My Aqueon Evolve 4 reef

[steelcube]

So after talking with Mitch619 about his evolve4 he recommended I start a thread. The purpose of this is to give people ideas of what to do with their evolve4's and more importantly try and get some more ideas for things I can do with mine.

 

Current FTS 10-27-2012

 

Hardware:

BoostLED bulb + clamp, 2 blues, 1 red, 1 natural white, 1 bright white

Finnex 50watt heater

Aquatop pump

Small Float Valve w/ RODI/kalk reservoir for gravity ato

 

Filtration:

Filter floss

Chemipure Elite

Purigen

LR (in front and back)

 

Coral:

Favia

Green Birds Nest

Ricordea

Plate

Pulsing Xenia

GSP

 

Invert:

3 Sexy Shrimp

1 Red Maxi Mini

 

CUC:

Brittle Stars

Nassarius Snails

Florida Ceriths

Dwarf Ceriths

Narites? (black snails)

 

Intial Post:

 

 

I have a jbj 28g back at home. Since I didn't want to transport it to my apt at school I decided to get a small aquarium. All I have in the jbj are 2 clowns, and some soft and hard coral. I'm planning on moving all my coral to the evolve 4 and selling the jbj with the lr, sand, etc, and clowns. I also intend to get a cleaner shrimp and maybe a fire shrimp because I enjoy watching them and coral more than fish.

 

My lfs said the stock light in the evolve 4 would only support softies so I decided to upgrade to the boostled. I think it has 2 blues, 1 red, 1 warm white, and 1 natural white, or something like that and I also got the clamp. So far it looks great. I am planning on moving the base rock I have to the right a little and putting the top rock on an acrylic stand and moving it to the left and maybe tilting it back a bit so a greater surface of the rock is exposed to the light and thus better for keeping coral. Once in awhile I'll bump the clamp and the light will shake so I may use some acrylic or wood to put along the back of the aquarium to give it a little more rigidity.

 

 

For the back, I believe it's called a wet/dry sump? I removed the horizontal filter and drilled 7 large diameter holes in the bottom of the chamber to permit water flow straight down into the return section. I also make sure the water level is lower than the spill point in the filtration chamber. By design water was meant to flow back through the filter then spill over the right side, but now it just falls straight down, through filter floss, chemipure, and purigen and then into the return section. I also have lr in the back and when I replace the pump I will be moving the lr rubble directly under the filtration chamber so I can place a heater in the vertical area.

 

Holes drilled in bottom of filtration chamber.

 

Egg crate on top of holes

 

Filter floss

 

Back chamber, the return section forms an L going from vertical on right side (bottom in pic) to horizontal under filtration on left (top in pic)

 

After hearing from Mitch619 that the np-80 pump they upgraded to is quieter I decided to go with that. I don't plan on adding any additional pumps because the flow is pretty good right now. I'll just need to place coral appropriately based on the individual needs with regard to flow.

 

I haven't figured out which heater to get, but it must be small enough to fit in the right vertical section. I figure some small nano 25watt heater. PLEASE RECOMMEND SOME! It's starting to cool down and my thermometer reading was just below the green/safe area.

 

Initially I topped off the tank by pouring R/O with a little bit of kalk in it. Since evaporation has been increasing a little with the new led I bought a "The Big Dripper" which holds a gallon of water. It's sold with the intention of using it to increase humidity in reptile aquariums, but I use it as a gravity ato. It has two ball valves on it and it will still drip a little if I close both. I purchased one of those screw type valves and it's even worse. If anyone has any recommendation on a reliable valve that will allow very micro adjustments please let me know. I figure they don't exist for my application so I'll have to just stick with what I've got. I usually allow water to flow into the vertical section of tubing, shut the top valve and bottom, and it'll drip fairly slowly. I open the valves to top the aquarium off all the way in the morning sometimes before the light goes on.

 

The Big Dripper

 

Also since my tank has been cycling I added two turbos which I will trade to my brother when my quick crew arrives from reefcleaners.org. I don't have a scraper or magnet cleaner so algae has been growing like crazy out from where flow from the return nozzle hits the front acrylic. The turbos have punched a hole in it though. I also have a blue legged hermit and small rock with zoas my brother didn't want. If anyone has any recommendation on scrapers or magnet cleaners please let me know. I've been very hesitant because each magnet cleaner has been reviewed as either not working well or scratching acrylic.

 

I've also read that people use an aquaclear filter and mod them. Most of them seem to be used on aquariums that don't have a filtration chamber. So I'm really not sure if I need it. At most I'd add more lr and chaeto, and use the stock leds to light it. If I did that I'd definitely reinforce the back acrylic because it'd have more to support.

