Fluval Evo 13.5 Gallon Or Reef Casa Studio 12

Fluval Evo 13.5 Gallon Or Reef Casa Studio 12

For years the first tank of many reefers was the Fluval Sea 13.5 Evo.  This 13.5 gallon tank undeniably has its charm, but in the last few years it has begun to show its age. The Reef Casa Studio 12 all in one reef aquarium has a sleek, modular design that fits with any decor and, unlike the Fluval Sea, will easily grow with you as a reefer.  At Reef Casa we are confident that our Studio 12 makes a better choice for reefers of all experience levels because of its price, design and ease of setup and maintenance.

While the Fluval Sea 13.5 Evo may, on first glance, appear to be less expensive than the Reef Casa Studio 12 Aquarium Kit, the Reef Casa Studio 12 is actually less expensive because it includes literally everything that you need to get your new reef tank up and running.  What’s more, everything is pre-measured, making set up a breeze.

While we recommend the Reef Casa Studio 12 Aquarium Kit with the Halo light, we will also compare the base Studio 12 tank with the Beam light to the Fluval 13.5 Evo.

What’s Included

While the saltwater aquarium kit offers the best overall value, the Reef Casa Studio 12 with the Beam light offers more functionality at the same price as the Fluval Sea 13.5 Evo.

Design

All Reef Casa tanks are designed to be both beautiful and functional.  We use ultra clear 5mm glass and offer an industry leading 36 month warranty, as compared to 12 months for the Fluval tank.  While the Fluval Sea 13.5 has been a staple of the reefing hobby for years, its bulky hood with its messy wires can’t compete with sleek, uncluttered lines of the Reef Casa Studio 12.  Not only are Reef Casa tanks designed to be beautiful but they are also built to be the simplest, easiest to maintain tanks on the market.  As hobbyists ourselves, we have incorporated features such as extra large filtration chambers and an integrated floss holder to ensure that our tanks are as easy to use as possible.  We carefully prototyped the tank’s dimensions to ensure the greatest possible flexibility for aquascaping.  The extra large filtration chambers allows for use of various filtration media, as well being able to accommodate virtually any nano skimmer available on the market.  This extra size also makes the rear filtration chamber on the Studio 12 much easier to clean than the side chamber on the Fluval Sea 13.5.  Finally, changing our pre-cut filter floss is far easier and less messy than rinsing Fluval Sea’s foam block.

Lighting

Both the Reef Casa Halo and Reef Casa Beam lights are an improvement over the integrated lighting of the Fluval Sea 13.5.  The Reef Casa Halo light is fully programmable and will produce roughly 100 PAR 12” below the waterline.  The Beam light is not programmable but will also produce roughly the same level of par.   Like the Beam light, the integrated lighting on the Fluval Sea 13.5 is not programmable but it produces far less PAR and lacks the advanced optics of the Halo and Beam lights.

After comparing the Reef Casa Studio 12 with the Fluval Sea 13.5 Evo it is easy to see why the former is called “reef ready” and the latter only “reef capable”.  At Reef Casa we want to help every hobbyist achieve reefing success and one of the most important ways to do that is to design the world’s best nano reef tanks.  If you have any questions about any of our Reef Casa aquariums please reach out to us.  We are here to help!