reef-rc Fluval Evo 13G

[reef-rc]

This passed weekend I picked up a small galaxea coral frag as I wanted something in an area at the bottom of the tank which receive a relatively moderate flow. I knew going in the galaxea had sweepers. I thought I had a good spot for it but the water flow changed as a result of the new more powerful return pump. I have been watching it just to be sure and so earlier today I decided to see how the new location is doing and how long the sweepers are. Here's a brief vid. It's long for it's size. It's close to touching another coral. I believed it had already touched a lower branch of the Duncan coral a day earlier and as a result I switched out the position of the coral slightly. Looks like I will have to move it closer to the corner to be safe.

 

[Sobo's Reef]

Congrats on the tank! I like it...even had considered on multiple occasions to buy another one just as a "spillover" tank just in case .

MP10 - I am not exactly clear by your question of mounting MP10 on the back of the tank peninsula. Sounds like you like to mount the MP10 on the back of the tank for the peninsula look. Short answer is no.

Note all 3 chambers are actually wet when full. I've included two pics for reference. Note the water flow in the 1st pic.

If you are considering going peninsula with little overhead of pump, consider replacing the return pump for something like what I just upgraded to - Sicce Syncra 1.0 pump (I do have to say with MP10, Syncra 1.0 is a tad more flow than I like and will be downgrading to .5 pump). The other option is potentially with something like Tunze 6040 or Current EFlux Wave Pump 660 Kit which allows you to adjust the flow in different direction and be able to mount the pump next to the back wall. With the MP10, you don't have the option to direct the water flow any direction other than straight ahead. With these options for example you can still maintain the peninsula tank with a minimalist pump foot print this way.

HTH

Thanks for your response!! Totally forgot that all 3 chambers would be filled with water so that definitely answers my question! I'll look into the other options you gave me and see what I like! Thanks again!!

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Wow, those sweepers on the galaxea are huge! So interesting seeing how some corals are so aggressive while others are totally peaceful.

 

[money88]

Interesting build. I love the Fluval tanks so I will be following along

 

[reef-rc]

Can you imagine the sweepers when this ball becomes double the current size? Easily would need 4"-6" inches around this thing. This will be an upcoming dilemma #1.

Dilemma #2 - the "odd couple" pistol shrimp and watchman goby recently started redoing the landscape around them. Here's a brief vid of their work. At this point the pair has basically built a war trench surrounding their hide out, which is a large piece of rock. The whole trench work is creating a little unsteady base for all the coral frags I have surrounding this large rock. So far it's not a big deal.

 

[money88]

That's really awesome I have an Evo 5 myself and I really need to go and get myself a goby to go with my pistol shrimp. Because as it stands I never see my pistol shrimp

But I see the digging he does at night it's quite impressive

 

[reef-rc]

Interesting build. I love the Fluval tanks so I will be following along

Welcome! This one is definitely a value imo... especially when you find one on sale.

 

[reef-rc]

That's really awesome I have an Evo 5 myself and I really need to go and get myself a goby to go with my pistol shrimp. Because as it stands I never see my pistol shrimp

But I see the digging he does at night it's quite impressive

They are quiet a interesting pair and entertaining to watch. The digging is fine to an extent but I know it can become a pain at times. The other day I had to dig out one of my mushroom frag because it was covered in sand.

If I had not already have the yellow watchman, I would had gotten a Yasha goby from earlier this weekend to match up with the pistol. Regardless they're entertaining and very peaceful. Match that up with the lawnmover and it's free entertainment most of the time .

 

[Mike N]

They are quiet a interesting pair and entertaining to watch. The digging is fine to an extent but I know it can become a pain at times. The other day I had to dig out one of my mushroom frag because it was covered in sand.

If I had not already have the yellow watchman, I would had gotten a Yasha goby from earlier this weekend to match up with the pistol. Regardless they're entertaining and very peaceful. Match that up with the lawnmover and it's free entertainment most of the time .

