CadLights 47G Starfire

[Ebn]

Tank is going in the office on the back cubicle wall. The custom sizing is for a specific space on the wall, leaving some room on the right side for the chiller. Speaking of the chiller, not quite sure if I truly need to plumb it in. The only reason to really do so is for the integrated heater since the office temperature is a pretty constant 72° year round (other than during the holidays with the shutdown).

 

I've worked with a similar size tank in the past (ADA 24x18x18). The additional 6" is going to come in handy for both equipment as well as scaping.

 

No tank or stand at the moment. Currently planning and collecting equipment in the meantime.

 

Display Tank: Cadlight rimless 3-sided Starfire 30x18x16...sizing up to 30x20x18!
Display Lighting: 2 x AI Vega with wireless controller
Stand: DIY stand (?) or go all out on a steel stand
Sump: DIY acrylic sump (20x14x16 with integrated ATO compartment)

Circulation: Ecotech MP10W ES (x2)

Controller: Neptune Apex Controller with ORP and lab grade pH probes
Return Pump: Eheim 1260 (?) Eheim Compact 2000+
Skimmer: Cadlight PLS-50/SWC-160/Aquamaxx ConeS CO 1/Vertex Omega 150
Evaporation Top Up Unit: Tunze 3155 Osmolator
Chiller: Teco TR-15 1/5 HP w/400W heater module

 

Tank: Cadlight/Signature/Leemar

So why a CAD tank? I've been reading about their tanks and the feedback is all over the place with some positives and others not so much. Overall, everyone seems to be happy with the tank itself and less so with the rest of their package (e.g. overflow plumbing, stand, sump, etc.). There's also another reefer about 45 minutes north of me that's ordering a tank so the shipping will be split in half.

 

Other tanks and builders were also considered for the build. Requests for quotes were sent out to Reef Savvy, Signature Aquariums, CAD Lights, and Leemar. Didn't get anything back from Reef Savvy. Leemar was considered but after reading about some recent experience and the overall costs of the tank (with crating and shipping), I'm leaning towards other options. Signature came back with a quote which was north of Leemar, but reading feedbacks from others it seems worth it (I've also had some custom sumps built by Keith in the past).

 

Lighting: AI/Ecotech/Maxspect/Vertex

Already running two different LEDs on desktop tanks at work (one custom built LED by nips and an ai nano) and decided to stick with LEDs. Controls and aesthetics were considered. Short synopsis of why I settled on the AI Vega.

 

Radion - nice light, but doesn't come in white

Maxspect - frontrunner especially since it comes in a 27" variant, but wasn't digging the mounting options plus comment on Radion

Vertex - beautiful light but north of what I wanted to spend

AI - familiar with interface; ai director (if it ever becomes available...) has me intrigued since I plan on keeping the ai nano; found a deal that I couldn't resist. If the deal falls through I'll probably reevaluate.

 

Stand: DIY/Custom Steel

Nothing readily available with a 30x18 footprint. I've never built a stand before and this is still occupying my mind. DIY doesn't seem to be too hard after reading the huge thread on RC. Unfortunately, I don't have the space or equipment to build one. I can have the lumber pre-cut and then piece it together, but the only place that I know off with precision cuts is up in Berkeley which is a good 45 minutes drive.

 

Other option was via an ad that I found on CL. Custom steel builder with great communication and is willing to deliver the stand. Stainless steel stand skinned with high quality ply and then painted for the elements (white stand with black door). Cost is high, but like all things custom, it's almost a given.

 

Pictures of the renderings by builder.

 

 

 

Sump: Kritter Tanks/Trigger Systems/TBD

[Ebn]

Tank has been ordered. ETA is 2 weeks out.

 

Going slightly larger than originally planned and settled on 30x20x18 (~47 gallons) tank instead.

 

Stand: Opting out of a custom metal stand. Gonna build my own this time around.

 

Sump: Tossing out the idea of building my own here as well...

[Ebn]

DIY Stand

 

Decided to build the stand over the weekend. Lacking the space and the tools to do so, I headed up to a buddy's place up in Berkeley on Saturday. I had originally consider using 2x4s, but after some convincing and consideration, I went with MDO instead due to weight as well as to have more space in the inside.

