Just got this tank an hour ago to move my nano into. Stoked! I've got a sumped 40 also. Thanks for the vids

I use both chambers for media and don’t use the protein skimmer. I find the stock pump adequate and quiet and have made my own media baskets from egg crate.Polyfilter to start with then chemipure blue nano,marine pure spheres, phosguard and lastly another polyfilter and the system seems to run fine. Once a week I change 6 litres of water and clean the polyfilter in the discarded tank water I have the original hood and added a truelumen pro led strip , hood keeps evaporation to a minimum.I have added a Hydor Koralia nano at the far end of the tank aimed back at the intake grill and this gives me ample flow circulation and surface agitation.

Cool update joe and I have to say your tank looks fantastic🤗

Tank is looking awesome!

Nice one Joe!! 😉

great idea !

Really good idea. I have had the same tank and wondered the same thing before.. The one thing you should be super careful about is making sure your water level stays consistent- if it drops below the top of your acrylic then you would be hooped! Cool idea though and hope it works better for ya!

I did something similar too. you can kind of see it on my video. I cut my own felt material and put that between the media basket and the slots to act as floss. I upgraded the return pump also and am much happier. I do have to watch the water level. I change the felt about every three days and I leave it off for two or so. I'm super happy btw to see you still in the hobby!

Never mind Joe! just keep trying different ideas! you'll get there!! 😀

Seemed like a good idea 💡

That looks great! Would about doing your modifications and putting a stronger pump?

half my projects and mods start off as good ideas. you never know until you try!

so I just got my tank and borrowed some of your designs yet I left the right side of the media basket (the side with the open ridges from the skimmer area) about two inches shorter so two slots can pour water over to the other side while being pushed through the media basket. basically a 3 sided plexiglass with one side 2 inches shorter with egg crate shelves.

I use live rock, some dense filter media, charcoal and a few bioballs in the filter.

There is a hole in that second chamber it goes all the way through the display if you plug that hole in the display side your first chamber will definitely overflow faster

just get an intank media basket they make it for the Evo 13

Return pump and covering holes completely is the key. Remember water will flow to where there is less restrictions , sealing holes with silicone then placing the acrylic over it would be a bonus but holes have to be sealed 100% then replacing the pump with a higher volume pump would be icing on the cake. I have a fluval spec 2.6 and trust me i can male those back chambers do some water moving.

One more thing Joe the Lifegard pump will require a longer return tube.

Cover the little hole in the mid chamber, it will increase the flow significantly. In tank media baskets come with a pre cut piece if you’re interested.

I'm getting your concept Joe. One thing you should consider is when adding that acrylic baffle, combined with the slower flow rate you are going to get backwash from your overflow. You should be able to visually see it where the surface particles sort of goes in to the overflows spins around and back out. You might need to get a InTank universal surface skimmer which helps to raise your overflow and combat this problem. Pro is you'll be able to put more water in your tank. Con is it'll raise your water level pretty high, so if you have any jumpers...

ohh crap.. didn't work.. time for a new tank :) haha looking good man. Comments seem to be steering you in the right direction, good luck!

I've been wanting to do this exact thing. I just didn't know if it would interfere with the sump

nice food for thought joe i bit tired of the ps2 skimmer my only thought is they made all those slots so the pump and heater would never be without water to cool them .then left any and modding to the consumer so you could not chew them out because a bunch noobs like these little starter tanks . we put way to much live rock in our tank . but were going to see how it works for our 2 emerald crabs and snails we did notice a lot crud get in the impeller sponge wish the motor was higher off the ground a tad more . oh well were having fun with the evo and our 45 gallon also . water line we found should be half way up the mesh on the water level reefer girl said you suggested we agree also

can anyone tell me the dimensions of the final chamber where the return pump goes? l want to know what aftermarket pumps l can put :)

Your plexiglass needs to go on the other side, about 1/4 inch space between it and filter media. But, filter media housing won't fit.Can you modify the factory setup?

What do you run on your tank? Media wise^

I see what you're saying about the flow rate BUT I still think this is a great mod to do. I agree that having all those slats don't the side of chamber one is doing nothing to create the best filtration for you. The water NEEDS to flow through each media or it isn't effective, so making that happen, even if it isn't exactly as you were hoping it would work out, is still a step in the right direction IMO.

Cut the plastic piece to expose the top three or four slots and upgrade your pump, that will fix the flow problem

Tank looks great. Did you paint the back of the tank or?

Maybe adding a filter pad along the side of the basket where the slits are that way the water goes through the pad and into the basket.

Nano Joe, you’re my kind of guy: willing to experiment. Please consider the following experiment for you Fluval Evo 13.5. Besides your protein skimmer, live rock, filter floss, bioballs and carbon, add a small refugium and UV light sterilizer to your sump area, and see what happens. And if you have extra room, add more bioballs (i.e. some sort of bio filter media). My experience was with a 100-gal fish and invertebrate tank (but no corals). (Unfortunately I had to give that up.) I sometimes struggled with cyano, hair algae, ich, stuff dying for no apparent reason, all until I added those two items to my system. (The refugium was the real breakthrough; you may need an “Intank Chamber” to help you.) I was able to minimize water changes of only 10% once a month and everything was still healthy. Nitrates stayed at zero. I think you may be able to go even longer without water changes, or possibly even eliminate them. I plan on doing the above myself, when I finally get my Evo 13.5. Post a vid about your setup and experience, including seeing how long you can go without having the change the water (if ever again; you may have to add some trace elements if you never change the water). I thank you in advance. Good luck and God bless. Below are links to items that you’ll need. Clean chaeto algae www.algaebarn.com/shop/macroalgae/clean-chaeto/ Refugium light (top one is the better one IMHO) www.innovative-marine.com/shop/ChaetoMax%E2%84%A2-2-IN-1-Refugium-LED-Light-9-Watt-p184500061 or www.jbjnanocubes.com/contents/en-us/p10984_jbj_nano_glo.html UV light sterilizer www.walmart.com/ip/UV-Light-Sterilization-Lamp-Waterproof-Submersible-Ultraviolet-Sterilizer-Water-Disinfection-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Pond-Life-LED-Led-Bar-Underwater-Pond/535836815 Smaller Intank chamber intankaquatics.com/intank-chamber-two-media-basket-for-fluval-evo-13-5-52l-and-fluval-spec-16-60l/

upgrade your pump. also you could make a solid acrylic sheet with holes drilled in it, on top of media basket, to contact all the floss. just make sure to make the holes the right size. too big and you have the same problem too small and you will flood

Its the filter floss slowing the flow down

Hey Joe I just recently tried upgrading my return pump. I sent emails to both Marine Depot and BRS for their advice. Marine Depot told me the Eheim Compact 600 which says 160gph...which was anything but. It was weaker than stock. BRS told me just to add a nano powerhead for more flow. I did find one that was stronger than stock Lifegard Aquatics Quiet Pro pump 800. I returned it because it was extremely loud. Maybe it was just mine but it was significantly stronger. Hope this helps.

Nice tank. How many lbs of rock do you have in your tank? And where is it from?

I just got this tank new to saltwater. I was going to get live sand and live dry rock but the water thing would it be better to get saltwater already ready or mix my own ... Is there pros and cons.....also what should I put in to help the cycle dr.tims .or micro after 7 ??????

What is the light that he is using?

I wouldn't mind revering it all. my nano cube is perfect.

👍👍👍

can I ask, was thinking of buying this tank using all the stock components, how often do you do a water change and how many litres?

What I think it’s doing is getting a stronger flow through the small whole at the bottom now (the safety one).... and covering that isn’t the smartest idea ever

hey bro..i have the same nano, did u figure out a way to your issue am having the same problem..hopefully you see this comment since you posted the video 4 months ago 😂😂

Get rid of the protein skimmer and put more media in the that space also. Protein skimmers don't work so well in small tanks. And the Fluval one is especially poor. Up to you of course.

just get the frag tank setup like u want... problem solved 😀

hey Joe its Ruth..I have an issue with ny collection cup. theres water seeping out the sides of the cup. this is the second one i dont want to return it again. is that normal??

why wouldn't you want the water to go ALL THE WAY to the bottom of the skimmer section? and also why would you put the heater above the return? that compartment isn't going to get enough flow? move the pump to the top, , heater under, LR rubble in half of the middle chamber, maybe carbon, and I use a small grow light and cheato as well. also, IMO a protein skimmer requires nearly perfect tuning and most people don't understand how to accomplish that. so, at least for beginners, water changes are a much better tool than a skimmer that's barely going to do anything and take up a third of the filtration space?

Why not place the Skimmer in the centre chamber?

What light is on the tank?

What about leaving two slots open?

Protein skimmer isn't required on this tank.

What is ur orbit marine led set at

It’s almost as if the experts that designed this knew what they were doing......

u can rent my basement out 👍 and maintain my tank👍🤞😵

Have a filter floss strip down the side of the fins in chamber 2 so it decently collects any waste and stuff and then fill the rest of it with biohome ultra marine and in the Last chamber put the carbon on top of the heater I am in the middle of setting up my own check my channel up I am doing weekly vids.

Lose the skimmer and go to all pond solutions and have a look at theirs max out chamber with sponge and floss and media/ mechanical filtration then biological and chemical chamber numbers 2 chamber number pump, heater ,uv steriliser put the skimmer at the back on the wall with suction cups not the fluval one . All Pond Soloutions one it has a floating head .so it's always at water level and doesn't come higher than the lid .Also get a 1500 LH pump and rfg (random flow Generator) then your tank is bad ass

hi joe. you have the right idea. but need to put the acrylic in the 2ed chamber going into the 3ed. look at the nuvo aquariums. www.innovative-marine.com/nuvo-aquarium/fusion-peninsula-14.html sump layout. you will get the idea

Just use a Phosphate Reactor in the second chamber and a Protein Skimmer in the first chamber.

How “original”... inTank already thought about it lol.