That's what I had my eye on for my evo, yasha/pistol pair. Does the yasha dig like the YWG?

 

[money88]

If I had not already have the yellow watchman, I would had gotten a Yasha goby from earlier this weekend to match up with the pistol. Regardless they're entertaining and very peaceful. Match that up with the lawnmover and it's free entertainment most of the time .

That is what I am planning as well because it's smaller than the YWG and with only 5 gallons for me that is a good thing.

That's what I had my eye on for my evo, yasha/pistol pair. Does the yasha dig like the YWG?

Definitely interested in this as well. But doesn't the goby rely a lot on the shrimp to dig if they form a pair anyway so not sure if it matters much

 

[reef-rc]

Don't let the little thing fool you. The watchman goby does little to nothing in terms of digging from what I have seen; if anything it only picks up sand on occasion. The pistol shrimp in backward mod is a freaking digging machine. All those legs comes in very handy in digging. On several occasions, one side of the tank can get a little dusty because of all the sand digging it does.

The pistol is mostly blind and in many situation use the goby to guide it around. There are many instances where the shrimp will just hold on the tail of the goby when moving about. It's a fun and curious relationship to see and understand.

 

[ReefCub]

Day 10:

Thought I share a number of updates from the previous week.

Reef Mature Pro Kit + Cleaning Crew: According to the instructions it should be safe to add "cleaning crew". Since it's a relative 13.5G tank, I added a small crew based on BSR suggestions of 1 to 10 ratio. I decided not to go with hermit crab just because there currently isn't any shell in the tank yet and so will add 1-2 later if snail leaves it shell .

• 2 margarita snails
• 1 peppermint shrimp (sm)
• 1 emerald crab (sm)

Quarantine tank: This is currently running in the garage using the leftover live sand from the nano and old dry reef rocks. Not sure what I'll do from there for now given summer temperatures in houston is hot and humid.

Refugium: The Finnex external HOB refugium arrived yesterday and I have it setup and running with just water for now. The intent is for algae growth and control later on. I plan to add some Marine Pure Biofilter Media inside the refugium for extra bacteria growth. It's currently hanging from the back. Here are few pics.

In-Progress Items:

• ATO
  • Neptune Systems Apex PMUPT Standalone pump (on order)
    
  • Innovative Marine Hydrofill Ti Titanium ATO Acrylic Return Bracket for hanging on tank (on order)
    
  • Looking to leverage JBJ ATO controller. I am still on fence if this or IM HydroFill Ti ATO controller is better in the limited space on this tank. Will likely decide once I get the JBJ up and running.
• Better LED Lighting - Kessil Tuna Blue A80 (on order)
  • Question: Anyone using the Kessil A80 with Apex Jr? Like to know if Apex Jr + VDM would give me better controllability of lightling.

Overall tank is cycling through nicely. So hard and require so much "will power" to not get some fish in there yet ...That's it for now.

I was thinking about getting the same refugium for my setup as well. I don't have enough room to set it up off the rear of the tank though. Do you think I could mount it in the sump area? Was just curious if it will fit and also be beneficial? Also I was curious if you could share a picture of your sump? I have been trying to get the most out of mine and could use some insight.

 

[reef-rc]

I was thinking about getting the same refugium for my setup as well. I don't have enough room to set it up off the rear of the tank though. Do you think I could mount it in the sump area? Was just curious if it will fit and also be beneficial? Also I was curious if you could share a picture of your sump? I have been trying to get the most out of mine and could use some insight.

I'll say this upfront. For a nano size tank without the hassle of extra plumbing, this does add extra water volume and does allow you to use the unit as a refugium or anything you like to add to it due to a lack of a sump or room inside a sump. I have been using it as refugium with the additions of marinepure to help increase bacteria growth. I currently have the lights set to run 15 hrs with 1/2 hr on before and 1/2 off after the main tank light turn off and turn on respective. I think this somewhat may help PH swing although I can not really confirm for sure given the limited size of this thing, but something is better than nothing imo as my PH isn't as high as I like but tank is relatively stable.



