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My New 50G! Long Cadlight's Artisan!


tokendog

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This will be my build thread - it will not be as thorough and extensive as most members as I am new to the hobby and to the forum - but I will try to be informative and show what I am doing with my particular setup. I have a brand new DSLR so I will try to provide as many good pictures as possible.

 

A few weeks ago, I researched and researched until I finally came to the Cadlights website. I found them to be exactly what I was looking for. However, I also found a lot of bad reviews about the company and the shipping of the tanks themselves.

 

Despite my better judgement, I decided the Cadlights tank was precisely what I was looking for. I took the chance and placed my order for a 40g Long Artisan. 48 hours went by and I got an e-mail from Eddie asking me if I would like to upgrade (FOR FREE!) to the new 50g Long Artisan that they were finishing up. I responded back ABSOLUTELY!!!

 

I placed the order on 09/26/11 and it shipped 10/5/11. I just got the tank in today. It was shipped via FedEx Freight on a big pallet and very tightly wrapped in black plastic. I was very anxious to get it home because I knew about all of the tanks that had been damaged in shipping.

 

It looks to me like Eddie and Cadlights have learned from the shipping mistakes because this thing was wrapped very well and the pallet definitely helped keep it from being damaged...

 

I did not remove the tank yet as I am still making room for where the stand / tank will go. That should be done tonight.

 

The stand does not come with instructions. I e-mailed Eddie and he responded back within an hour saying that because it was a new stand for the bigger tanks, instructions had not been typed up yet, but he did write them up himself as best as possible in the e-mail to help me out.

 

However, I had already figured it out. Once you figure out what piece is what, it all goes together very quickly and easily. It is just figuring out what wood piece is what part of the cabinet itself that is difficult. Once I got it all laid out on the floor, it took about 30 minutes to an hour to assemble and that was with me having to take it back apart because I forgot to do something.

 

Now, on to the photos:

 

You get these pieces all nicely wrapped in a separate box and a small box full of screws and wood dowels. The stand goes together with metal screws, cam locks, and 6 wood dowels. It is actually VERY easy to put together.

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The tank still in the packaging box that was on the pallet and wrapped in plastic. I opened it up and the glass all appears fine. No visible cracks of anything in the tank. The seams look really good. It's not ELOS quality seems, but it is better than any tank I've seen at a store locally or in New Orleans. The glass is VERY thick (10mm) and has a light green tint to it but no too bad. I'll post a lot more pictures once its out of the box and on the stand.

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The sump is ENORMOUS. It looks to be 16g or 18g but it is VERY big. I will post up the dimensions later tonight if I get a chance.

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Up to the point where I am now, I am very happy with my purchase from Eddie and Cadlights. I can't speak to the bad experiences that other people I have had, but so far, this has been very straight forward and the tank looks great.

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Looks great and thanks for posting the pics and your experience so far, since mine is coming Wednesday. Which skimmer did you get? When I called Eddie last week to check on my order shipping, he told me they are now manufacturing a cone skimmer they plan to start selling on the website this week.

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Looks great and thanks for posting the pics and your experience so far, since mine is coming Wednesday. Which skimmer did you get? When I called Eddie last week to check on my order shipping, he told me they are now manufacturing a cone skimmer they plan to start selling on the website this week.

 

No problem. I want to post as much information and photos as possible about these tanks as I know that's one of the issues with them. If any one has any questions or wants a specific photo of something, please let me know and I will find out for you.

 

And I'm happy you said something...as I did not get a skimmer. I did order one but it's not included with the packaging. I know in previous threads about these tanks that the skimmer comes from China and therefore is probably a separate package.

 

I just e-mailed Eddie and will wait to see what he says. He has been very quick to respond to me today.

 

get the tank out of the box pronto! haha I was interested in this tank myself.

 

pics of the tank!!!

 

LOL, soon. I will do my best to get the tank out of the box and setup tonight so I can upload pictures for you guys. If you want, I can take some photos of it in the box and then upload the rest later.

 

I have a biocube in the location that it is going to be in, so I am about to start the process of taking down that tank so I can put this one up.

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I e-mailed Eddie at Cadlights about the skimmer and he replied within 30 minutes. He said that he looked over my order and saw that I did order one, but one was not shipped out to me. He apologized for the mistake multiple times and said that he would get one out to me by tomorrow or Wednesday.

 

So far, I'm experiencing great customer service with Cadlights and Eddie.

