I have a question. I am 7 days into my cycle and already have cheato in chamber 3. Should I have waited before I put my cheato in?

Also, how much difference is there in everyones water level between the display and chambers? My tank level is holding very nice, but my back chambers are 3 maybe 4 inches lower. This did not happen instantly, but over a period of days.

You have to top off with plain water not salt water, to keep the levels constant, or else your SG will increase too much. This is due to evaporation. Best option is an auto top off. I am using the Tunze osmolator, and love it.

because the pump pulls a constant volume of water into the front chamber and there's constant flow into the rear that matches what's coming into the display, you won't see the effects of evaporation in the display area -- only in the rear chambers. your pump is pushing 400gph (depending on what you're using) to the display regardless of the overall system volume, so the evaporation is only visible in the back since the back acts as the resevoir.

to get the best impact from the surface skimmer, and assuming you have a mechanical filter pad in the first chamber, you want to have a 1" or so drop between the overflow stream and the water level in the back because you want the water to flow over and through the pad to strain-out the debris.

Your cheato will be fine. I kept cheato im my fuge during the cycle with no ill effects. Cheato is pretty much a bulletproof macro

How's that bulletproof stuff growing?

Hi All,

I have been reading this and other forums for the last 4 months and presently have an 8 gallon Oceanic Bio-Cube with a few mushrooms, ricordia, zoos, sun coral, hermits, emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp, several snails one damsel and various hitchhikers. I just ordered a CADlights 34g Signature series but I am having them modify it to remove the fuge from the tank, drill the tank and put in a center overflow, and a custom 20 gallon long refugium to go underneath the tank. I am getting everything the 34g comes with except the UV filter and I am using a larger cabinet 49.37" D x 19.37" D x 28.25" H. All the plumbing on both the tank and the fuge are included. Eddie is wonderful to deal with.

I am doing the above as I love the CADlights tanks, want more room in the tank (not taken up by the fuge and a much larger fuge than the in-tank one would provide.

I should be receiving the tank in about a week and a half. What do you all think, am I nuts. Oh, the price from CADlights including shipping on the above is $1040.

When I get it I will start posting pictures. I'll also put up pictures of my bio-cube next week (I'm moving to a house from an apartment in a few days or I would post them sooner.)

Regards,
Marlene

Sounds Awesome! Lets see those pics

Thank you Gvtv44 - I am very excited about this tank. I was out of the hobby for 10 years and am amazed at how things have changed. In the early 90's I had my own SW tank setup and maintenance business where I introduced my customers to reef tanks - high tech then was trickle filters, and metal halide lighting was way too expensive.

I'm also amazed at the variety of coral that is available now - that was not the case back then either. Plus, becuase of most people using excellent lighting, live rock and live sand for filtration the success rate even for beginners is terrific.

Anyway, plenty of pictures to come...

Marlene

to the club Marlene!Cant wait to see pics.

So here are some pics of my set up so far.
FTS W/ HQI:
Click to view attachment
FTS W/ Actinics:
Click to view attachment
Stand & Tank:
Click to view attachment
Inside of tank cabinet, please excuse the wire mess, not quite finished yet:
Click to view attachment

I replaced the skimmer with a Tunze 9002, added a JBJ ATO, 2X Koralia 1's.

looking good, excellent stand!

how do you like the tunze? the i'm still on the fence with the included catalina skimmer, but it's loud and seems to be touchy.

The Tunez 9002 fits way better, as far as function goes I'm not shure as I have not plugged it in yet , the cord was too short. I will take care of that tonight and update on the function of the skimmer.

Nice job Drop designs, is that coral on the rocks or is it algae?

Very nice drop. Love the stand

Just some coraline algae, I bought most of my rock out of the display tanks at my LFS, and a few pieces that had been in a curring tank for a few weeks. I also was able to get them to give me about 10 gallons of established water from their 200 gal display tank. So I am thinking that this tank will probably never even go through a cycle. If my numbers are still at zero by this weekend I might add a cuc?

How many different plants can I put in my 34g's refugium? I am plaining using LR and a filter pad in chamber 1, skimmer in chamer 2, live sand, turtle grass, halimeda, ect in chamber 3, and chaeto and the return pump in chamber 4. Any thoughts or suggestions? All feedback is most appreciated. Thanks.

I also have a bunch of little debris in the tank atm. Some of the fibers from shipping, couple hairs ect. I have my skimmer on my curing tub atm, will the skimmer remove all of that when I hook it up to the tank? Otherwise what do I use to get it out?

I used a vaccum cleaner, and a damp cloth. Some of that canned air or a air compressor with a blow off attachment would probably work as well. Then let the filtration take care of what you dont see or can't get.

i did the vaccuum/cloth thing too, and then when i filled the tank with tap water to leak test it i was able to suck up the remaining stuff that floated to the top with a turkey baster... then drained the tank, wiped it out with paper towels and filled it up for real.

anything left after that is just noise.