 

Again if you have any ideas or recommendations on equipment please let me know. These projects give me a much needed break from school work. Hopefully some of you will be able to use some of the ideas I've presented as well so if you have any questions let me know. I'll post more pictures once my brother brings all of my coral down and an actual camera.

[steelcube]

Oh I also hope to use acrylic to close off the lower portion of the water skimmer (not sure name, where water falls into the back chamber) so that I can have more water in the front while still maintaining the same water level in the back.

[steelcube]

Update 9-27-2012

 

Ordered the Quick Crew (2.5, 3g JBJ, other Picos) from Reefcleaners.org. It took about 4 days to arrive, but I am very pleased.

The website says the quick crew contains:

2 Dwarf Ceriths

1 Nassarius

2 Florida Certihs

3 Small to Medium Nerites

 

I received:

Too many to count Dwarf Ceriths

5 Nassarius

5 Florida Ceriths

5 Small to Medium Nerites

 

A pretty good number survived and the ones that died (about 7) were all dwarf ceriths. I floated the bags for 15 minutes and began adding snails directly to tank.

 

Packing, all these were contained in a larger bag and the box was stuffed with newspaper.

 

 

 

Later

[steelcube]

Update 9-30-12

 

My tank is extremely clean now. If you compare the first picture I posted to this current one you can see how much algae was eaten off the acrylic.

 

Water levels have been pretty stable now. no nitrates, nitrites, ph is at 8 and ammonia is 0 so I plan on getting a pair of sexy shrimp. I also plan on sending a bunch of the CUC back to my brother's tank so they don't all start dying in mine due to lack of food. I also plan on getting some of my more hardy corals into this tank like pulsing xenia, gsp (planning on putting it on back wall), and zoas. Based on how those do I may then bring down my brain, plate, and birds nest. I still need an acrylic cleaner and heater, although acrylic is clean and temp is fine.

 

Also I added the clear lid to the top to prevent snails from crawling out and I've noticed evaporation has dropped A LOT!

 

 

 

[Mitch619]

Awesome man! I suggest you take out a bunch of the dwarf ceriths though! They drop like flies and then spike the tank with nutrients. I found out the hard way in my solana. Any sps going in that tank?

[zombiesniper308]

For a drip set up, grab you a "iv drip set" from a local hospital or ems service. Thats what i used for my pickle jar. I had it drip every 12 secs with a "60 drip set"

[steelcube]

Awesome man! I suggest you take out a bunch of the dwarf ceriths though! They drop like flies and then spike the tank with nutrients. I found out the hard way in my solana. Any sps going in that tank?

 

Yeah, I'm going to give my brother most of the CUC and I'm planning on adding GSP, ricordea, pulsing xenia, and some more zoas next weekend.

 

EDIT: how soon do they start dying? If they won't last till next weekend I'll have to get rid of them sooner

 

For a drip set up, grab you a "iv drip set" from a local hospital or ems service. Thats what i used for my pickle jar. I had it drip every 12 secs with a "60 drip set"

 

I'll check that out.

[Mitch619]

Yeah, I'm going to give my brother most of the CUC and I'm planning on adding GSP, ricordea, pulsing xenia, and some more zoas next weekend.

 

EDIT: how soon do they start dying? If they won't last till next weekend I'll have to get rid of them sooner

 

 

 

I'll check that out.

 

You should be good till next weekend. Just remove the snails that haven't moved.

[steelcube]

Looking into the iv drip set reminded me I was planning on looking at float valves awhile ago instead of dripping, but I need one small enough to fit in the back area by the pump so about 3 inches long and maybe 1/2 to 3/4" wide

 

You should be good till next weekend. Just remove the snails that haven't moved.

 

Alright, I was going to ask you too, I got the np-80 pump but gave up on it because I couldn't figure out for to connect the pump and tubing. It came with airline tubing and won't connect to the tubing from the stock pump. So how did you set yours up?

[Mitch619]

Looking into the iv drip set reminded me I was planning on looking at float valves awhile ago instead of dripping, but I need one small enough to fit in the back area by the pump so about 3 inches long and maybe 1/2 to 3/4" wide

 

 

 

Alright, I was going to ask you too, I got the np-80 pump but gave up on it because I couldn't figure out for to connect the pump and tubing. It came with airline tubing and won't connect to the tubing from the stock pump. So how did you set yours up?

 

There is a thicker connection that come with the pump. Let me take some pics to show you. I'll post them when I get home.

[steelcube]

Oh, I didn't realize you could swap them out. I used the larger one and jammed the tubing over it, although the pump doesn't sit at the bottom it is A LOT quieter! thanks for the recommendation. I just need to go purchase longer tubing. Any idea what size it is?

