Evolve 8 v Ebi?

[goodeye--sniper]

Hi all, I'm new to Planted Tank as well as planted tanks I'm thinking of giving myself a summer project and creating a RCS nano tank. I am hoping to not have to spend too much money on this project. I'd hope to keep it lowlight and heavily planted, but I am not opposed to moving to mid or high light plants if the lighting is compatible. My main questions are: - What are the pros and cons to the ebi and evolve 8? Filter, lights, dimensions, etc. - How is the lighting on these tanks? - What kind of plants would they be able to grow well and look good together? - What would be a good carpet plant? I'm thinking of riccia, but I don't know much about it. - Is it hard to remove the ebi backing? Any additional advice is helpful! I was originally thinking of making this an iwagumi tank, but I think that might be a little too difficult for someone so new, so I'm just going to go for a natural look I guess.

[Bannik]

Originally Posted by goodeye--sniper

Hi all, I'm new to Planted Tank as well as planted tanks I'm thinking of giving myself a summer project and creating a RCS nano tank. I am hoping to not have to spend too much money on this project. I'd hope to keep it lowlight and heavily planted, but I am not opposed to moving to mid or high light plants if the lighting is compatible. My main questions are: - What are the pros and cons to the ebi and evolve 8? Filter, lights, dimensions, etc. - How is the lighting on these tanks? - What kind of plants would they be able to grow well and look good together? - What would be a good carpet plant? I'm thinking of riccia, but I don't know much about it. - Is it hard to remove the ebi backing? Any additional advice is helpful! I was originally thinking of making this an iwagumi tank, but I think that might be a little too difficult for someone so new, so I'm just going to go for a natural look I guess.

My experience on the EBI is that the tank looks great, the filter works well but takes up quite a bit of space. The clip on light broke in the first two months (known issue) and you need a bit more than 1 bag of Shrimp Stratum to be able to properly plant your tank.
Within 4 months of having the EBI the only thing still in use is the tank. $80 is a bit much to spend for a nano tank, I would have been better off getting a tank from ADA and accessorizing myself

[tenzero1]

look at the finnex 4 gallon its cheaper and has a great filter and light.

[somewhatshocked]

The lighting issue with Fluval was resolved quite some time ago. The issue was corrected. And the included bag of Shrimp Stratum may be plenty - depending upon the type of plants one decides to keep. I used 2.5 of the small-sized bag included because I wanted a slope and heavily rooted plants.

That said - the Fluval Ebi works for many people. Some of them, like myself, modify the tank to use it with other equipment.

If you're just keeping shrimp and plan to heavily plant the tank, you can easily hide the internal filter included in the kit. If you don't like the background, you can remove it quite easily (like I did). If you decide you want more light than one fixture provides, it's just about $25-$30 to add another.

If you get it and decide the filter or something else won't work for you? It's pretty easy to sell the equipment here on the SnS or on one of the auction sites. That could free up cash to purchase different equipment.

Originally Posted by Bannik

My experience on the EBI is that the tank looks great, the filter works well but takes up quite a bit of space. The clip on light broke in the first two months (known issue) and you need a bit more than 1 bag of Shrimp Stratum to be able to properly plant your tank.
Within 4 months of having the EBI the only thing still in use is the tank. $80 is a bit much to spend for a nano tank, I would have been better off getting a tank from ADA and accessorizing myself

[goodeye--sniper]

Thanks all for the answers.

Does the ebi's light handle low light plants well? What about a good carpet?
And where can I look into this fennex tank?

[cawolf86]

The light on the Ebi will be fine for low light plants. Not for a carpet unless you are doing mosses.

[somewhatshocked]

A single Fluval Ebi light would be fine for carpeting plants. Just not fast growth rates. Two fixtures would be better than one, though.

[goodeye--sniper]

Where would I get a second light? From fluval's website?

[somewhatshocked]

Amazon, sometimes Big Al's, Foster & Smith, That Pet Place, several forum sponsors, most aquarium product retailers.

[pedropete]

I like my Ebi a lot, and after about a month and a half, I have very few complaints. I have CRS, and they seem to be pretty happy. I've read that the filter isn't the best for a breeding colony (i.e., needs mods to not suck up shrimplets). At first I really disliked the background, then it grew on me...and now I'm considering removing at some point in the future (??!). In any case, I think the Ebi kit itself is pretty great, considering all the supplies that come in it. Oh, and the volume of stratum was enough for me to lightly plant my tank, but with not so much of a slope. Hope this helps!

[kuro]

IMO, you should remove the background of the Ebi or reinforce it with more silicone. i had the Ebi for few months and the background just flew off the back few weeks ago.

[goodeye--sniper]

Originally Posted by pedropete

I like my Ebi a lot, and after about a month and a half, I have very few complaints. I have CRS, and they seem to be pretty happy. I've read that the filter isn't the best for a breeding colony (i.e., needs mods to not suck up shrimplets). At first I really disliked the background, then it grew on me...and now I'm considering removing at some point in the future (??!). In any case, I think the Ebi kit itself is pretty great, considering all the supplies that come in it. Oh, and the volume of stratum was enough for me to lightly plant my tank, but with not so much of a slope. Hope this helps!

That's why I'm really drawn to the ebi, that and it has a closed top.

What would be the best way to mod the filter so I don't suck up babies? I'm hoping to start a mini colony.

[HiepSTA]

slide some pantyhose over the filter

[somewhatshocked]

+1 on modding the filter with black pantyhose. I'm of the opinion that it actually makes the filter look better, if that's possible (I'm not a fan of internals).

It's the perfect size for a shrimp-only tank and is cheap to replace in a worst case scenario if something ever goes wrong with it.

[acitydweller]

The 8 gallon would be a great start. I would suggest looking at substrate alternatives or layering it with something else. I have the shrimp substrate in a separate 5 gallon shrimp tank and i'm not really thrilled with it if im honest. the Ebi seems like a great starter kit if but i find its priced a bit high in comparison for piecing together a finnex package. I like the way the finnex tank looks and the package on ebay comes with a lamp, filter and tank cover for much less than an ebi.

I personally have (2) 4 gallon evolves as they fit perfectly where they are in my house. Both are heavily planted with driftwood, one with RCS, the other with Crystal snow whites/Sakuras. Protection for the shrimplets simply took inserting a square macro sponge square in the overflow... The LEDs has provided plenty of growth for medium light plants so long as you keep the floaters to a minimum.