BriGuy31+ Cadlights 50G Artisan Series Cube

[BriGuy31+]

Well, this is my first upgrade. This thread will start slowly and baby-step through my change over from my 24g JBJ Nano cube. I love the cube look and I'll limited on space in my living room, so I decided on another cube. After looking at several manufacturers, I went with the Cadlights 50G Artisan Series.

Tank:
24X24X20 rimless starphire glass on three sides
Black silicone
Polished edges
1000g center overflow
1" drilled drain hole
1/2" drilled return hole

Stand:
24X24X30
Cadlights Dark Walnut cabinet
I am thinking of putting 4" legs to raise the height

Sump:
Cadlights 16 gallon glass sump
9w fuge light. I might upgrade this.

Skimmer:
Bubble-Magus NAC-6
I'm really impressed with the build on this skimmer. A very reasonable price. Although, it is still dry and I will hold judgment for now.

Pumps:

Mag 9.5 return pump
Vortech MP20

Substrate:
CaribSea Aragonite Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand

Lights:
Icecap 250w doulbe end MH
14K Phoenix bulb
Will have to due for now. I want more flexibility down the road.

Top-off
Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155
Best upgrade that I've made so far with my old tank

Fish:
2-Picasso clownfish grade B from Donni's Reef
1-Orange spotted shrimp goby

Inverts:
Tiger pistol shrimp
Blood shrimp
Fighting conch
5-6 scarlet hermit crabs
20-30 various snails
I know I will need more soon.

I will need to make a list of my corals sooner or later. Although, my list will be half as long as it used to be because I sold a lot to fund this upgrade.

A few pictures of the unwrapping.

[Uncle Luke]

Will be keeping an eye on this thread!!

[allrnutn]

Im also looking at picking up this tank how much did this set you back if you dont mind me asking?

[BriGuy31+]

I bought the tank, then "added-on" some options. The tank price is very, very reasonable, it won't be long before you see these more and more often. Some stuff will transfer over from my old tank. I did forget to mention the great customer service from Cadlights. A few minor issues with the shipping company but they made it up to me in spades. Great company and Clay really worked well with me.

http://www.cadlights.com/product_inf...e36920059788c4

[allrnutn]

Thanks for the link bri. I plan on getting the tank,sump w/skimmer and matbe the stand. Was there anything you would have done diffrently?

[BriGuy31+]

It's going well. The drain half of the plumbing looks good and I'm happy with it. Although, the return half is being a bit more tricky. I had a few ideas that might not have been good ones after all. I thought some flex tubing between the return hard line and the pump would ease tension off the bulk head if any movement happened(little vibrations maybe.....:wacko. But the check valve kind of cause the hard line to be a little longer than I had hoped and the hose tends to want to kink. Also, was the check valve a bad idea? I think I recalled reading that if a check valve wasn't used and the loc-line is low in the display it would cause a backflow during power outages. I didn't want to limit my options on loc-line placement. Also, my Durso pipe is making it hard for me to connect the loc-lines through the overflow.

Corrective actions:
1. Make Durso shorter to allow room for connection to loc-line
2. Try something different for connecting the Mag 9.5
3. Find another way to attach the loc-line to the overflow the allows a lower profile inside the overflow.

Please offer any suggestions.






Of course, I plan on cutting down the 1/2" then connect to T-valve. Flex tubing from the T-valve to the loc-line connectors in the overflow. Should I try small 1/4 bulkheads?

[allrnutn]

Check valves are a little added insurance but have been known to fail(they stay stuck in the open position) as far as your loc-lines go if you keep them level the reverse syphon should break before your sump overflows. just make sure your water levels are set in your sump hope this helps.

[BriGuy31+]

The check valve I bought from Home Depot is spring loaded. I didn't think about until now but a metal spring will cause trouble. Any chance is is stainlees steel? Should I just buy the check valves that are inside the loc-line?

[Ycore]

I have the exact same setup, so here are my suggestions.. CAD makes a great tank, but there are definitely a lot of tweaks to be done to get it set up right:

1) The Durso is about 1" too tall. I had great difficulty getting the elbows to fit inside the overflow. I ended up really cramming it to make it fit, but looking back it would have been better to just trim the durso.

2) Put 1" of pink styrofoam between the tank and stand

3) The overflow between the fuge section and the return needs to be raised and have a comb installed to prevent chaeto and micro bubbles from getting into your return section. Buy this:
http://www.aquacave.com/overflow-com...amedic-90.html

4) Dump the evaporative fan (it sounds like a lawnmower) and the fuge light (too bulky)

5) Spray the hinges on the cabinet with clearcoat (they rust)

6) I wouldn't suggest the feet for the stand. Unless you're over 6 feet tall you'll end up needing a stepstool to place corals on the sandbed if you do. Get cork floor tiles and put the stand on that.

7) Get some aquaclear filter sponge and wedge that behind the overflow and the durso to stop the waterfall sounds. Also shove about two inches of airline tube into the durso hole to stop gurgling.

8) Looks like they changed the stand so there is more room for venting in the rear, but I put some eva-dry dehumidifiers in the sump area to absorb moisture-- it becomes a sauna down there.

9) An ATO is a MUST for this system.. You get a lot of evap. I get over a gallon a day of evap, and that's with LED lights. I could only imagine what my evap would be if I was running MH.