Mount - Yes this could be mounted in the sump area; basically on any stand tank edges. Just make sure you know the dimensions to ensure it fits where you intend to place it. On the Evo, mine is hung from the left side closest to return hose.

Beneficial - This rather difficult to be concern but IMO does help with a little more water stability. Initially I started with 3 macroalgae. I am now left with 2. The other died out which lead to be conclude two possible reasons: 1) the other algae killed it 2) there just wasn't enough nutrition in the tank to maintain all three algae.

Even now with the 15 hrs light cycle, both macroalgae isn't grown as fast as in the beginning. This could be because there is not enough nutrition or enough light intensity. Light intensity is what lead me to purchase a the Finnex Planted Plus LED to see if that is the reason. After running the new light for 7 days, just yesterday I changed the lights back to the original as I noticed during my water changed the pom pom gracilaria macroalgae was slowly dying. You can actually see the whitening of the red color.

Upgrade & Mod considerations - if you want more flow, there is an shiruba PH-103 pump which is adds an extra 22 gph to the unit. I am looking to this within the next month.

Mod - If you use the dividers, due note the dividers blocks water dramatically as macroalgae grows on them. To help, I basically removed/cut some of the dividers out to give more room for water flow.

Current overall thoughts - Since my intent is mainly to reduce nutrition and increase bacteria, my plan to is potentially only keep 1 macroalgae (if one later dies) and use the remaining space to increase marinepure for extra bacteria growth. Really you can get just do refugium with just marinepure.

Looks like I went long. HTH. Would be curious what you end up doing.

 

[ReefCub]

I'll say this upfront. For a nano size tank without the hassle of extra plumbing, this does add extra water volume and does allow you to use the unit as a refugium or anything you like to add to it due to a lack of a sump or room inside a sump. I have been using it as refugium with the additions of marinepure to help increase bacteria growth. I currently have the lights set to run 15 hrs with 1/2 hr on before and 1/2 off after the main tank light turn off and turn on respective. I think this somewhat may help PH swing although I can not really confirm for sure given the limited size of this thing, but something is better than nothing imo as my PH isn't as high as I like but tank is relatively stable.



Mount - Yes this could be mounted in the sump area; basically on any stand tank edges. Just make sure you know the dimensions to ensure it fits where you intend to place it. On the Evo, mine is hung from the left side closest to return hose.

Beneficial - This rather difficult to be concern but IMO does help with a little more water stability. Initially I started with 3 macroalgae. I am now left with 2. The other died out which lead to be conclude two possible reasons: 1) the other algae killed it 2) there just wasn't enough nutrition in the tank to maintain all three algae.

Even now with the 15 hrs light cycle, both macroalgae isn't grown as fast as in the beginning. This could be because there is not enough nutrition or enough light intensity. Light intensity is what lead me to purchase a the Finnex Planted Plus LED to see if that is the reason. After running the new light for 7 days, just yesterday I changed the lights back to the original as I noticed during my water changed the pom pom gracilaria macroalgae was slowly dying. You can actually see the whitening of the red color.

Upgrade & Mod considerations - if you want more flow, there is an shiruba PH-103 pump which is adds an extra 22 gph to the unit. I am looking to this within the next month.

Mod - If you use the dividers, due note the dividers blocks water dramatically as macroalgae grows on them. To help, I basically removed/cut some of the dividers out to give more room for water flow.

Current overall thoughts - Since my intent is mainly to reduce nutrition and increase bacteria, my plan to is potentially only keep 1 macroalgae (if one later dies) and use the remaining space to increase marinepure for extra bacteria growth. Really you can get just do refugium with just marinepure.

Looks like I went long. HTH. Would be curious what you end up doing.

Great advise as always! Thanks!

I have been hard at work since your post and immediately ordered the Finnex Refugium w/ FugeRAY LED. I wanted a place for increasing bacteria growth and home for pods. I'm thinking Clean Chaeto from AlgaeBarn if my LFS doesn't have any. I also have the Intank media basket on its way for chamber 1. I did a DIY media basket for chamber 2.