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Thanks for the pics, etc. I'm getting even more psyched about my order now. I too am moving up from a Biocube to the same 50G long so it will be interesting to watch your progress. Would you mind sharing Eddie'sstand instructions?

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Very nice!

 

Did you get the dimension on that sump? And, is that a cover for the overflow?

 

It took me a good 2hrs putting the stand together with no instruction.

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Okay, it's been a VERY busy day for me. I took down an older Biocube and relocated it to a different room. I picked up the Cadlights tank, put the stand together, cleared out a room, put the stand in there, and then put the heavy ass tank in there.

 

I'm not complaining at all, I loved every moment of it, but still have a LONG way to go. I apologize for the tank being dirty still but I am about to watch the football game and will clean it tomorrow. I am going to put a foam mat underneath it, start adding water, and then level the tank. That's the right order, no? It doesn't make sense to level a tank BEFORE you add water since the weight will increase drastically as you fill it up. I figure it's done after everything has been put in.

 

Oh, I also managed to dump about 2.5 gallons of water on to my carpet when I was lugging water to the biocube in the other room. I wet vacuumed it up and put towels down. I hope it doesn't start to smell as it dries. =P

 

Any ways, here are the pictures. These were done in low light since I need to install a better light in that room, but the DSLR did its best to brighten it up.

 

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I'll get the dimensions of the sump for you in a little bit..perhaps half time of the game. =P

 

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That's it for now. There will be a lot more coming in the next few days.

 

Very nice!

 

Did you get the dimension on that sump? And, is that a cover for the overflow?

 

It took me a good 2hrs putting the stand together with no instruction.

 

Yeah, it took me about the same amount of time. Yes sir, that IS a cover for the overflow. :) Looks like Eddie has been listening to his customers. :)

 

I'll say it several times but I am very happy with everything so far from Cadlights. As long as you expect it to take a little while and are OK with them being a little difficult at some times to get in touch with, you shouldn't be disappointed. I went in to it expecting these things and have been very happy with everything else.

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Thanks for the pics, etc. I'm getting even more psyched about my order now. I too am moving up from a Biocube to the same 50G long so it will be interesting to watch your progress. Would you mind sharing Eddie'sstand instructions?

 

I will post up the instructions in a bit - basically, once you identified which panel is which, it all goes together pretty quickly.

 

Very nice!

 

Did you get the dimension on that sump? And, is that a cover for the overflow?

 

It took me a good 2hrs putting the stand together with no instruction.

 

The dimensions on the sump are 30L x 12T x 10W

 

Not sure how many gallons that comes out to?

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Yep, still looking good! I would appreciate the instructions Eddie put together for the stand if you don't mind. Which light did you get and how's the included plumbing look to you?

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Yep, still looking good! I would appreciate the instructions Eddie put together for the stand if you don't mind. Which light did you get and how's the included plumbing look to you?

 

 

I told Eddie the stand, once the pieces are identified, is easy enough to put together thanks to the cam locks and that all he really needs to do is label each piece as to which part it is.

 

His instructions weren't that great. Basically, the top shelf has the square hole for the overflow. The middle shelf has a round hole for the plumping. The back wall has two holes for your wires. The doors have indents on the sides where the hinges go in to (you will know what I mean when you see it). The bottom shelf and the side shelves are the frustration part.

 

Oh, the back wall is actually two pieces. The one with the two holes for the wires goes on top. The bottom piece is the only piece of wood that has two wooden dowels pre-installed.

 

So far we have identified all but three pieces. Those are your bottom piece and your two sides. You will be able to identify your two sides by the screw holes near the edge where your door hinges install.

 

That should leave you with your bottom piece.

 

Sorry if that seems like it won't help, but trust me, once you know what pieces are what, the rest is VERY easy. The hardest part was identifying which part was what. You will have a box full of small screws all the same size, a bunch of metal cam screws, a bunch of metal cam locks, and 6 wooden dowels. Four of the dowels go in to the slim strip of wood that goes above the door and connects to the sides. The other two are extras.

 

The rest of the cabinet is put together with the metal cam screws and cam locks. The small screws are only used for the door hinges.

 

Eddie provides a LOT of extras. The middle shelf (inside the cabinet) is held up by four metal tabs that just slide in to the holes. I did not get those with mine, but Eddie described them and said they are available at any HW store but he would send them to me if I wanted him to.

 

Feel free to ask any other questions, but I know once you see which part is which, you'll see how all the cam locks line up.

