pump for at least a few minutes and then add to tank.

[billygoat]

50 minutes ago, asting said:

Why would mixing longer matter? What do you think your aquarium powerheads are doing once you add to your tank.

I was confused about this as well, but it says on my salt bucket (RedSea Coral Pro) that it should not be mixed continuously for longer than 4 hours. For the life of me I can't figure out why it makes a difference though, since it gets plenty of mixing once it hits my tank with no apparent ill effects. 🤔

 

I like your scape; it's simple but still has some nice potential for coral placement! +1 on using epoxy to bond your rocks. I prefer superglue for frag plugs, gorgonians, etc., but for rockscapes it's epoxy for sure.

[pricewayne]

2 minutes ago, billygoat said:

I was confused about this as well, but it says on my salt bucket (RedSea Coral Pro) that it should not be mixed continuously for longer than 4 hours. For the life of me I can't figure out why it makes a difference though, since it gets plenty of mixing once it hits my tank with no apparent ill effects. 🤔

 

I like your scape; it's simple but still has some nice potential for coral placement! +1 on using epoxy to bond your rocks. I prefer superglue for frag plugs, gorgonians, etc., but for rockscapes it's epoxy for sure.

So I know it causes nutrients to deplete, but I’m not exactly sure which (I’d guess cal, mag, alk levels drop) — also not positive how exactly it happens. My best guess without digging too deep would be that it also happens in our display tanks — which is why it’s important not to also overmix and deplete replenishment from the water changes we do. Also gives our corals/livestock a better chance to absorb those nutrients.

 

Anyone’s welcome to prove me wrong lol. I remember reading about this when I was researching salts though.