This is the setup I'm thinking:

Chamber 1:
Floss
Purigen
ChemiPure blue

Chamber 2:
MarinePure 1.5-Inch Sphere's

Chamber 3: (if space allows)
Refugium pump
Hydor 50w heater
Sicce Syncra 1.0 Aquarium Pump

I had to do some modding on the refugium but I think it's looking great. Had to use a soldering knife to melt the plastic to fit over the dividers in the back of the Evo but it fits perfect!! Even leaves a bit of a lip and didn't affect the integrity of it at all.

My only concern now is that refugium will be flowing into chamber 1. I'm not sure if I will lose nutrients (and pods for that matter) if the refugium is running into the first chamber. Think this is ok? Or should I find a way to divert it into chamber 2 or 3?

 

[reef-rc]

Great advise as always! Thanks!

I have been hard at work since your post and immediately ordered the Finnex Refugium w/ FugeRAY LED. I wanted a place for increasing bacteria growth and home for pods. I'm thinking Clean Chaeto from AlgaeBarn if my LFS doesn't have any. I also have the Intank media basket on its way for chamber 1. I did a DIY media basket for chamber 2.

This is the setup I'm thinking:

Chamber 1:
Floss
Purigen
ChemiPure blue

Chamber 2:
MarinePure 1.5-Inch Sphere's

Chamber 3: (if space allows)
Refugium pump
Hydor 50w heater
Sicce Syncra 1.0 Aquarium Pump

I had to do some modding on the refugium but I think it's looking great. Had to use a soldering knife to melt the plastic to fit over the dividers in the back of the Evo but it fits perfect!! Even leaves a bit of a lip and didn't affect the integrity of it at all.

My only concern now is that refugium will be flowing into chamber 1. I'm not sure if I will lose nutrients (and pods for that matter) if the refugium is running into the first chamber. Think this is ok? Or should I find a way to divert it into chamber 2 or 3?

That's awesome! Nice mod. I once had considered placing the refugium there but wanted the skimmer so that was not a possibility.

Since your mareinepure is in the 2nd chamber and you're going through the hassle of cultivating pods and bacteria, it would be a waste if they fall into the filter floss. If you have a dremel or you could continue to use the heated soldering knif, make the cut for water flow into the 2nd chamber and seal up or potentially leave the current outflow in tack. Potentially you could reuse the cut piece to seal up the current outlet. If you do, this I would think water would take the least resistance path and flow from the pump down this path first which could leave very little flow toward the end of the refugium. This could potentially be a minor issue down the road. I've seen this on the current setup and have try to varied the flow using the divider forcing water to flow up/down. Seems a trade off.

Consideration:
One thing I would consider before everything goes into the refugium is the maintenance plan. How easy would it be to remove/clean the main pump? Remove/clearn refugium pump? Heater placement...is there sufficient room? if you're tight on space maybe consider the Cobalt heater...they're slimer. ATO? Same goes for chamber 2 with marinepure...which ideally will be remain untouched but I would at least consider it in case you have to take or add new stuff into it. This thing is small and space is limited so be mindful.

Since you are considering AlgaeBarn macroalge, choose the smallest size (golf ball). I had order the "tennis ball" and the darn thing was big and basically filled up the complete compartment I had for Pom Pom Gracilaria and Clean Chaeto. Pluse it's great to watch it grow instead of having the trim the darn thing just after a few weeks (which was what I had to do to mind ). While you are ordering, do yourself and tank a great favor and save some money....order 1-2 Cerith Snail and 2 Trochus Snail. This will save you having the need to buy turbo snails or other type for this size tank. I have found these two type of snails will clean your sand, rocks and glass very well and leave sufficient room for them to grow without starving them. In my tank, I only have 1 cerith snail, and 2 trochus snail since just a few weeks after the tank was setup and they're still around. I have no hermit crabs. Just a perppermit shrimp to clearn up the fallen food. The trochus snail unlike other snails will right themselves if fallen. I remembered I had 2 other snails before these two and I don't recalled how often I had to turn those snails up...such a pain.

