Evo 13.5 with InTank Media Baskets

[timsierramist]

I've been reefing for a few years, but I've started something I've always wanted to do. A nano tank!

I bought a Fluval Evo 13.5 with a chamber 1 and chamber 2 InTank Media Baskets and am curious how some of you folks have set up yours and what media you have placed in each compartment. 

Right now I have filter floss in top shelf of my first chamber media basket, carbon at the bottom of my first chamber media basket and Sea Lettuce in the bottom of my second chamber basket and that's about it for now. 

What else have you folks added?

Thanks for the tips!

[Murphs_Reef]

I'll listen in here too. Just got an Evo for my daughter this Christmas.. and my ol' mucker @afcajax73 gave me the InTank chamber 1 and 2 to go with it. 

[LazyFish]

Alot of people use chemipure bags instead of strait carbon. Do you have the plugs for it that help make the flow through the filter more efficient?

[DevilDuck]

Personally, outside the filter floss to keep the back compartment clean, nothing else is required. That ulva sea lettuce will most likely die without some type of light in the back.

Some type of ceramic biomedia would be nice, but not required if you have a good amount of rock in the display.

I was also suckered into adding chemipure, phosban, and other chemicals. Take that money and invest in some Salifert test kits and maybe a larger return pump down the line. Allow your tank to mature before you start messing with the nutrients.

 

[afcajax73]

1 hour ago, Murphych said:

I'll listen in here too. Just got an Evo for my daughter this Christmas.. and my ol' mucker @afcajax73 gave me the InTank chamber 1 and 2 to go with it. 

Hope it goes well mate, I’m looking forward to the results! No doubt more bright white sand to be jealous of 

[Murphs_Reef]

12 minutes ago, afcajax73 said:

Hope it goes well mate, I’m looking forward to the results! No doubt more bright white sand to be jealous of 

😱 Hold on! I thought you lost your login details for a minute there.! 

[StevieT]

Most Common:

 

Chamber One

 

Filter Floss

Purigen

Chemi Pure Blue 5.5oz

 

Chamber Two

Chaeto

or

Biological Media like Seachem Matrix

[emmysnewtank]

I’ve been running floss/purigen/biomax in chamber 1 and more bio media in chamber 2. Just bailed the purigen as I can’t get my phos above 0…so hoping that removing it will help.

 

new tank I don’t think I needed the chemical filtration.

[W1ll]

12 hours ago, DevilDuck said:

I was also suckered into adding chemipure, phosban, and other chemicals. Take that money and invest in some Salifert test kits and maybe a larger return pump down the line. Allow your tank to mature before you start messing with the nutrients.

Best advice I've heard in awhile, all you should need in a new tank is floss and maybe some sort of bio filtration. 

[mcarroll]

6 hours ago, W1ll said:

Best advice I've heard in awhile, all you should need in a new tank is floss and maybe some sort of bio filtration. 

Notably, the only reason anyone "needs" the floss is because the back chambers in these AIO's aren't designed to stay clean.  Flow through them tends to deposit 100% of detritus that gets back there.  Make-work for you!!  🤷‍♂️

 

If you could improve flow (eg with a well-placed flow pump) then there'd be no reason for any filtration back there, maybe with exception for a protein skimmer.

 

Bio filtration in a reef should all be done by the rock and sand.

[JojosReef]

I'm also curious to see how many people are only running floss, maybe with biomedia. In my Fluval, I ran floss on too, chemipure in the middle and live rock rubble in the bottom. Couldn't get chaeto to grow well so just went with more rubble in chamber 2.

 

Past month I've only run floss and rubble. I have no idea how to see if the carbon/purigen is doing anything.

[mcarroll]

17 minutes ago, JojosReef said:

 

Past month I've only run floss and rubble. I have no idea how to see if the carbon/purigen is doing anything.

One way is to remove them and see what happens.

 

Maybe a better way to think about whether or not to use them is this:  What do you think they are removing?   Unless you can make a good list, they shouldn't be in there.  👍

 

 

[timsierramist]

On 1/10/2022 at 1:11 PM, LazyFish said:

Alot of people use chemipure bags instead of strait carbon. Do you have the plugs for it that help make the flow through the filter more efficient?