 

[element9540]

Oh, I didn't realize you could swap them out. I used the larger one and jammed the tubing over it, although the pump doesn't sit at the bottom it is A LOT quieter! thanks for the recommendation. I just need to go purchase longer tubing. Any idea what size it is?

 

If it is the same as the evolve 8, it's 1/2" tubing. Tank's lookin good so far. I have the 8 and I like the dimensions as well. Good luck!

[steelcube]

Update 10-06-2012

 

Had my brother bring all my coral down finally so it's really full. Also moved the lr around to a better setup for the coral.

 

Still using phone for pictures so they aren't that great but enjoy.

 

New LR Setup - FTS

 

GSP glued to back wall with coral glue, I figure it'll take AWHILE for them to start opening back up.

 

Green Birdsnest

 

Zoas, not sure exact type, really cool under the blue LEDs

 

Orange ricordea, looks really cool under blue LEDs

 

I'm pretty sure this is a favia or acan, but I call it brain, if someone could clear it up or give info it'd be much appreciated. Since I've gotten it, it has begun growing a new head which is small and on the right. I only feed the top one because I'm worried the food might fall. Are they fairly sticky and able to catch food or will it be okay to only feed one mouth for now?

 

2 Sexies, I was surprised how small they are, they seem to be eating stuff off lr, haven't touched my coral yet or taken food off the feeding tongs

 

Pulsing xenia frag, when it arrived it was just a mush of coral, then it started moving and standing up. Now the stalks are really long and skinny. This morning they were maybe an inch, now it extends about 2 inches.

 

Feather duster, added it and it seemed to get nice flow, it's begun sticking out more and turned back. I assume for better flow or it may be considering moving. I figure I'll just let it move. I don't believe the shrimps or snail will bother it if it moves and builds a new tube.

 

My favorite, plate coral. I feed it prior to this picture. It used to always be curled up on the sides in my old tank and now it's opened more. I figure it's either because of lighting or no pistol shrimp to bother it. I sold the pistol and goby back to my lfs.

 

I also added a heater to the back and put the stock LED on the side for the Blue LEDs so I can turn them on at night to see the coral. I also have a small ping-pong sized float valve on the way. Got it on ebay from China or someplace. I'm hoping to put it in the pump chamber for an ato so I'll add more pictures if I get it to work.

[steelcube]

Update 10-09-2012

Well unfortunately the feather duster shed its crown this morning and by the afternoon the nasarius snails were eating it (feather duster, not crown). It was sort of moving, but they were ripping it apart pretty bad so I removed it. I assume it's dead. I was adding DT and my last one was doing fine, but this one did not seem like it was doing well. It wasn't really sensitive to light like the last one or responsive.

 

I caught the sexies munching on my plate coral even after trying to feed them pellets. I figured I'd take them back, but decided to try feeding them flake food that came with the aqueon. THEY SNATCHED IT UP SO FAST! I'm so happy so now I will just try and feed them maybe twice a day and keep an eye on them.

 

Tested the tank for Ammonia and Nitrates. ammonia was at zero, nitrates were at about 20ppm so I did wc.

 

My ping pong float valve should be in this week so hopefully I can get it setup before I leave for the weekend. Otherwise I may top off a little bit more and hope much doesn't evaporate or figure some quick fix out.

 

One of the sexy shrimp snacked on the FD for a little while. The FD looked pretty bad. I think the pink is flesh. Not sure

 

Found this on my counter when I came home. I had the lid on too! Tossed them back in.

[steelcube]

10-21-2012 Update

 

The float valve came in. So I drilled a hole in the back chamber where the pump is, but I drilled it too low the first time so I drilled a second hole in a better spot and installed the float valve. The float valve has an adjustment screw that allows you to extend it out farther which I did so it wouldn't bump into the return hose. This increased the water level in the back so it began to flow out the first hole. To resolve the issue I ordered some acrylic and weld-on to cover the hole. Hopefully that'll be in this next week and I can get the whole thing resolved.

 

The two sexies have been perching on every piece of coral in my tank. Below is a picture of one on the plate coral. That seems to be a favorite for it during the night. Otherwise they hang out on the lr eating algae and what not. I've been trying to feed them, but they always swim away so I've just monitored them to ensure they aren't eating coral. Nitrates are present, but lower than 5 ppm. The gsp seems to be growing a lot more. The favia/acan has been expanding more and seems to be overflowing over the plug it came on. There's a lot of algae on the zoa frag plug so I may try to remove the zoas and place them directly on the lr and throw away the plug. The plate has been expanding even more and the pulsing xenia are growing some too. I've also seen a lot of egg trails from the florida ceriths, there's a picture of one below.

