Fluval Evo Saltwater Startup

[Potato Patatto]

Got the bug bad and decided to have some fun as I came across a pretty good deal on the fluval 13.5 gallon saltwater kit.

I used Caribsea live black sand and got nutri -seawater after being talked into it by a lfs owner. Said it’s small enough that it would be easier to just use this to fill and do water changes as it’s a minimal amount. I got one piece of dry rock (7.5lbs) instead of live to minimize the chance of unwanted guests. I will be doing a fishless cycle this time around and spiking the ammonia with 2 pieces of raw shrimp for about 2-3 days. Once the ammonia is high enough I’ll be dosing Dr. Tim’s aquatics. The lights and skimmer will stay off until the cycle is complete. I also have a small pump to help circulate.

The only real plan is to have a small clown pair or a watchmen goby with a orchid dottyback with some soft coral.

Any insight you may have would be appreciated as this is new territory for me.

 

[Deadeye]

Welcome to hell...lol
I have the exact tank. It’s fun and a good starter for saltwater.
Btw, once you get into saltwater, there is no way out.
Good move with the black sand, all I see is crap on my white sand...
I would put some more rock in, more space for corals and it creates the illusion of a much bigger tank.
If you wanted you can do both the pair of clowns, a shrimp goby, and a pistol shrimp.
You may want to improve the filtration, it’s okay but eventually it just doesn’t cut it.
For corals I recommend Xenia, green star, leathers, and zoanthids. Maybe a torch if you want to venture into lps. Mushrooms are also very nice.
Good clean up crew animals are hermits, emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp, snails, and brittle stars.
Have a qt tank ready, if you get ich, velvet, or brooklynella, the fish are screwed if you do nothing (ask me how I know).
Otherwise, have fun! Take it slow to avoid mistakes and die offs. At the end of the day it’s worth it.

 

[Potato Patatto]

Welcome to hell...lol
I have the exact tank. It’s fun and a good starter for saltwater.
Btw, once you get into saltwater, there is no way out.
Good move with the black sand, all I see is crap on my white sand...
I would put some more rock in, more space for corals and it creates the illusion of a much bigger tank.
If you wanted you can do both the pair of clowns, a shrimp goby, and a pistol shrimp.
You may want to improve the filtration, it’s okay but eventually it just doesn’t cut it.
For corals I recommend Xenia, green star, leathers, and zoanthids. Maybe a torch if you want to venture into lps. Mushrooms are also very nice.
Good clean up crew animals are hermits, emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp, snails, and brittle stars.
Have a qt tank ready, if you get ich, velvet, or brooklynella, the fish are screwed if you do nothing (ask me how I know).
Otherwise, have fun! Take it slow to avoid mistakes and die offs. At the end of the day it’s worth it.

Yeah I was thinking I need a little height with the live rock, especially if the filter isn’t great; I’m going to try to find a smaller archway to prop the existing piece up on one end. You haven’t had any overstocking issues? It seems like there’s a lot of different opinions out there on what you can put in these tanks but I’m super excited to get something in here. Waiting sucks lol

 

[Deadeye]

Stocking really depends on how diligently you clean the tank. Two clowns is a good starting point. I had 4 fish at one point. A clown, fire fish, royal gramma, and neon goby. Everyone got along. Of course they were all from petco and I skipped quarantining, so one velvet outbreak later I have no fish. My fallow ends in January and I plan to eventually get a clown pair, high fin banded goby, and royal gramma. The nice thing about gobies is that they produce next to no waste, so they have about as much effect on the bioload as a shrimp. As long as you can keep up with the clean water, it is manageable. I do 30% weekly changes. I did a count the other day and realized I had 18 coral species, and I only set it up in august. Any issues I have come across usually came from my own mistakes and not from the stocking.

 

[Potato Patatto]

Stocking really depends on how diligently you clean the tank. Two clowns is a good starting point. I had 4 fish at one point. A clown, fire fish, royal gramma, and neon goby. Everyone got along. Of course they were all from petco and I skipped quarantining, so one velvet outbreak later I have no fish. My fallow ends in January and I plan to eventually get a clown pair, high fin banded goby, and royal gramma. The nice thing about gobies is that they produce next to no waste, so they have about as much effect on the bioload as a shrimp. As long as you can keep up with the clean water, it is manageable. I do 30% weekly changes. I did a count the other day and realized I had 18 coral species, and I only set it up in august. Any issues I have come across usually came from my own mistakes and not from the stocking.

How long did you wait for coral? And did you start with with dry or live rock?

 

[The Masked Shadow]

SEE THIS. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD WANT.

edit: that’s what I say for every Tank thread I see ?

 

[Deadeye]

How long did you wait for coral? And did you start with with dry or live rock?

I did live rock. It may bring unwanted pests, but it also brings just as many beneficial organisms and speeds up cycle, so the pros outweigh the cons to me.
I got my first leather about 3 weeks after first setting up the tank, I should have waited a bit longer, but it was fine. I had a very short cycle because of a lot of live rock and sand. Realistically, hardy soft corals like Xenia and leathers can go in after about a month. LPS after 2-3 months.

 

[Potato Patatto]

I wanted a tank for my work desk as I spend most of my time there and the smaller freshwater species just don’t do it for me ?

You just can’t compare with some of the saltwater fish in terms of color and the uniqueness

 

[Deadeye]

I wanted a tank for my work desk as I spend most of my time there and the smaller freshwater species just don’t do it for me ?

You just can’t compare with some of the saltwater fish in terms of color and the uniqueness

I agree completely. I think I’ll always love freshwater more, but there is just something about saltwater that is so peaceful and beautiful.
If you’re up for it, you may be able to get away with a mandarin goby. They eat near exclusively copepods/amphipods, and will clean out a tank’s population in days. If you can both get it pellet trained and sustain it the way you would feed crickets to a lizard, it would be a beautiful tank. Only issue is they are incredibly hard to feed and sustain in tanks smaller than 30 gallons.

 

[Potato Patatto]

I love the Mandarins they are beautiful, but I’ll only do it if my lfs has it trained eating pellets, I don’t want another pain in the ass lol