I got the plug for it, but it always pops out. Was it supposed to be glued?

[timsierramist]

On 1/10/2022 at 1:34 PM, DevilDuck said:

Personally, outside the filter floss to keep the back compartment clean, nothing else is required. That ulva sea lettuce will most likely die without some type of light in the back.

Some type of ceramic biomedia would be nice, but not required if you have a good amount of rock in the display.

I was also suckered into adding chemipure, phosban, and other chemicals. Take that money and invest in some Salifert test kits and maybe a larger return pump down the line. Allow your tank to mature before you start messing with the nutrients.

 

I have a magnetic light hanging on the back with the sea lettuce and my carbon is Chemi-Pur. I should have mentioned. I have to say, Chemi-Pur is legit! Tank is certainly crystal clear and beautiful.

[DevilDuck]

Chemi-Pur is more than just carbon:

 

Original is Carbon + Organics scavenging media

Blue is Carbon + Phosphate absorbing resin + Organics scavenging resin

Elite is Carbon + GFO + Organics scavenging resin

 

Just makes sure your nitrates and phosphate levels are not 0 ppm.

[Yjammaz]

I have both intank baskets in chamber 1 and 2 in the evo13.5.

I've used them both almost any which way you could. Even tried the ps skimmer, it works, but that's daily maintenance that a weekly water change would benefit the tank much more.

 

The intank rack and basket are still in commission right now, and the order of operation is:

 

Chamber one

-1st rack floss

-2nd rack carbon

-bottom chamber filled marinepure bio gems

 

Chamber two(algae less fuge)

-bottom rack holds eco biostone with wooden air stone

-very bottom of chamber two sits a bunch of fragged live rock before return baffle.

 

Chamber three(blacked out with vinyl sheets)

-uv bulb

-heater

-return pump

 

 

I've made sure to be redundant with surface area for bio filtration for such a small tank. All params have been satisfactory this way 

[mcarroll]

12 hours ago, Yjammaz said:

Even tried the ps skimmer, it works, but that's daily maintenance that a weekly water change would benefit the tank much more.

Water changes and proteins skimmers aren't alternatives to each other – both do very different things.  For example, a protein skimmer does nothing with dissolved nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate....which is a good thing for a reef which uses those molecules as....well....as nutrients.   They aren't waste in a reef tank like they are in a fish tank.  😉 

 

12 hours ago, Yjammaz said:

uv bulb

Are you having problems with parasites or something else like that?  Otherwise take this out and save the bulb for when you might need it.  E.g. versus Dino's.

 

12 hours ago, Yjammaz said:

I've made sure to be redundant with surface area for bio filtration for such a small tank.

At best this is harmless overkill.  But filtration is something where more is not better.  Artificial bio-media is probably more suitable for traditional fish-only tanks.  In a reef tank, you use aragonite rock and sand as your media – which is infinitely superior for the purpose to artificial knock-offs.  Use artificial only when you can't/don't use real.  I regularly advice folks to remove extra filtration like this.

 

12 hours ago, Yjammaz said:

All params have been satisfactory

I get nervous when I see a statement like this. 😬   Can you tell us what your nitrates and phosphates are testing currently?

[afcajax73]

On 1/10/2022 at 10:32 PM, Murphych said:

😱 Hold on! I thought you lost your login details for a minute there.! 

ha! not quite! 

[Yjammaz]

17 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Water changes and proteins skimmers aren't alternatives to each other – both do very different things.  For example, a protein skimmer does nothing with dissolved nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate....which is a good thing for a reef which uses those molecules as....well....as nutrients.   They aren't waste in a reef tank like they are in a fish tank.  😉 

 

Are you having problems with parasites or something else like that?  Otherwise take this out and save the bulb for when you might need it.  E.g. versus Dino's.

 

At best this is harmless overkill.  But filtration is something where more is not better.  Artificial bio-media is probably more suitable for traditional fish-only tanks.  In a reef tank, you use aragonite rock and sand as your media – which is infinitely superior for the purpose to artificial knock-offs.  Use artificial only when you can't/don't use real.  I regularly advice folks to remove extra filtration like this.

 

I get nervous when I see a statement like this. 😬   Can you tell us what your nitrates and phosphates are testing currently?

