Ethan’s Fluval Evo 13.5

Ethan Barker · Nov 4, 2017

Hi all today I’m just showing the forums my new tank. I’ve had it a little while now but only set it up last weekend. I’ve just been letting the Imagitarium Sea water I put in there evaporate. Only about 10 gallons total went in at first along with rock and sand so the water level was low to begin with. But I wanted to see the evaporation rates. Right now I’m running only a 50 watt heater and the original media that came with the tank. I’d really love some suggestions on what to do with this tank I figured I’d get some Purigen for it and maybe down the road upgrade the light. I’ve placed a power head to the fist chamber to increase the flow to the rest of the filtration however. Please send some suggestions on what I should do. Thinking max of 2 fish maybe clowns or fire fish. Not sure as of yet. I need to know if this water I’ve placed in, the imagitarium stuff, it’s from petco and petco sucks I know but I don’t have many options where I live, I need to know if that’s okay to use, and when I finally top the tank back off next week I’ll be adding a little more of that sea water or maybe nutrisea to get things ready for fish and coral. I’m starting with corals in this tank and when I see how the maintainance is I’ll get the fish. Only going for LPS for easy care, it’ll be the first time I take care of coral. I’ve been adding the reef accelerator from instant ocean as well just in case the imagitarium water didn’t have the trace elements I needed. I also wanted to get the water in, Along with the rocks and accelerator to kick things off. Next Friday or Saturday I’ll be buying more pre mixed saltwater either nutrisea or imagitarium like I said and then maybe picking up a couple frags. SUGGESTIONS PLEASSE

sfin52 · Nov 4, 2017

Welcome to reef2reef
When adding more salt water to salt water your salinity can rise.

Have you thought about installing your own ro system. It really makes this hobby a bit easier.

What's your ammonia and nitrite levels? That's when you can start thinking about livestock.

Good luck

jaegers_reef · Nov 4, 2017

Welcome to the forum! What made you decide on pre mixed saltwater rather than maxing yourself?

Ethan Barker · Nov 5, 2017

I mainly wanted to avoid the whole cycle waiting process and testing, I’m also looking to do this with as little spending as possible, if that’s even able to happen haha. Though I’m ending up waiting through the process anyway. Plus this tank is up in my room so I really don’t have much space for all the buckets and the mixing. I’d rather take a 5 gallon jug a week out, get rid of it and put some new water in. I have some salt and a bucket in case I want to do a small water change but as of now I have no way to heat the water up.

Ethan Barker · Nov 5, 2017

I’ll be picking up a saltwater master test kit for testing soon.

Ethan Barker · Nov 5, 2017

Also I am aware of the factors that go with adding more salt to the tank vs topping off with fresh water. No worries I’ll be picking up so fresh water to top off before I go adding more saltwater.

sfin52 · Nov 5, 2017

It is also a good idea to add some bacteria to the tank. I've used seachem stability and dr. Tims.

Ethan Barker · Nov 8, 2017

Freshly topped off! Almost ready for the first clown! Should I get the pair at once or can i just get one now and one later?

sfin52 · Nov 8, 2017

It's better if you add them together

Ethan Barker · Nov 8, 2017

Alright cool thanks

sfin52 · Nov 8, 2017

Watch for aggression. They will have a argument from time to time. This will because they are trying to figure out who will be the male and who will be the female.

Ethan Barker · Nov 9, 2017

Alright! I️ was hoping to get some snowflake clowns. Maybe a pair that are already set together?

sfin52 · Nov 9, 2017

That's a great way to start out with clowns

sfin52 · Nov 18, 2017

How is the tank

Ethan Barker · Oct 1, 2019

Hello, and wow am I posting a late reply, I’m coming back to the reef to reef community. And I’m starting a 40 gallon breeder tank from petco. Mainly because they’re quite cheap. I’ll also be getting a 20 gallon to use as a sump. However the fluval nano went actually quite well, I made do with that cruddy pre mixed water. But surprisingly enough saw a lot of algae growth, I wonder why. Lol RODI water is not used in the mixing of this product. Nice. I had a few sps corals like GSP. A hammer, Xenia, Kenya tree. And it dominated the tank and gave a great look next to my clown buddies. However I did have to leave as I had a new career to start. I now love out in Cheyenne wyoming here two years later. And that’s the scoop. The 40 gallon breeder will be my largest tank yet as obviously, I’m a budgeted man. Looking for any pointers you may have at an aqua scape for me, can’t quite decide.