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Yep, still looking good! I would appreciate the instructions Eddie put together for the stand if you don't mind. Which light did you get and how's the included plumbing look to you?

 

I am probably going with a AquaticLife T5 6-lamp + LEDs. I'm still researching my options but that seems to be the best option for me at the moment.

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I told Eddie the stand, once the pieces are identified, is easy enough to put together thanks to the cam locks and that all he really needs to do is label each piece as to which part it is.

 

His instructions weren't that great. Basically, the top shelf has the square hole for the overflow. The middle shelf has a round hole for the plumping. The back wall has two holes for your return and waste. The doors have indents on the sides where the hinges go in to (you will know what I mean when you see it). The bottom shelf and the side shelves are the frustration part.

 

Oh, the back wall is actually two pieces. The one with the two holes for the plumping goes on top. The bottom piece is the only piece of wood that has two wooden dowels pre-installed.

 

So far we have identified all but three pieces. Those are your bottom piece and your two sides. You will be able to identify your two sides by the screw holes near the edge where your door hinges install.

 

That should leave you with your bottom piece.

 

Sorry if that seems like it won't help, but trust me, once you know what pieces are what, the rest is VERY easy. The hardest part was identifying which part was what. You will have a box full of small screws all the same size, a bunch of metal cam screws, a bunch of metal cam locks, and 6 wooden dowels. Four of the dowels go in to the slim strip of wood that goes above the door and connects to the sides. The other two are extras.

 

The rest of the cabinet is put together with the metal cam screws and cam locks. The small screws are only used for the door hinges.

 

Eddie provides a LOT of extras. The middle shelf (inside the cabinet) is held up by four metal tabs that just slide in to the holes. I did not get those with mine, but Eddie described them and said they are available at any HW store but he would send them to me if I wanted him to.

 

Feel free to ask any other questions, but I know once you see which part is which, you'll see how all the cam locks line up.

 

Wow...thanks so much. I'm sure this will be very helpful. I bought the CADlights remote control LED light setup so will report back on it once things are up and running.

 

 

Not sure if I missed it but what are the dimensions of the tank?

 

36" x 18" x 18"

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Wow...thanks so much. I'm sure this will be very helpful. I bought the CADlights remote control LED light setup so will report back on it once things are up and running.

 

 

 

 

36" x 18" x 18"

 

Please do. When is yours supposed to come in again? I had to work today so I only got to make RO/DI water for the tank. I'm using the Spectra Pure system. I love that unit. It works great and makes 0 TDS water every time. I just need to get the plumping kit that allows you to set it up underneath your sink.

 

Right now, I'm debating using the flex hose that Eddie provides with the system or trying to piece together a PVC setup. I might just go with the flex hose for right now to do a leak test and then drain the system and do a more permanent PVC setup.

 

I'm also planning on using mostly dry rock and seeding with some live rock. I am going to try my hand at aquascaping by drilling the rock and using fiberglass or acrylic rods to piece the rock together. I want an arch arrangement with the rock that allows _some_ hiding but can still be viewable from certain angles so that I have a better chance of seeing the critters that prefer to hide most of the time.

 

I'm off tomorrow so hopefully I'll make some progress.

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wrasseWrangler

Look forward to seeing this pan out! Aside from the broken shipments the cadlights are great cookie cutter systems. Great way to start with a full system. Enjoy the setup and make sure you take your time and get every thing right the first time. :D

 

How are you going to hang the light? The light setup can make or break the look of a tank! like rims on a car...

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Look forward to seeing this pan out! Aside from the broken shipments the cadlights are great cookie cutter systems. Great way to start with a full system. Enjoy the setup and make sure you take your time and get every thing right the first time. :D

 

How are you going to hang the light? The light setup can make or break the look of a tank! like rims on a car...

 

I was originally thinking of going with mounting legs that rest on the tank itself, but I don't feel too comfortable about that. I am going to research mounting options and go from there. I'm thinking I'll probably go with something that mounts to the stand itself and then hangs the lights that way.

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wrasseWrangler
I was originally thinking of going with mounting legs that rest on the tank itself, but I don't feel too comfortable about that. I am going to research mounting options and go from there. I'm thinking I'll probably go with something that mounts to the stand itself and then hangs the lights that way.

 

I would steer away from mounting legs, it can really take away from the look of the open top tank! I would make a light bar, there are lots of DIY threads on here for light bars. Where are you located? my budy makes really nice ones!

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