 

I'll be sure to take more pictures once I have the float valve issue resolved.

 

One sexy perching on plate coral

 

Florida Cerith egg trail

[x3thelast]

tanks coming along fine. just gotta keep an eye on them evil sexies!

[cj_basser]

Looks great! On that Boost bulb and fixture....is it pretty heavy? Any signs of bending or stress on the back compartment?

[steelcube]

Looks great! On that Boost bulb and fixture....is it pretty heavy? Any signs of bending or stress on the back compartment?

 

It's been holding up pretty well. I don't see the acrylic pulling away or anything at the corners. I did just now place a quarter inch piece of acrylic in the back to hopefully give it some rigidity. Maybe I'll use weld on and make it permanent but I did notice the piece I added wasn't flush on the wall at the bottom which leads me to believe the clamp is bending the acrylic forward a bit at the top, but it hasn't been an issue at all yet.

 

EDIT: It is kind of heavy, feels sturdy. If I bump it, it does wiggle about a quarter inch and then stops.

[cj_basser]

Great info, thanks man. I am thinking about picking one up for my 4

[steelcube]

Great info, thanks man. I am thinking about picking one up for my 4

 

I'd definitely recommend one. All the coral look better than when they were under the metal halide in my old tank. Plate coral has opened more, if you look at the picture of the sexy on it, it'll open up and touch the frag on the left, rock on the right, and press up against the front of the tank. The ricordea is open more and the first zoas I placed in the tank became more green than when they were under my brother's T5's.

 

I removed the zoas from the rock they were on because the rock had a bunch of algae and something else growing on it. It looked like a torch, but with skinny translucent arms and white tips. I tried brushing the rock awhile ago but it didn't help. I removed three polyps and glued them on the lr. Waiting to see if they open.

[steelcube]

Update 10/26/2012

 

So I figured I'd update this thread on its going-ons. I drilled a hole in the side of the pump chamber for a float valve but it was too low. Drilled a second hole which worked but the float allowed water to overflow out of the lower hole SO. I ordered acrylic and weld on to cover both holes but drilled a hole for the upper one for the float valve. I have pictures below to better illustrate this. I lowered the water level and am waiting for the acrylic to dry and will install the float valve and do a big wc. Then I'll just run the float valve (open valve on top off reservoir) while I'm home to observe and make sure it will stop and start appropriately and if that works I'll leave the valve open all the time.

 

Both holes. The float valve is in the upper one, the lower one must be covered.

 

Picture of the inside where float valve will go. Note: The float is not screwed in right now. It's annoying to do and I was just making sure the acrylic would cover both holes and used the valve to hold the acrylic in place.

 

Went to hardware store to get clamp. Put weld-on on both the tank wall and acrylic piece and placed it. Checked the holes to make sure they aligned by puting the valve in and then removing. Now I wait.

 

Once installed it should keep the level just below the back divider.

 

On another note I caught a picture of both sexies perching on the plate last night. It's now my avatar.

 

 

Other things I plan on doing are using the left over acrylic to make a cover for the entire tank instead of using the two separate covers. Also I hope to make a separate stand for the light, got the idea from another aqueon owner.

[steelcube]

Update 10-27-2012

 

The weld-on has set for 24 hours which fixed the whole water leaking through lower hole. I went ahead with installing the float valve.Pictures below.

 

Float valve assembly inside tank. You can see the acrylic I placed to cover the lower hole.

 

Float valve assembly on outside of tank.

 

I noticed the lower hole that is covered will now allow me to see the water level very clearly. It'll help me keep an eye on the float valve to make sure it is keeping the water level around there.

 

 

 

Here's a picture of the favia. I wanted to see if its tentacles would come out so I stopped feeding it for awhile, which I've read is okay since they are fine without being feed, they will just grow slower. So I snapped this picture the other night. Tentacles came out a bit. Not as much as I expected. I fed it shortly after this.

 

[steelcube]

Update 11-04-2012

 

Went to lfs yesterday to get a maxi mini for sexies to perch on. They had some really cool red ones so I picked one up. It's about 1.5 inches. I also got another sexy shrimp. I thought it was a male at first but looking at it more I think it might be another female since the stripe by its tail is "broken." I may be getting a few more and hopefully a couple males in case I decide to breed them.

 

Maxi mini is sort of orange/red under moonlight. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow when lights come on. Couldn't get a decent one under moonlight.

[steelcube]

Pictures of the new maxi mini

 

 

Why I got it