I did have a dino problem! [Wasn't dipping corals(Assuming that was the culprit)] as well as hair algae. I manually cleaned what I could then used some chaeto and uv along with a black out and haven't seen them since. So I kept the uv and the chaeto for a while eventually just uv, since I saw it helped very well.

 

When I had the chaeto in, PO4 stayed under 0.3ppm 

And NO3 last read <1.0

 

Since removing chaeto, I haven't tested PO4. I also haven't dealt with dinos or nuisance. 

Now that you mention it, really is time to take out the uv, too. Just helps keep the water so clean.

 

Critters and corals are happy, except the Pistol shrimp keeps poppin' off at the Dottyback. It's the ghet-to in there 😅

 

Definitely not knocking skimmers either. I would say the sweetest gizmo gadget we use since it's organically cleaning the column and adds benefit of super oxygenated water. For me, the need for it in a small tank like this Evo wasn't so great, also the product's design was a bit flawed, though it was quiet.

 

Question, however.. If I remove my artificial bio media, wouldn't I risk shocking the bacterial population? Thanks a bunch for any added and all prior input! 🤜💥🤛

 

 

 

[mcarroll]

9 hours ago, Yjammaz said:

Question, however.. If I remove my artificial bio media, wouldn't I risk shocking the bacterial population?

Nope....the bacteria, algae and corals in your display tank will pick up the slack.  If things are healthy (especially flow), your corals should be the best able to exploit those nutrients.   Win!

[Murphs_Reef]

On 1/13/2022 at 11:18 AM, afcajax73 said:

ha! not quite! 

Dropping in the InTank tonight finally lol. Floss and carbon only I think, just the same as the reefspace.

 

Might need a few water changes in the first month cause I been messing with it a lot and put a fair bit of 2 part epoxy in to lock down coral and rock!

 

10 frags all in as well as some free floating zoas and a bunch of GSP on the back wall 👍🏼👍🏼

[StevieT]

On 1/12/2022 at 1:21 PM, timsierramist said:

I got the plug for it, but it always pops out. Was it supposed to be glued?

See direction maybe on the bag

 

Due to Fluval's molding process some holes are different.  In your case use a dab of silicone or super glue GEL and attach the plug.  Both cure underwater

[Nano sapiens]

On 1/10/2022 at 12:19 PM, timsierramist said:

I've been reefing for a few years, but I've started something I've always wanted to do. A nano tank!

I bought a Fluval Evo 13.5 with a chamber 1 and chamber 2 InTank Media Baskets and am curious how some of you folks have set up yours and what media you have placed in each compartment. 

Right now I have filter floss in top shelf of my first chamber media basket, carbon at the bottom of my first chamber media basket and Sea Lettuce in the bottom of my second chamber basket and that's about it for now. 

What else have you folks added?

Thanks for the tips!

 

12g Bowfront AIO Cube, 14 years, no man-made filtration of any kind in the back chambers (or anywhere else). 

 

These are my own thoughts and beliefs (and the Lord knows we reef keepers have lots of those!), so take them as you will 🙂

 

It's entirely possible to start and maintain a nano reef (or any reef aquarium, for that matter) without any of the man-made filtration aids typically associated with the 'standard model' of reef keeping ('many ways to skin a cat', as they say). 

 

However, starting off with mechanical and chemical filtration material is quite common, especially for those brand new to reef keeping, so let's go with that.  A good part of the general concept is that the filtration can provide some 'insurance' for inevitable mistakes make along the way and it can keep the water clearer in the beginning (periphyton and multitudes of tiny filter feeders will do that job later on).  While the idea has merit, it also has it's risks (too much GFO/GAC stripping PO4 and other nutrients/elements, floss left uncleaned too long causing water quality issues, etc.).  Over longer periods of time the tasks associated with tending the filtration can get postponed, or even worse, ignored, to the detriment of the system as a whole.  But as the system matures (and the aquarist's expertise with the system increases), it's quite feasible (and I personally find it advantageous/easier) to do away with the man-made filtration and simply rely on the live rock and live sand (if present). 

 

Allowing a system to mature as naturally as possible with a suitable water change/detritus removal maintenance schedule has worked well for me over the decades.