Zoe's Reef - Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon

Zoe’s Reef · Jan 25, 2020

Well, I'm a bit late to start a build thread, but considering that my tank is still less than a year old (started 4/12/2019), I'll use this space to continue to document my tank's progress and my saltwater journey.

Growing up, my family had a few freshwater tanks (at one point with two massive oscars), but we never had any saltwater experience. Fast forward to 2018, graduating from college, and discovering a really cool local fish store (shout out to Preuss Pets in Lansing, MI). I loved looking at all the tiny coral frags and dreaming of having a slice of the ocean in my own home. After researching different tanks, I finally settled on the Fluval Evo 13.5g for my starter tank. Nano but practical—the perfect size for a studio apartment. In April 2019, the water started filling, the pumps started flowing, and the rest is history...

Here's my current build thread:

+ Tank: Fluval Evo 13.5g with stock lighting + stock pump
+ Skimmer: Fluval Sea PS2 Mini Protein Skimmer
+ Powerhead: Sicce Voyager Nano 1000
+ Livestock: 2 Ocellaris clownfish, 1 Randall's goby + Tiger pistol shrimp, 1 Bicolor blenny, 1 Pom pom crab, and a troupe of other inverts that I check on daily (lol)

Peace River · Jan 25, 2020

This is a nice start to your build thread! It will be nice for you to look back in a year and see how far your tank has come!

Twìsted~Coral · Jan 25, 2020

Zoe’s Reef said:
Well, I'm a bit late to start a build thread, but considering that my tank is still less than a year old (started 4/12/2019), I'll use this space to continue to document my tank's progress and my saltwater journey.

Growing up, my family had a few freshwater tanks (at one point with two massive oscars), but we never had any saltwater experience. Fast forward to 2018, graduating from college, and discovering a really cool local fish store (shout out to Preuss Pets in Lansing, MI). I loved looking at all the tiny coral frags and dreaming of having a slice of the ocean in my own home. After researching different tanks, I finally settled on the Fluval Evo 13.5g for my starter tank. Nano but practical—the perfect size for a studio apartment. In April 2019, the water started filling, the pumps started flowing, and the rest is history...

Here's my current build thread:

+ Tank: Fluval Evo 13.5g with stock lighting + stock pump
+ Skimmer: Fluval Sea PS2 Mini Protein Skimmer
+ Powerhead: Sicce Voyager Nano 1000
+ Livestock: 2 Ocellaris clownfish, 1 Randall's goby + Tiger pistol shrimp, 1 Bicolor blenny, 1 Pom pom crab, and a troupe of other inverts that I check on daily (lol)

Looks like you need a lawnmower blenny for that algae

Zoe’s Reef · Jan 25, 2020

Peace River said:
This is a nice start to your build thread! It will be nice for you to look back in a year and see how far your tank has come!

Thank you! I'm very excited to track my progress.

Zoe’s Reef · Jan 25, 2020

Twìsted~Coral said:
Looks like you need a lawnmower blenny for that algae

Yep. haha
There's no hiding that I'm currently in a GHA battle. Recently added a bicolor blenny to do some of the work, all of the lawnmower blennies at my lfs were way too big to fit in this tank. Have been pulling + water changing frequently, and I think I'm getting closer to winning the fight.

Zoe’s Reef · Feb 9, 2020

Added some more trochus snails on Friday! Hopefully these ones last longer this time—they’re getting to be expensive snacks...

Anyone else’s emerald crabs suddenly turning aggressive? I know that some people say they’re not reef safe, but I’ve had luck so far with all of mine, until now. My emerald crab is flipping, or attempting to flip, all of my snails. My parameters are consistent and my feeding has not changed. I’m thinking it could be one of two things—a recently-ish changed light cycle or my pistol shrimp being MIA for the last month. The shrimp used to snap at him and, with the shrimp currently staying underground for most of the time, I’m assuming that my emerald crab has become the “boss” of the inverts.

Knightwolf1.025 · Feb 9, 2020

Really cool Evo tank I have thought about setting up one myself.
have you thought about using Vibrant to initially get the Gha under control?

samnaz · Feb 9, 2020

Nice tank! If I were you, I wouldnt be too concerned about the GHA if you keep up with manual removal and water changes and you’re seeing improvement. IME that’s all it took to get rid of it (so far anyway).

Emerald crabs are hit or miss. I got one to keep algae at bay but being opportunistic there is no guarantee. My emerald lived on a single isolated rock in my tank that was devoid of algae so I began to feed him meaty pellets that I feed my sexy shrimp. Anytime the feeding tongs were remotely close to him he’d freak, chase them down and attack. It was pretty funny.

