Espino’s 13.5 Evo

Espino963 · Dec 27, 2019

Hi everyone! I wanted to document my salt water journey as this is my first tank. I decided to go with a 13.5 evo to really see if I could commit to the hobby. If I keep up with this tank, I will definitely upgrade to something bigger within the next year or so.

I just started the cycling process and hope to learn from everyone here. I will test the tank daily and hope it cycles successfully.

I started off with 12Lbs of live rock and 10Lbs of live sand and here is the initial result.

SPR1968 · Dec 27, 2019

Looks great so far and Welcome to R2R!!!

Keep the pictures coming

Dierks · Dec 27, 2019

SPR1968 said:
Looks great so far and Welcome to R2R!!!

Keep the pictures coming

I agree with all of what was said here!! You have landed in a great spot to learn everything Saltwater and we are excited to have you! Before you know it you will be looking for space for that 100G tank!!

Again Welcome!

Espino963 · Dec 28, 2019

Hey everyone,

The tank finally cleared up and I decided to add a cleaning crew. I don’t know the exact name of the critters I added, but I hope I didn’t over due it.

Tomorrow I’m expecting a package from amazon as well so I should have another small update soon.

Dierks · Dec 28, 2019

Looks like you got yourself 5 Hermits and 3 Trochus Snails! Nice work, its coming along! What are you using to Cycle your tank? I ask because you usually add your Clean Up Crew after the tank is cycled. I know its exciting but the key to the hobby is go as slow as you are able! The number you got is just fine and if you are doing the shrimp method or bottled bacteria everyone should be just fine.

Espino963 · Dec 28, 2019

Dierks said:
Looks like you got yourself 5 Hermits and 3 Trochus Snails! Nice work, its coming along! What are you using to Cycle your tank? I ask because you usually add your Clean Up Crew after the tank is cycled. I know its exciting but the key to the hobby is go as slow as you are able! The number you got is just fine and if you are doing the shrimp method or bottled bacteria everyone should be just fine.

Hi Dierks. I used bottle bacteria to dose the tank. I had my local store test my water and everything came out great. I will re test with my kit in the morning and install my new wave maker.

I’m going to wait a week or 2 to add aome
Corals and then maybe wait another 2 weeks and add a clown. I really want to focus on corals

Espino963 · Dec 28, 2019

My package came in today and I checked my tank again. Looks like everything checked out. What do you guys think?? How long should I wait to turn my lights on and add some corals??

Espino963 · Dec 29, 2019

Today I received my digital thermometer and light timer. I got them both off amazon and have heard great things. I set my sunrise at 7am and sunset at 6:30pm. It has a 15 minute dim time before it hits 100%.

hopefully sometime this week I have corals

Espino963 · Dec 29, 2019

I forgot to upload the photos sorry and please excuse the cable management

Espino963 · Jan 5, 2020

Hey everyone,

just a quick update! I added 2 clowns, a torch, mushroom and 2 other corals that were gifted to me. I did a 25% water change twice in 4 days as my ammonia and nitrite spiked. Ive been testing everyday and everything seems to come back good as of now.

the mushroom has grown dramatically and seems to be happy.

kiteski14 · Jan 8, 2020

hey, how long did you wait from filling your tank to putting fish in. I just got the tank and people are saying to wait a few months, it's seeming like you added them almost right away. Are they still all doing okay?

Espino963 · Jan 8, 2020

Espino963 said:
Hey everyone,

just a quick update! I added 2 clowns, a torch, mushroom and 2 other corals that were gifted to me. I did a 25% water change twice in 4 days as my ammonia and nitrite spiked. Ive been testing everyday and everything seems to come back good as of now.

the mushroom has grown dramatically and seems to be happy.

I waited maybe a week, I checked my levels everyday and everything checked out. The fish are doing fine and I actually just added more coral.

DidYouSayReefer · Jan 9, 2020

Those tests kits aren’t very accurate but if your rock and sand were really live from your LFS, you should be fine, there won’t be a cycle. It would have been better to add one fish at a time, just keep an eye on them. Take it slow. I wouldn’t add anything else for at least 30 days. If you don’t have algae yet, don’t be surprised if you lose some snails.

NeonRabbit221B · Jan 9, 2020

Espino963 said:
I waited maybe a week, I checked my levels everyday and everything checked out. The fish are doing fine and I actually just added more coral.

But if you never had an ammonia source then there would be nothing for it to read. Test ammonia regularly as you will likely see an ammonia spike if you didn't ghost feed the tank or add ammonia to start the cycle.

DidYouSayReefer · Jan 9, 2020

If you have rock with established bacteria, there is no need for an ammonia source. Cycling a tank is for dead sand and dead rock. If you use rock from the ocean or an established tank, you can add a fish. Brandon429 has written extensive articles on it. He’ll never see a spike because his rock will process it right away.

Wee Mad Arthur · Jan 9, 2020

I agree, I bought my established live rock which my LFS bagged up in water, drove the 30 mins home and threw it in my tank and moved some soft corals I already had into it and started feeding them the next day.

Espino963 · Jan 15, 2020

Hey everyone, just a small update! I got some more coral and a new light! I’m going to be purchasing a new house soon so I’m looking into getting a AIO 30L tank or a Red Sea if I find a deal on one. I’ve been checking the perimeters every 2-3 days and everything is looking good!
I’ll use my polarized glasses tomorrow and get some individual shots

Vinnys reef · Jan 30, 2020

How

Espino963 said:
Hey everyone, just a small update! I got some more coral and a new light! I’m going to be purchasing a new house soon so I’m looking into getting a AIO 30L tank or a Red Sea if I find a deal on one. I’ve been checking the perimeters every 2-3 days and everything is looking good!
I’ll use my polarized glasses tomorrow and get some individual shots

[/QUOTE
how do you like that light I have the same tank and a Kessler A80 wanted to upgrade it

Espino963 · Feb 1, 2020

Vinnys reef said:
How

The light is awesome! I have it on a 8 hour WiFi timer. It’s cost efficient and seeing improve my on my corals.

tupes · Feb 2, 2020

Nice tank you have there. I have one setup as an anemone tank. Please remember this is a slow and steady game as you are adding corals and livestock quickly. You really should wait to ne adding corals beacuse your tank needs time to stabilize. Is there a chance that everything will be ok, sure, but there is a really good chance that things start to die. This is not a cheap hobby and to have great success just take your time.

Looking forward to seeing your progress, please dont hesitate to ask questions about anything.