 

[reef-rc]

So on the subject of refugium, pods and copepods...I looked closer today at all the white spots on the black wall and the back of the tank . As you can see, there are definitely life among those walls. Keep in mind I only have a total of 3 snails in this tank and the rocks were dry rocks at the start of this. It's pretty cool. They're mostly if not all snails.

The kool part is that I can actually see a number of the copepods moving about on the glass while look at the baby snails. Since the introduction of the live copepods, I have not really paid much attention to or look for the copepods after that 1st week other than continuing to feed the tank phytoplankton. Plus they are so tiny. It was hard enough while they were in the bag orginially. I plan to reseed more copepods within the next 1-2 months for sure. It's definitely kool with so much critters now inside this nano box.

 

[money88]

Nice, yea my tank currently has a copepod problem I have so many it seems ;Woot

Pretty awesome to see them though, if you feed every once in a while it will most likely continue to feed them just plenty. I just feed my corals and 2 shrimp and they have been booming

 

[reef-rc]

9th Weeks Update.

Concern:

• Zoas - I have one small colony of zoas which are not opening up and as a result have some brown film. Other colonies of zoas are doing well. Not clear what to do as I have move the colony around in hope it may have not liked the water flow and was opening up some but has been closed for a few days. I plan to redip it in CoralRx and go from there. Any suggestion is appreciate.

1.5 weeks ago, the above pic was the small zoa colony I was concern was being wasted away as it was closed for days with brown film starting to cover it. Unfortunately here is the remaining colony today.

Fortunately I have another identical colony sitting on the other side of the tank and this has been doing well...until last few days. It too started closing passed few days with only a few polyps opening with a similar film covering it. Now I have already scrubbed the earlier colony with a toothbrush in an wild butt attempt to do something ;Doctor but that did not help.

Today I am trying a different approach with Furan 2 for what I lightly understood as a potential zoa pox.

Left - dissolved treatment in tank water. Right - Tank water for dipping.

The treatment is basically simple. 2 cups of water with the dissolve treatment of Furan 2 for 15 minutes with blowing of water using a syring every 3-5 minutes. The idea is to do multiple treatments. This is the 1st. I am looking be doing another tomorrow evening.

After the treatment, I just placed the coral back into the tank. At least 1 polyp have opened. Time will see if this has an impact within the next few days. Would really hate to loose another colony. I just like to get to the root cause and get the right treatment in time. With this colony, I think I am starting the treatment early enough. With the earlier one, I wasted more time than I had planned.

Now I will have to say these colonies seemed to be wild caught and imported; from asia is my understanding. 2nd - this colony was mostly closed when I got it in the first place and is the reason I got it cheaper than the other colony. My other frags of zoas are doing great and have already begun to multiply and are not impacted. I am looking to keep that way for sure :mad:....

 

[bir4y]

Was reading up on the thread and was wondering the reason behind a skimmer, and the refuge together? I would ditch the skimmer which imo is pointless in such a small tank and leave the 1st chamber open for added filtration of sorts

 

[reef-rc]

Was reading up on the thread and was wondering the reason behind a skimmer, and the refuge together? I would ditch the skimmer which imo is pointless in such a small tank and leave the 1st chamber open for added filtration of sorts

Good question. I would agree and would be less concern if my bio and feeding habits are light. I feed the fish daily and tend to on the heavy side so the skimmer helps. I also feed corals with a variety of planktons, reef energy, reef roids, reef chili alternating days...not daily but usually 3-4 times a week. The weekly stuff that comes out of this skimmer are surprising.

I added the refugium with the intent to help keep the tank a relatively low nutrition system and to help increase bacteria using marinepure. The added benefit is that it also add additional water volume to the tank.

In time I will likely move toward mostly marinepure as the macro algae decline in the refugium.

hth