I would try feeding your emerald a pellet or two every few days. Perhaps then he’ll be less inclined to scavenge for snail meat.

samnaz · Feb 9, 2020

Oh and I second that shout out to Preuss! I live a ways from there but it’s certainly the best LFS remotely close to me and worth the drive for sure. Incredible tanks and livestock there, and I reeeally appreciate the knowledgeable employees who all seem to truly care about the creatures instead of just trying to make a sale!

Mastiffsrule · Feb 9, 2020

Hello,

great looking tank. never too late for a build thread. Tanks are always growing keep updating

Kjgaeta · Feb 9, 2020

Love the 13.5G Fluvals!

Zoe’s Reef · Feb 12, 2020

Knightwolf1.025 said:
Really cool Evo tank I have thought about setting up one myself.
have you thought about using Vibrant to initially get the Gha under control?

I've read a lot about Vibrant and it seems to have mixed reviews. I'm going to keep pulling algae and see where that gets me before I add Vibrant to the tank. It's going to be more of a last resort for me.

Kjgaeta · Feb 12, 2020

Zoe’s Reef said:
I've read a lot about Vibrant and it seems to have mixed reviews. I'm going to keep pulling algae and see where that gets me before I add Vibrant to the tank. It's going to be more of a last resort for me.

I tried vibrant and it lead to more problems for me. Stopped dosing it.

splitting_lanes · Feb 12, 2020

I had a problem with a hermit crab hopping onto snails and trying to kill them. I flicked him off every time I caught him doing it, and he doesn’t do it anymore. These little animals are smarter than we give them credit for, and can be trained.

you are pursuing the correct strategy with the GHA. If you have some room for a macro algae, that will help keep the GHA in check.

Zoe’s Reef · Feb 12, 2020

samnaz said:
Nice tank! If I were you, I wouldnt be too concerned about the GHA if you keep up with manual removal and water changes and you’re seeing improvement. IME that’s all it took to get rid of it (so far anyway).

Emerald crabs are hit or miss. I got one to keep algae at bay but being opportunistic there is no guarantee. My emerald lived on a single isolated rock in my tank that was devoid of algae so I began to feed him meaty pellets that I feed my sexy shrimp. Anytime the feeding tongs were remotely close to him he’d freak, chase them down and attack. It was pretty funny.

I would try feeding your emerald a pellet or two every few days. Perhaps then he’ll be less inclined to scavenge for snail meat.

How long did it take for you to finally get rid of your GHA? And how often were you pulling?

My emerald surprisingly goes where ever he wants in the tank, so I have a feeling he's definitely getting any leftover pellets. I'll see him run for one on the bottom of the other side of the tank.

Zoe’s Reef · Feb 12, 2020

samnaz said:
Oh and I second that shout out to Preuss! I live a ways from there but it’s certainly the best LFS remotely close to me and worth the drive for sure. Incredible tanks and livestock there, and I reeeally appreciate the knowledgeable employees who all seem to truly care about the creatures instead of just trying to make a sale!

I always go into Preuss with a list of questions and they're always more than happy to take the time to answer!

Zoe’s Reef · Feb 12, 2020

Mastiffsrule said:
Hello,

great looking tank. never too late for a build thread. Tanks are always growing keep updating

Thank you!

Zoe’s Reef · Feb 12, 2020

Kjgaeta said:
I tried vibrant and it lead to more problems for me. Stopped dosing it.

That's what I'm afraid of, and why I'm holding off on starting it.

Zoe’s Reef · Feb 12, 2020

splitting_lanes said:
I had a problem with a hermit crab hopping onto snails and trying to kill them. I flicked him off every time I caught him doing it, and he doesn’t do it anymore. These little animals are smarter than we give them credit for, and can be trained.

you are pursuing the correct strategy with the GHA. If you have some room for a macro algae, that will help keep the GHA in check.

Haha they certainly can be trained—every time I walk past the tank everyone knows to start begging for food! lol

Thank you for the reassurance. Macroalgae... would this be making a refugium?

Magellan · Feb 12, 2020

i recently discovered that some bryopsis had gotten into my tank. As I wasn’t interested in fighting a losing battle for the next 6 months to a year, I went with the nuclear option. Dosed Fluconazole. It was beyond effective, my corals/fish didn’t care at all (I have a mixed 28g reef) and my tank is now spotless. I didn’t have much GHA to begin with, but now my tank is so clean I have been heavily feeding to make sure my cuc doesn’t starve.

it’s not necessarily a good long option, (maybe you need some more filtration, more corals, cuc, feed less, etc) but it could help you get the algae under control for the immediate future.