 

Two pieces of 4x8 3/4" MDO was purchased and cut by the lumberyard into 18 different pieces. Pocket drill was used with 1 1/4" deck screws (hardware store didn't have any Kreg pocket screws). The pocket screw jig wasn't set up correctly and we didn't figure it out until it was too late. Luckily I purchased some Bondo and we filled and then sanded the filler down. Rest of the pieces went on without much of a hitch until we got to the door. I gave exact measurements for the doors to be cut, but they were off! Out came the circular saw and the cuts were made. They aren't the best, but it was taken care off. Once they were cut to size, the hinges had to be hung. I paid a bit more for four Euro hinges with soft close and these went on relative easy.

 

With the stand basically finish next came the paint. The outside was primed with two cans of Krylon grey primer. Then three cans of Krylon automotive grey was sprayed on, but due to lack of coverage I was short a can or two.

 

Here's what it looked like up to this point. (Since we were working on the stand, there aren't any work in progress images.)

 

It was getting dark by this point (got back at 2 p.m. from the lumberyard and we dilly dallied up to ~8ish with lunch and dinner thrown in).

 

Next morning, I drove back to the the lumberyard to purchase some more paint and to look at door knobs. OSH was on the way and I decided on a set of squarish knobs, but they didn't carry any Krylon. Next up was the lumberyard, which was also out of the Krylon! Last stop was to Home Depot which also didn't carry Krylon. I couldn't haul the stand home with the current paint job so I decided to switch colors and go with some Rustoleum. Six cans were purchased this time since I didn't want to run out again and they were about half the price of the Krylon which isn't too bad.

 

Back to the house and a few coats later, here's the stand with the fresh paint.

 

 

Inside

 

I'll paint the inside of the stand as well as the backside of the doors next weekend. Hopefully no one will be in the office and the smell will dissipate by the time Monday rolls around.

[DaveFason]

Looks great! Stand turned out wonderful even with the few hicups.

 

-D

[Ebn]

Looks great! Stand turned out wonderful even with the few hicups.

 

-D

 

Thanks Dave!

 

Here's the stand in the cube farm. Gotta bust out the screwdriver and fine tune the screws to even up the gap.

 

Soft close hinges in action

[Ebn]

Lights and skimmer came in today. Unfortunately, the skimmer came in damaged (I've got crap for luck when it comes to skimmers; second one that I've had to deal with in the last month).

 

Just lights for now.

[JR!]

awesome build

[Ebn]

awesome build

 

Thanks! Still a ton of things to pick up and the budget keeps on growing for the build.

 

Combined tank order with one other person to split the cost of shipping and just received word that both tanks should be completed by Wednesday. Can't wait for it since I can't finalize the stand until I see where I need to make the cutouts. I'm also planning on painting the inside of the stand tomorrow in between a couple of parties, so we'll see how that goes.

[Rehype]

Looks awesome so far...cant wait to see this develop.

[Ebn]

Looks awesome so far...cant wait to see this develop.

 

Thanks! It's pretty much a waiting game at this point.

 

Received the EXT rails today, but one of them has to go back. Ordered two black rails and they shipped one black and one clear.

 

I was hoping to put the lights up on the rails today, but doesn't look like that's happening.

 

Here's the list of what I'm waiting on:

• Tank - received a call from Eddie awhile ago and the final holes are getting drilled. He's going to send a pic if he gets a chance
• AI Rails - BRS shipped out a new set of rails today and it should be here sometime on Monday
• Skimmer - doesn't ship until 2-3 weeks out
• PVC - 10 days lead out time, which isn't too bad and should get in here at the same time as skimmer
• Custom sump & dosing containers - Gen from Kritter should be getting back to me with a quote sometime in the next 24 hours

In the meantime, here's the list of to dos as I'm waiting:

• Paint second layer on the inside of the stand
• Mount LED lighting in the stand
• Finish slide out sump platform
• Equipment panel
• Maintenance panel for all the tools, test kits, etc.
• Drill and mount 2x120mm fans for venting stand
• Drill hole for electrical feed
• Pre-drill for AI rails

[Felicia]

I love how sleek and modern that stand looks!

[Giga]

Nice cube in cube

[Ebn]

I love how sleek and modern that stand looks!

 

Nice cube in cube

 

Thanks! Stuck around after work and worked on the stand a bit more. The slide out sump platform is complete and painted. Also, since I had one complete set of EXT rails in the specified color, I decided to get one Vega up.

