Fluval Evo 13.5 Gallon Tank

[Mogwai]

I'm still waiting on my Fluval Evo tank to arrive so I can start it up. I'm also starting to get alittle skeptical because I'm seeing and reading alit of reviews and videos about the Pros and Cons of this tanks lighting, Filtration System and return pump (not so strong). I will run factory at first to get the feel for it and better understanding of a saltwater tank but I'm definitely alittle nervous about doing and getting it right. Lol

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I'm still waiting on my Fluval Evo tank to arrive so I can start it up. I'm also starting to get alittle skeptical because I'm seeing and reading alit of reviews and videos about the Pros and Cons of this tanks lighting, Filtration System and return pump (not so strong). I will run factory at first to get the feel for it and better understanding of a saltwater tank but I'm definitely alittle nervous about doing and getting it right. Lol

There are a lot of builds on here with Evo 13.5's that I read while looking for a desk tank for my office. I've also noticed that essentially, everything gets replaced/upgraded in rather short order.

 

[Just John]

Here is a response I gave to someone about the lighting for the 13.5. After I added the light discussed below, I decided to also add this to the underside of the lid and I like it (despite what the listing says, it is all blue LEDs)-

Blue LED strip light

bondsgot73 said:
Anyone upgrade to the fluval marine 3.0? Seems like a good option for those that want to keep the lid.

I just did. It fits really well, except it requires some trimming to keep it completely level. You don't have to trim it, but you will probably want to at some point. There is a small gap along the sides, but it's not too big. On the first picture you can see a thin strip on the holder that goes down the side of the tank to prevent the light from falling in. That needs to be cut off of one end, as I mentioned. If you have a Dremel tool, it's easy to cut or grind it off in two minutes. A hack saw would work too. Don't worry, the light can't fall in when it's in the lid and this does not need to be done to use the light. The other end goes in the feeder hole. The timing functions are more useful than I would have thought. That alone is a good reason for a new light IMO. Everyone says consistency is key for good growth. That guarantees it with lighting. (Just a helpful hint if you get it, it will be much easier to delete all of the time points under Pro and then add them back in as you go along. You'll see what I mean.)

 

[Just John]

For pumps, the included pump is fine for my softies. Many people upgrade to the Sicce Syncra Silent 0.5 or 1.0. The 1.0 is a tight fit and so makes an annoying vibrating noise IME. I have heard the 0.5 is quiet and provides a good amount of flow.

 

[Mogwai]

I have purchased the Fluval Sea CP1 Circulation Pump to help with circulation and to add more movement in the 13.5 gallon tank. Good idea or no?

 

[Mogwai]

I'll get a Nero Wave pump for future tank if do well and decide to stick with the saltwater aquarium scene. I'm praying this first attempt goes well and smoothly. I really do like the tranquility of a reef tank and the moving parts that make it a spectacular sight.

 

[Foggy Pirate]

I have a 13.5 evo! I think if your keeping corals upgrade your light to something you can program. I got an AI Prime 16hd and I love it, it’s a small tank for the light so I have my intensity way way down. But you got to get something that programmable cause you won’t always want to manually turn it on and off at same times every day. Second I upgraded the filtration and got an in tank media basket, some ppl love it some ppl say it’s a waste at the time I could afford it and it was really Important to me to collect all the solids with a filter floss abd pad rather than have stuff fall down and start to breakdown before it got into a protein skimmer. I also got a skimmer too before the media basket, i didn’t even like the flow and design. Also with the basket you get a plug to plug that hole in the middle of the wall up with. I used simple silicon before I even got the plug. My second chamber is all bio media. And just last week I finally ordered a new pump sicce 0.5 but that’s now 7 months after I started the tank so I don’t think it’s nessisary. Since your starting I will share what shocked me the most. All I have are two small clown fish, abd a few snails and coral. I feed very little and all my water parameters are perfect for almost 6 months. Both I test and I bring water to the fish store where they have a machine. Even with correct water parameters and little feeding my tank has gone through many algae stages. The ugly stage happened when brown showed up on the glass and the gravel. Like It comes and goes overnight. I used microbactor 7 to just keep the Benifical bacteria up but after that than I got some hair algae, it has gone away and is now back. Again everything is fine, texts, corals, feeding amount, also I have my lights on from 10am to 7pm. So the cycles the tank does can be pretty scary but iv learned to be patient and I always kept looking for answers and sometimes I found some other times I didn’t. That is the biggest discouragement for me when starting in the hobby so figure I would share. Best of luck man!

 

[ninjamyst]

You can get a cheap $60 LED on amazon that will be 100x better than the stock lighting. I run a 13.5 fluval and threw out everything that came with the tank besides the tank itself. If you upgrade the stock pump, you wont need a bulky circulation pump in the display.

 

[Mogwai]

I have a 13.5 evo! I think if your keeping corals upgrade your light to something you can program. I got an AI Prime 16hd and I love it, it’s a small tank for the light so I have my intensity way way down. But you got to get something that programmable cause you won’t always want to manually turn it on and off at same times every day. Second I upgraded the filtration and got an in tank media basket, some ppl love it some ppl say it’s a waste at the time I could afford it and it was really Important to me to collect all the solids with a filter floss abd pad rather than have stuff fall down and start to breakdown before it got into a protein skimmer. I also got a skimmer too before the media basket, i didn’t even like the flow and design. Also with the basket you get a plug to plug that hole in the middle of the wall up with. I used simple silicon before I even got the plug. My second chamber is all bio media. And just last week I finally ordered a new pump sicce 0.5 but that’s now 7 months after I started the tank so I don’t think it’s nessisary. Since your starting I will share what shocked me the most. All I have are two small clown fish, abd a few snails and coral. I feed very little and all my water parameters are perfect for almost 6 months. Both I test and I bring water to the fish store where they have a machine. Even with correct water parameters and little feeding my tank has gone through many algae stages. The ugly stage happened when brown showed up on the glass and the gravel. Like It comes and goes overnight. I used microbactor 7 to just keep the Benifical bacteria up but after that than I got some hair algae, it has gone away and is now back. Again everything is fine, texts, corals, feeding amount, also I have my lights on from 10am to 7pm. So the cycles the tank does can be pretty scary but iv learned to be patient and I always kept looking for answers and sometimes I found some other times I didn’t. That is the biggest discouragement for me when starting in the hobby so figure I would share. Best of luck man!

I may upgrade the filtration system eventually. I'm going to run it full factory then takes notes about what happens then upgrade the filtration system for media baskets and the good stuff that goes for it. I will take notes with that also and compare the 2 systems. Same goes for lighting. This hobby is way out of my realm but with failure comes triumph and vice versa. Will be some time before I have any findings but patience is a virtue my mom always said. Lol. Thx for reaching out bud. Much appreciated.