+1 ....also the craftsmanship is no where near as good as the tank.

yeah i only use the canopy when i need it for kids and such. now that my kids dont bother the tank i mostly leave the canopy off. it actually looks better and the evaporation is the same.

Alright as promissed here is some pics of my custom stand for the 34g.

that's nice! i really like the finish

Very nice stand Drop Designs.

This thread is gonna beat mine, whaaa!! lol

Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! My first Cadlights arrived two weeks ago in about 2000 pieces, my new one is being delivered today! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.....

Thought I'd post this here, since not everyone visits the CADLIGHT forums.

I just thought I'd share this with fellow Cadlight tank owners. Hell, maybe Eddie would like to know what I did. I noticed some heat issues at times with my 5g cadlights tank with the T5 bulbs (this was only recently when temps here in WI got up in the high 80s) so I knew there would be a even bigger issues with my 25g and HQI lighting. So one day I was just looking at me tank and thought "I really only need a lid for the front lip!" The rest is history.

Modified Cadlights tank lid


How I modified it incase anyone is wondering: The tank lid is two pieces of glass joined by a flexible black plastic piece of h channel. The h channel allows one to lift up the front lid and place their hand in the tank without removing the whole lid. This is not possible if you have big hands, like myself! When the lid is on it is maybe 1/4 inch away from the HQI bulbs and gets extremely hot in the matter of minutes. I'm not to thrilled in the amount of heat this lid will trap in my tank not-to-mention the pain it is to remove everytime I want to get in my tank . I decided to pull the front peice of glass out of the h channel (very easy to do) and just place in on the front allowing the tank to stay a bit cooler. This would be easy to make for all you DIY'er if you're worried about your fish jumping out.

Hey Kellie good luck today with your CAD. My bet is it going to be perfect!

Thanks Rodney! I'm taking off a little early from work today so I can check it out. I have been waiting a month for this tank now, I am not a patient girl!!!

I could not decide where to put my tank home or work. I finally decided to put it at work since that is where I spend most of my time.

I have my CAD all put together but have not even leak tested it yet. I have been reading directions on my Reefkeeper2 and JBJ ATO. I am going to have about twice as many power cords as I originally thought so I am doing my best to figure a way of making them look decent.

Let all of us know as soon as you know the condition of your!

I need to ask everyone with HQI lighting who is using the grey stock light stand. When working in your tank, how do prop up your lights so they don't fall down? This is the one thing I don't like about these lights. I wish there was some sort of leg designed into the light stand to keep the lights up so you can work in the tank. Does this bother anyone else?

yes, it bothers me every time I work in my tank!!!


Basically every night

I finally took the plunge and ordered my C.A.D 34g signature series last night, minus (U.V sterlizer). It should be here by the weekend. I also got (1) Koralia #1 and (1) Koralia #2 with the JBJ ocean pulse controller. Im trying to figure out where to get my liverock as there isnt any good local fishstores with premium rock. Anyone have anygood experience with ordering theirs online? If so I would love to know where from. Im also looking for any suggestions with setting up my refugium, any help would be most appreciated. Thanks.


Special thanks to Eddie at C.A.D lights and Ken from oceanreeflections, they were both great help and provided first rate service.

I dunno if it's possible with an RK2, but with my ACjr I programmed it first before plugging it in and everything else into it. That way it was a breeze to plug in and nothing to fuss with once the last outlet was filled with a plug. Also easier to program on a table than on the wall where I put mine at. I used industrial stength velcro though instead of the provided double side tape just for easier programming and such.

Kellie, good luck and I hope your tank comes in one piece!

ok, atleast I'm not the only one!

I have had it crash down a couple of times after proping it up.... doh!

I've yet to experience that, thank god!

Megasweet! Thanks dude!

tony - i usually have the gf stand there and hold the light up for me. wish there was a more conventional way to keep that light proped.

Ok, so my new tank arrived in one piece (YAY!). But I can't get the MH to turn on. Can anyone help me out with what I may be doing wrong?

mine didn't turn on the first time i got it. i had to re-seat the bulb in order for it to work. just make sure you don't get any finger prints on the glass part of the bulb. i used a glove when handling the bulb.

Yikes, I was hoping I wouldn't have to take the whole thing apart.

Am I like the red headed step-child, no one welcomes me into the C.A.D lights family?

HAHA Welcome to the "cool" family of Cadtank owners. did you get the 34G also?

pics please!

HEH Thank you very much for the welcome
I ended up getting the 34g signature series (minus UV sterilzer)
Ken at oceanreeflections says the tank should ship out tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have some pics posted this weeked.

Welcome My-eel-bit-me and congrats on your new CAD.

Welcome to the "Cool" kids club

Thanks Guy!!

Add me to the owners list, ordered the 22gal w/6X24 watt T-5’s. I have several other SW all in ones but really like the look of the CAD’s. Mine should ship tomorrow so I’ll have it middle to end of next week. Can’t wait to get it set up and cycling. I like the idea of an owners thread but I really want to see pictures of all your tanks. How about we start a CAD owners photo thread?

oh no this thread is dying KEEP IT ALIVE!!

Hey belatube, how is your tank coming along?

Did you get your skimmer to working? I am having some problems with mine, but it seems to be getting better.

Pics in this thread will keep more life in it.

to the club! Post pics when you get your tank and you can start the CAD owners thread. Ill be sure to follow

Here is a pic of my tank. I posted more pictures in my new thread about my tank below.

My 34G CAD thread

Click to view attachment

Current pic about 10 months old...

Well, I can't be an official member of the club Bought a car instead

here's a pic of my 25g. just hit 5 months

first thing i noticed
when my lid came crahing down...
on my hand
i said that was the one thing they needed to add with the new tanks
a flippin 25 cent kick-stand
gives us somthing to mod/do tho right...

Yea i gotta say its pretty annoying. I just take the entire fixture off when i need to work in the tank.

Most recent pic of my 34G. 48 hours into my reef keeping journey.

Looks great!

Thanks, it was pics of your Finnex that help me make my decision to go with Indopacific Black LS.

I love my Indo-Pacific sand, though I wish I had half as much of it in my tank. My DSB with it is biting me back HARD. Make sure your sandbed is no more than "1.5 and you should be alright.

just make sure to siphon the sand regularly once your tank is fully established to prevent Detritus build-up. scary stuff. i do mine once every 3 months and it is about 3" thick.

My sandbed is 1-1/2" at the very most. My display area is about 22G and I put 20 pounds in. Lucky for me, my LFS talked me out of 40 pounds.

Nice tank I just have one tunze 6025 right now and ordered another with redsea wave maker.. is that the best place to place those pumps or you did you kinda put them in the back for better viewing??

HI GUYS!!! im middle of cycling and im putting a PHOTO journal of my tank from start to end like alot of us!
Once they cycle is done and i add one fish i will post and share with you all.. so you will see it from start to end with out days of no updates.

I want to show you guys my tank now cuz i think it looks siik but.. ill wait .. so stay TUNE!!!!!!!!
right now !

HI GUYS!!! im middle of cycling and im putting a PHOTO journal of my tank from start to end like alot of us!
Once they cycle is done and i add one fish i will post and share with you all.. so you will see it from start to end with out days of no updates.

I want to show you guys my tank now cuz i think it looks siik but.. ill wait .. so stay TUNE!!!!!!!!
right now !

Hello Cadies,

Just wondering what CAD owners would be interested in exchanging yahoo or msn IM id's?