Time To Get Back In! Fluval Sea Evo 13.5

[westohooligan]

Well after a few years hiatus, thought it might me time to get back into a new tank. Decided on the Fluval Sea Evo 13.5. Big enough to do something with, but small enough I can't go crazy. Now keep in mind, I had to start completely from scratch as I had nothing. No tubing, pumps, buckets, nada.

I bought the inTank basked for chamber 2, the Fluval skimmer for chamber 1 so far. I have an RO/DI and top off on the way along with other basics. Currently waiting on salt to arrive as well. I have about 10 lbs rock in so far, and won't put in the sand until I can fill with actual water. I also ordered 2 Reef Brite strips and a controller to beef up the lighting. I plan on modding the hood a bit to help with temp regulation. Not a lot planned for coral or livestock yet as I just want to get it up and running and cycling.

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Rockscape so far, might change. Haven't decided.

So current equipment list:

Tunze 1073.008 Return Pump
Innovative Marine Desktop Wavelink
Heater Fluval 50 Watt
InTank 2nd Chamber Media Basket
Fluval PS2 Skimmer 1st Chamber - Not running yet.
Current USA Dual Ramp Timer
Main Lighting that comes with Unit
50/50 12" Reef Brite LED
Actinic 12" Reef Brite LED

 

[duromega]

Nice looking tank

 

[westohooligan]

Ah and some good stuff finally showed up. BRS 4 state RO/DI and Tunze Top off.

 

[Josh]

Following this build!

 

[westohooligan]

Finally making a little headway. Started filling last night. Just used some RC salt to get the cycle going while I wait for my good salt to get here. I'm thinking I'll order the Dr. Tim's Fishless Cycle system. I also ordered an inTank surface skimmer attachment as I'm seeing a lot of film on the top this morning.

As of right now I'm just running the stock sponge in it. I have the inTank basket for chamber 2, I have the PS2 skimmer in chamber 1. I'm thinking I'm going to upgrade the stock pump with a Tunze for a bit better flow. I also have a lighting upgrade and the IM nano wavemaker on the way.

Forgot what a pain this part is.

Almost there.

And much more clear this morning.

 

[westohooligan]

And some new toys!

Dual Ramp Timer

Stronger return pump and IM Wavemaker

I'm waiting on the Reef Brite strips to arrive tomorrow and the cooling fan should be here Thursday. Tank runs warm and it's a bit humid in my room, so not a lot of cooling happening on it's own.

 

[westohooligan]

Okay, so I setup the Reef Brite led strips, the 50/50 makes a HUGE difference in the lighting situation.

I used my Dremel and roughed up the inside of the hood as it was glossy smooth, and glued the strip to the inside.

Chink in the armor Ted. The Current Dual Ramp Pro's male end is not compatible with the Reef Brite. So temp solution. Fluval main on the ramp timer 12-12. My power strip is wifi enabled, so the Reef Brite 50/50 will be on/off 2-10. The actinic is lowest setting, always on.

Current FTS as of 10/27/21

Cycle is doing well, ammonia and nitrite essentially gone, nitrate at about 20. I'll do a water change this weekend and start running the actual filter media. Hoping next week we might start getting some corals or fish.

 

[westohooligan]

So some updates:

I really do not like the filtration setup on this tank. I currently have the Fluval skimmer in chamber 1 and the InTank basket in chamber 2. I just ordered their chamber 1 basket hoping I can get better filtration.

The skimmer works okay, but the microbubbles are annoying. I cannot get them to stop to save my life. I've had issues with my Tunze ATO as well. This whole thing feels like the worst start to any tank I've done in 15 years. Very patience trying to be sure.

Last week on Monday I ordered a cuc from Reef Cleaners. They showed up 3 days late and dead so that was a great start to my Monday. I did get some snails from Manhattan Aquariums and a nice purple firefish who seems to be doing quite well.

Once the new media basket arrives, I think I'll remove the skimmer and convert chamber 2 into a refugium.