10) I wouldn't do the check valve myself.. They're prone to failure. I drilled two tiny holes into the underside of each loc-line return as a siphon break. Then just position the returns at a point where cutting power drains near the top of your sump when the siphon breaks.

That's it off the top of my head.. Feel free to check out my build of the same tank here: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...owtopic=229016

[snowriderz]

Spring check valves kill alot of the pressure of the pump, usually "flap" type check valves are better since they require less pressure to push through.

[allrnutn]

Thanks for the heads up ycore. Im heading over to check out your build.

[deadmanh]

subscribed, nice thread to follow for sure.... since I'm getting the same tank setup

[jasob]

I would ditch the check valve in the return line and just drill a small hole close to the surface of the water in the display. Make sure the hole is pointed down. That way whenever the level drops it will automatically suck air and prevent the siphon. I have done this on both my setups and it has never failed me.

[BriGuy31+]

Thank you everyone for helping me out. I "finished" the plumbing today except for the loc-line(which will be drilled) and fine tuning the durso. I want to hold off cutting it down because I want the overflow as quite as possible. I ended up getting rid of the check valve, but the length of the soft tube isn't very functional. But I'll leave it alone for now.








Any other suggestions?

[BriGuy31+]

Originally Posted by Ycore

I have the exact same setup, so here are my suggestions.. CAD makes a great tank, but there are definitely a lot of tweaks to be done to get it set up right:

1) The Durso is about 1" too tall. I had great difficulty getting the elbows to fit inside the overflow. I ended up really cramming it to make it fit, but looking back it would have been better to just trim the durso.

2) Put 1" of pink styrofoam between the tank and stand

3) The overflow between the fuge section and the return needs to be raised and have a comb installed to prevent chaeto and micro bubbles from getting into your return section. Buy this:
http://www.aquacave.com/overflow-com...amedic-90.html

Thank you very much. Why should I use styrofoam? Even painted black, it would still look odd. I fit everything into the overflow as-is, but I will adjust the durso as needed once water is in the tank. That comb it a good idea. I went over budget already so maybe that will be a good upgrade in a few weeks. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

[deadmanh]

Originally Posted by BriGuy31+

Any other suggestions?

I plan to use a Y fitting, instead of a T. Keeps the flex tubing from crimping up a bit. (credit belongs to another cadlights 50g owner)

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...0&child=FT7933

[chartwell]

I'll enjoy seeing how this turns out! Here's a link to my thread for the same tank. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1768007 I need to get some recent pictures. One thing I haven't updated is that I used a filter pad or CD case in my overflow box for a while to cut down on noise, but once everything broke in and got slimed over it quit being noisy. I don't use anything now. Noisiest thing on the whole system are the MH fans. I did ditch the cooling fan that came stock - it was insanely loud and started to corrode within days. I have a nice, quiet plastic fan over the sump now.

[BriGuy31+]

Originally Posted by deadmanh

I plan to use a Y fitting, instead of a T. Keeps the flex tubing from crimping up a bit. (credit belongs to another cadlights 50g owner)

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...0&child=FT7933

That would have made it easier. Although, it's done now but I will keep this in mind. Thanks.

I did scrap the idea of adding legs to the stand. Just the thought of one of the legs giving out is too much risk. My light hanger is drying now and I'll post pictures later.

[BriGuy31+]

Painted and attached my light hanger. It is nice and simple which does the job I need it to do. I can swing it out of the way for moving stuff around inside the tank or for water changes. I want to buy a 8 or 10 bulb T5 set up one day but until then, this will have to due. The bulb in the pictures is a 20k but I plan on switching to a 14k. It's a 250w Icecap model.

[Reefobsession]

Looks Great. Following along

[allrnutn]

Looking good. Almost ready huh!

[BriGuy31+]

Originally Posted by allrnutn

Looking good. Almost ready huh!

Yes. I think I have enough RO made. I has really thinking of starting my new tank with Rea Sea Coral Pro but I am having second thoughts. I might just stick with Reef crystals. I will mix up water tonight and tomorrow.

[BriGuy31+]

Well, I got the plumbing done without major problems. I also leveled the tank, added water, and about 60 pounds of live rock. The live rock had a few majanos on them but hopefully I got them all with kalk/lime juice(no lemon juice in the house) and scraping with a dental pick. They came off rather easily after a shot of my killer mix. There were also about 25 mini carpet anemones throughout the rock. Hopefully I can keep them alive!! I got home a threw the rock into the tank and left it for the day. I actually liked it the way it was but of course I moved some stuff around after my majano war. I am pretty happy with the lay-out. I wanted routes for fish to swim in and out of the rocks and enough places to put my corals. I do have a few frag stations buried in the sand as well. I will slowly transfer my zoas and then my SPS in a week or so.

Mini carpet anemones- about 25 hitchhikers. Thanks Deb!!!




Right side- Sorry about the lighting from the window. My wife wanted to paint the living room before setting the tank up and I hadn't got around to hanging the new curtains.


Left side- same bad lighting problem


Front FTS- just bad camera skills on this one

[BriGuy31+]

I added most of my corals today to the new tank. I never noticed but I think my SPS is out numbering my zoas. What's happened to me? I am breaking down my 24g nano cube for at least the next two months. I plan on setting it back up during my summer break from the nursing program and using it for my frag tank. So I will be growing out all my corals for a while. I transferred my MP20 and the Tunze osmolator. I might end up moving the MP20 lower on the back wall.

[davyr]

Really nice looking tank,loving the colour of your light.