Question: Did your CAD's come with the advertised 450 gph pump? I just did the conversion on mine and the 1350 litres per hour is actually only about 350 gph. What the heck?

mine is a hopar h-315 1600 litre/hour pump. what do you have?

i've been talking to eddie at CAD about my lighting troubles -- broken actinic on delivery and bad actinic fixture. he asked me to take the hood apart and troubleshoot loose wires, which i suppose is fair. as i dove in, however, it was pretty obvious that the lighting assembly wasn't precision machined... lots of ad hoc electrical tape, ragged punches in the metal for wires to pass through and things that don't fit together especially well.

coupled with some other issues -- i had the same problem with the back wall being about 1/3" of an inch out of plumb that dropdesigns had on his -- i'd have a difficult time recommending this tank to anyone other than someone who was pretty comfortable modding and troublshooting issues. this is definitely a tank built by a hobbiest that hasn't had the benefit of rigorous production QC and precision components. this isn't the tank that someone thinking about a fancy AIO with neat seams and precise fittings should purchase.

that said, eddie has been really responsive to my email and i'm hoping to get the lighting issue fixed quickly (it's likely a bad ballast). and because i don't mind rewiring in a new actinic ballast, hopefully there will be a happy ending. so far i can still recommend CAD to tinkerers.

I totally agree with you. I think the excellent customer service is what keeps me from complaining.

+1 I have been hesitant from saying anything because everyone has been so nice.

yah, i wouldn't want to drive business away from CAD... but then again, it's important to know what you're getting when you spend 700.00 on a system.

i think eddie's a good guy who wants to do the right thing, so i think letting him know where CAD can improve will definitely help him out in the long run. my advice for CAD would be to slow down a bit, invest some time in production improvements to make stuff a bit more robust and polished and quicker to assemble, and then jump back in swingin' and start to seriously compete with the bigger brands.

but i'm a project manager and i do exactly this kind of critique on production cycles all day, every day, so i can't help myself.

wow its like dejavu or something, your issues with the system are hauntingly familiar. If it were not for the great service, I would have been be pretty pi$$ed off. It kind of sucks because once you get past all the little bugs and get it set up, the tank looks and functions great. I think that it took me about a month of time sending parts back and waiting on new ones to arrive before I actually got to get the tank up and cycling. I think it is C.A.D lights secret way to teaching reef keepers the patience that they will need in the future.(lol) I must say that the 2ND tank that I received is fawking perfect, everything straight, clean silicone. ect. But I think that your right, I think that the CAD brand is in its infancy as of right now, and to make it, they will need to smooth out the wrinkles.

Yeah, I am one of those picky people that wants everything to look perfect (especially when new). These tanks are hand-made and it is obvious when you take a close look. But, I just have to keep reminding myself that the overall picture is pretty darn awesome looking.


DropDesigns- Our tanks were started up a day apart. It will be interesting to compare our progress. I will post some pics as soon as I get my camera back.

Click to view attachmentFinally got my tank and set it up. Nothing but rock and a CUC. It's a 22 gal I plan to keep mainly SPS in.

Those are some great rocks! Did you do the returns yourself? I love pipes and tubes.

Cad has great Customer service!!! the issues i had were quickly responded and resolve my situation better than i expected from a company.. thanks to eddie and Ken from Oceansreeflection.

Finally pics from this great thread creator hehe me! j.p Here is some pics of my tank soo far guys. ill just post a few pics here and ill start own thread on my whole set up process in details. so keep your eye on it in 2-3 days.





TARAAA!!!!

Lookin Good

Looks great Belatube!

I cannot tell for sure but do you have your skimmer in chamber 1? If so, how do you have your 4 chambers set up?

Thanks and yes I did the returns. Have done this on most of my tanks. I use a SQWD to alternate flow between two returns. Usually I run the returns around the top perimeter of a tank and one tube top to bottom, you can control the direction and strength of flow in every cubic inch of the tank (no dead spots). The CAD tank was a challenge being rimless but very happy with water flow and no need for additional pumps in the display. Working on hollowing out a piece of branch rock to cover the front bottom return so you won’t even see it when I’m done.

Sweet aquascape Belatube, I like all the the little island pieces and all the coraline that you already have. Looks great.

Nice! You gotta keep your eye on that top rock though, it's wandering from one side of the tank to the other. ;-)

ya.. i just put it there for now.. not sure where to put it..

How about there?

