Help Stock the Fluval Evo 13.5

[Rmdowling91]

Hi all, this will be my first reef nano tank and I'm really on the fence between the Fluval 13.5 gallon and something slightly larger like the biocube 16 gallon. My dream stocking options are below with these fish in mind could you help me make a final decision on which option may be most suitable? I'm really worried about the curved glass on the biocube but I don't want an unhappy, cluttered tank. Not a huge fan of the peninsula design of the Fluval but it seems to have great reviews and as a first tank, it may be best geared to me and I can upgrade down the road if needed. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Please keep in mind several soft corals and hopefully a nem someday in the future, unless this is just too much for the fluval and these fish in mind.

Dream stocking ideas:
pair of clowns
1 Royal Gramma
2 pistol shrimp
Possibly a hermit or 2?? - this is what I'm unsure of, is adding hermits too much? should I only do 1 pistol and a couple hermits?


Thank you!

 

[Nano sapiens]

For the fish you listed (especially), I would suggest the 16g.

I had 2 Ocellaris Clownfish in a 12g Cadlights and they outgrew it in a few short years and had to be rehomed (with a pair, one will become a female that can get to 4" or more, even in a small nano!). With corals (especially branching ones) growing larger and the Clowns also growing bigger, the female in particular started to get skin injuries due to insufficient space,

This photo was from ~7 years back and the black female was just starting her growth spurt (both were around 1-3/4"):

As for a bow front, I like mine a lot. There is some distortion, but it's not overpowering and really only visible when viewed at a 45 degree angle and easy to keep spotless:

But whatever you get, I would strongly suggest that it be made of glass since acrylic scratches too easily.

 

[davidcalgary29]

There's no better deal out there, dollar for dollar, than the Evo 13.5. It's a great little tank and I don't see a problem with your stocking list.

My favourite all-time stocking of my home Evo was when I had two captive-bred orchid dottybacks and a goby. Unfortunately, all but one of the fish died when some contaminant got in the tank, and I replaced the fridmani with springeri dottybacks, which are much less colourful.

An Evo is just not big enough for other fish if you've got a clown pair, though.