 

 

Moved the tank onto a dolly so that I can wheel it around easily since I still have some drilling to do. I can now wheel it out of the office to the back where I plan to drill out some sizable holes without littering my cube with a mountain of saw dust and wood chips.

 

Received the quote back from the sump builder and awaiting final drawings before authorizing the build.

[Deleted User 4]

Looking good.

[Arkayology]

It's looking good. Great equipment list. What sort of critters are you planning on putting in this tank?

[Ebn]

Looking good.

 

 

It's looking good. Great equipment list. What sort of critters are you planning on putting in this tank?

 

Thanks! Planning on a mixed reef predominantly filled with SPS. Fish wise, I haven't settled on the final list yet. I'm definitely considering some anthias (undecided between ventralis, dispar, tuka, randall, fathead, flavoguttatus, smithvanizi), a dwarf angel of some sort (really want a resplendent cherub, but could settle with a multicolor, multibar, or golden), a wrasse of some sort for pest control, and a tiny tang for growing out.

[JR!]

wish you could have built my stand

[Ebn]

wish you could have built my stand

 

LOL. Thanks! It's still very much a work in progress and most of it is stolen from urbanek.

[JR!]

LOL. Thanks! It's still very much a work in progress and most of it is stolen from urbanek.

"imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

[Jackal_Knight]

Very nice stand!!! Look so good i would believe u if u told me you bought it at a store.

 

That 3/4 MDO is gonna hold 40 gallons!! Wish i would of known that, i could of used it for my stand and fit a larger sump. I made mine out of 2x4's That stand is so solid but but can just fit a 10 gallon tank for a sump.

[Ebn]

 

Very nice stand!!! Look so good i would believe u if u told me you bought it at a store.

 

That 3/4 MDO is gonna hold 40 gallons!! Wish i would of known that, i could of used it for my stand and fit a larger sump. I made mine out of 2x4's That stand is so solid but but can just fit a 10 gallon tank for a sump.

 

Thanks! When you factor in the parts and labor, you could basically buy an ADA stand. Each sheet of 4x8 MDO was ~$65 and two sheets were used and then another ~$30 for the cuts. That's just the wood and excludes all the other materials. Top that off with labor, which included a dentist with some very steady hands. Pocket holes were made using a Kreg jig to secure it all together with extra support on the bottom (2 pieces of MDO glued and then pocket screwed into each other) as well as the front (that smaller piece in the front is actually 3 pieces of MDO knotched, glued and then screwed together) Costly to build, but it's sturdy as a tank (felt sturdier than a stand that I had commissioned someone to build out of poplar a few years back) and great experience.

 

MDO is medium density outdoors. It's like MDF, but made for outdoor usage. MDF and water doesn't mix. MDO, being made for outdoor usage does much better. It's also really easy to paint with the smooth surface.

 

One of the primary reasons why I didn't want to do 2x4s for the stand was due to losing internal space. Another reason was the weight associated with 2x4s.

 

"imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

 

Someone better call the authorities 'cause I'm ripping designs off everybody!

[Ebn]

Got got my hands on this.

 

Didn't expect the front USB there, which is a nice surprise. Maybe use that to power the AI wireless controller or keep it open and use it to charge whatever is in need.

 

I'll see if I have time to work on the electrical panel this weekend in between paint jobs. Finally placed PVC order this morning. Still need to get going on sump and ATO reservoir and then rocks and various plumbing parts. It's slowly coming together.

[Ebn]

Sump

I finally gave up after numerous attempts to get a quote and a rendering back from a local custom sump builder. Two weeks has passed since I originally ask for the quote. Got the quote, but still no rendering. So during lunch, I went to Tap Plastics and got them to cut the pieces that I needed.

 

This happened after work today.

 

 

 

 

Didn't take any in between shots, but ended up with this.

Definitely not up to par with a pro build, but it was a good learning experience (first time working with acrylic). I'm gonna let it sit for a day or so and then water test it. The weld-on #16 will be in hand just in case.

 

Decided to go with a simple sump design. 9" wide leftmost compartment to accommodate a decent size skimmer, a couple of baffles and then a return compartment. I opted to forgo a refugium and instead sectioned off the right hand side as an ATO reservoir (~4 gallons).

[adinsxq]

I had a tank with a pull out sump like that. It was very convenient.

You got spray paint all over your floor, man.

[Ebn]

Yeah, I still remember that pull out sump of yours. