Aqueon Evolve 8 - pros/cons?

[Narwhal72]

You don't want to seal the entire top down in order to allow gases to exchange. You want to get fresh air in to replace carbon dioxide produced by the fish. The feeding hole in the front is more of a convenience so you could cover that up with a piece of tape if you wish. Evaporation is important in order to keep the tank cool. But IME high water temperatures are really the exception rather than the rule.

Counter surfing happens in all aquaria from time to time. I think you see it more in Evolves because of the small size of the aquarium and the type of fish that are commonly kept (danios, livebearers, tetras) are more prone to jumping when startled than other fish (catfish, gouramis, cichlids, etc...) that are kept more commonly in larger aquaria.

Andy

 

[Blackbeltmom]

Would this LED support any corals of just saltwater fish?

 

[TL1000RSquid]

Would this LED support any corals of just saltwater fish?

You could do some shrooms, maybe ricordea, gsp, clove polyps, xenia if placed up high.

 

[LauraL]

I've had mine up and running for a few months now.
1. You HAVE to use the suction cup mounts to attach the pump to the wall of the back chamber. Otherwise, the pump vibrations are crazy loud. It's not bad if you can get it anchored at the bottom back corner.
2. This is NOT an 8gl tank. Maybe 5.
3. The filtration is stupid feeble. It only takes in the top 2 inches of water - and we all know that is NOT what needs filtration.
4. Aside from that, it's a nice looking tank, I haven't had the bowing problems others have reported. It just needs more vacuuming and water changes than you'd think. The light is great for plants, though.

I have a dwarf honey sunset gourami in mine with 4 tetra and a bunch of (very happy) plants. Substrate is river gravel. Everyone seems happy, but yes, weekly or biweekly water changes are a must. The filtration is a total fail.

 

[Narwhal72]

The Evolve 8 is not called an 8 gallon aquarium. It is a Size 8 and is based off the outside dimensions (same as any other aquarium if you look more closely at the labels). The net volume of the Evolve 8 is 6.3 gallons and the display area volume is 4.9 gallons.

I grow mushrooms and zoanthids in mine with the single light.

I have never had any problem with filtration. The intake is a surface skimmer (same as any reef tank with a sump or other All in Ones like Biocubes and Nano Cubes) and the pump is strong enough to push debris up and into the intake.

Andy

 

[Blackbeltmom]

Andy,
Do you have sand or bare bottom? I was thinking of putting some starboard in the bottom, if I decided to try saltwater.

 

[Narwhal72]

I have a thin layer of aragonite sand in my marine 8. I have gravel in my 4 and 2 (they are freshwater).

Andy

 

[reefmonkey]

Hi Andy. Reading through this thread I figure you must be a part of Aqueon. I love their tanks. I've had the weights and measures chart in bookmarks for years.
I've been a reefer for quite some time now and just recently decided to set up a pico on the sales counter of the clothing store I own with my wife. I chose the Evolve 8. I joined this forum just to post some pics of this great little tank so you could enjoy them as well.

This is the whole set up shortly after I got the lights up. As you can see I had doubts about the stock LED and went DIY with a 48W Cree build and dimmable drivers. I want to grow more than zoo's and shrooms.

I've got a new Eshopps Nano Skimmer in the sump compartment. I'm actually preparing a complete review of the skimmer which will publish on one of the major hobby blogs that I contribute to. I had to use a step drill and move the factory return closer to center to get the skimmer to fit. If you look just below the water line under the skimmer cup you can see the grayish circle which is the plug in the factory drilled hole.



And here's the best part. Click the pic for the video. I have an MP10 on this little bad boy of an aquarium.

I have to give kudos to Aqueon! This little AIO cannot be beat for price, quality and versitality. I love it and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cool desktop tank!

P.S. The acrylic cover would fog and block to much light so I DIY'd a 1/4" mesh jump stopper. I just finished it tonight and don't have any pics of it yet.

 

[Narwhal72]

Thanks for the feedback. Your right, I do work for R&D for Aqueon. The Evolves were one of my projects so I have a special interest in them.

Tank looks great and I am digging that LED light. Did you mix blue and white LED's? I have been playing around with some different LED's trying to get better color rendition than what you get with just blue and whites.

We tried to make the Evolve's good all around tanks for freshwater and marine hobbyists. Upping the lighting was something that we went back and forth on a lot but in the end the increase in cost would have made the tanks too expensive and unsellable.

Keep an eye on the acrylic between the two sections of the MP10. I know Ecotech had a lot of problems with heat from the dry side causing crazing of acrylic and I would be concerned on a tank this size. That was some time ago (before the MP10 came out) so they may have corrected the issue.

Andy

 

[reefmonkey]

The LEDs are set up channel one: 2 blue, 4 royal blue and 2 violet; channel two: 6 royal blue, one cool white, one neutral white. They are all 3 watt and each channel has it's own driver. Channel one driver output = 600mA, channel two = 1000mA.

Thanks for the heads up on the vortech. I'll keep an eye on it but I think it will be o.k. The driver is set at just over 25% and the rubber damper is in place between the dry side and acrylic.

To the OP. Sorry for the thread-jack. My personal experience with this tank is that it is A++. I honestly have not found a con yet.