Hey rodney .. ill take pics of the chambers as of right now the way i have them set up is. took the skimmer out for the pictures.

chamber 1. extended the intake tube of the skimmer and place skimmer pump in there and the outlet tube. than i placed the bioballs in a fish net. which will make it really really easy to take them out to rinse out so they wont collect crap. once i get more LR ill prolly replace these bio balls with them. also on the over flow section. i used a CD case and drilled a bunch of holes in it so the water will fall more evenly. in the filter floss which has been working great!. before i had to replace the filter floss alot cuz only the side where the water falls in gets dirty =(.

chamber 2. I have good big pieces of LR. and I dremeled to cut them in a way so they could fit nicely. than i have the skimmer itself placed on top of these LR. which is a lil over half way point. it doesnt look good since you could see it top of the tank.. but hey now i have LR in chamber 2 and skimmer hehe. Again once i get more LR I will fill up chamber 2 and just have the skimmer hanging over the back. Ive read that having rumble LR could collect nitrites later on. and if you do this you should place them in a fish net so you can take them out easily to rinse.

Chamber 3. I 6" of deep sand bed in there. with one very pores live rock and thats it. trying to see who could send me some macros.

Chamber 4. I placed the heater in here. i was thinking of rigging some egg create to where i could place LR from midway point to the top of the chamber.


so thats how my chambers are set up. even though you could see the skimmer.. its a lot more functuanal . but hey if i wanted my tank to look nice and clean i would have gotten a RED SEA MAX34!! but than i would be wishing.. damn it i cant really mod my tank and it over heats too much.. i wish i had MH... how can i place a fuge. hahaha. J.P redsea max owners

haha thanks for the tip ryhype!! but i had to redo my freaking rock work which was a biggest head ache. but im glad i did but it looks alot better now. and i have more surface room to place corals. ill post new pics up. the reason i had to do all my aquascape was because i bought the caribsea oceansdirect live sand. and i just dump the whole thing inside and spread it around. I found out weeks later that there was a small lil bag that had these fluids i was suppose to open up and pour in the tank.. the pouch says "bio-magnet clearifer" (maybe thats why it took long time to clear up) Anyways i could not fREAKING find the bag in my sand so i moved all the rocks around and found it stuck on the bottom... so ya it freaking sucked.question on the skimmer!?!??!!hey guys if you read the box the skimmer came in. it says "12 blad impeller for finer bubbles"does anyone have this 12 blad. mine is only six. cad prolly replaced the whole pump because the one it original came with sucked. thats my thought. anyways.. do you know if it would work if i replace this "blade stye" impeller with a needle wheel. the once the use on ACM and other high end skimmers. which creates more bubbles??question on the skimmer!?!??!!hey guys if you read the box the skimmer came in. it says "12 blad impeller for finer bubbles"does anyone have this 12 blad. mine is only six. cad prolly replaced the whole pump because the one it original came with sucked. thats my thought. anyways.. do you know if it would work if i replace this "blade stye" impeller with a needle wheel. the once the use on ACM and other high end skimmers. which creates more bubbles??OOPS sorry about the top reply. hey guys if you read the box the skimmer came in. it says "12 blad impeller for finer bubbles"does anyone have this 12 blade. mine is only six. cad prolly replaced the whole pump because the one it original came with sucked. thats my thought. anyways.. do you know if it would work if i replace this "blade stye" impeller with a needle wheel. the once the use on ACM and other high end skimmers. which creates more bubbles??

anybody here have any thoughts on the 12 gallon cadlight??

thanks

that sucks you had to redo everything. I know how infuriating reaquascaping can be But at least its all done. Be sure to post pics when you get a chance.Looks like a very sweet tank.

Hello all. I'm new to the Cadlight club. I downsized my 45 gallon tank to the 12 Cadlight. It has been a great tank.

Pictures!

Welcome to the Club!!Post pics soon.

Okay anyone here with macro algae they want to mail me?!?!? free?!?!? hehhehee

Question on the skimmer? Whats the name brand on the skimmers these tanks come with? I have a 25g but i didnt get the skimmer....couldnt see paying an extra 95$ for something i wasnt sure would work. Any info would be greatly appreciated...Im trying to find one to fit in the relatively small chamber and dont really want one hanging off the back ....anyone know of a good skimmer for this tank? Thanks

would a Tunze nano skimmer fit?

Well so far thats the only one i have found.........was wondering what brand name of the one that comes with the 25g cad was? Or if its any good?

the skimmer is made by some chines company. its a venturi vortex style skimmer. does the job good. its not the best. suggest use the one it comes with and test parameters and if your not happy with it.. than upgrade.

Got one for sale?..lol...just hate to pay 95$ if it dont work well....thanks for the info....

any new pics anyone?!?!

should I start CADLIGHTS OWNER CLUB THREAD 2!?? since this one is getting long hehehe.

You guys should download this torrent.

BLUE PLANET episode 6 CORAL SEAS.

its a great SHOW!! crazy how they can film some of the scenes. First time I saw how 2 corals would kill each other if they get too close to one another. Also shows how Corals MATE.. kinda boring.. nothing x rated. j.p