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Evan Luo's 350-Gallon SPS Reef

Evan Luo's 350-Gallon SPS Reef

by Evan Luo
Volume
350 gal
Dimensions
6' x 2.5' x 2.5'
Tank type
SPS Dominant
This video tours Evan Luo's stunning 350-gallon SPS dominant reef tank in Sydney, Australia, highlighting its unique 'lifted aquascape' and vibrant coral collection. The host, Jake Adams, delves into Evan's advanced equipment setup, including a powerful lighting array and diverse flow pumps, as well as his detailed husbandry practices. Evan shares his philosophy of consistency and minimal intervention for maintaining a thriving reef.

Evan Luo's roughly 350-gallon (6' x 2.5' x 2.5'), one-year-old Acropora-dominated SPS reef in Hornsby, Sydney, featuring a dramatic lifted aquascape with open space beneath and roughly 1,200 watts of ATI T5, eight Kessils, and a Radion G4. It's known for large showy colonies, balanced color, custom natural-seawater salt, a Zeovit/Aqua Forest dosing regime, and a hands-off husbandry philosophy of planning changes and then leaving the tank alone.

View original source
Source: YouTube · Reef Builders
What sets this tank apart
Lifted aquascape with open base
Only three tiny rocks on the bottom lift all corals near the surface, leaving open space so abundant flow bounces around unimpeded. Asian-inspired layout maximizes light and flow.
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Epoxy live coral onto live coral
Instead of tissue-against-tissue, he epoxies coral colonies and frags on top of other live colonies, letting them encrust and fuse the way corals overgrow each other in the wild.
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Custom natural-seawater-level salt
Had an Australian salt maker formulate a salt at natural seawater levels rather than the enriched, elevated-alkalinity salts, which he found better suited for SPS.
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Many small pumps run low
Uses lots of smaller powerheads run at low intensity rather than a few strong ones to produce a more chaotic natural flow mixture.
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Equipment Breakdown

Shop this build · 1 of 8 items priced
Evan Luo's 350-Gallon SPS Reef — Full Equipment List
$342
est. build cost
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Lighting
ATI T5 fixture (5-foot HO bulbs)
ATI
T5 fixture (5-foot HO bulbs)
Display light
Runs down the middle for edge-to-edge coverage and blended color — the backbone of a roughly 1,200-watt combined array.
Kessil Spotlights
Kessil
Spotlights
Accent lights ×8
Eight point-source Kessils rigged all around the aquarium as spotlighting, layering shimmer over the T5 blend.
EcoTech Marine Radion G4 Pro
EcoTech Marine
Radion G4 Pro
Display light
Rounds out the ~1,200 watts of combined light driving this SPS-dominant display.
Modern equivalent: EcoTech Radion XR30 G6 →
Flow & Circulation
EcoTech Marine Vectra M1
EcoTech Marine
Vectra M1
Return pump
Modern equivalent: EcoTech Vectra M2
EcoTech Marine MP40
EcoTech Marine
MP40
Wavemakers ×3
⭐ Premium pick
Run at low intensity by design — Evan prefers many pumps turned down over a few maxed out for a more natural, chaotic mix.
In our catalog →
EcoTech Marine MP10
EcoTech Marine
MP10
Wavemaker
$341.99 Buy → at Bulk Reef Supply Details →
Jebao Powerhead
Jebao
Powerhead
Wavemakers ×2
💡 Budget hack
Budget Jebaos mixed in with the EcoTechs — more turned-down pumps for the chaotic-flow strategy at a fraction of the cost.
Dosing
Zeovit / Aqua Forest
Jebao dosing pumps + kalkwasser doser
Dosing array
Individual pumps dose Ca/alk, kalk, and daily Zeovit and Aquaforest additives — Evan adjusts by coral color, backing off whenever they brown.

Husbandry & Notes

  • Lifted aquascape inspired by Asian-style reefkeeping to keep corals high and open flow underneath
  • Only three small rocks on the bottom third leaving open space so flow bounces unimpeded
  • Runs wavemakers low rather than high to create a better mixture of flow
  • Doses calcium and buffer plus daily Zeovit and Aqua Forest additives, adjusting to coral color
  • Backs off dose if corals brown, increases if they lighten; logs dosing on a calendar
  • Aims for natural seawater levels rather than enriched elevated salt for SPS
  • Rescues corals from tank shutdowns and grows them back to color
  • Change everything in one planned session, then stay out of the tank for ~30 weeks
This tank is an absolute masterpiece.
The way I see reefing, it's like pushing a really heavy ball — it takes a lot to get going but once it's going it's actually quite easy to maintain.
Steady as she goes, and try to do everything incrementally.
There's one thing I always do, and that's trying not to put your hands in the tank — that's honestly my first rule.
For me this is the culmination of what a reef tank should be.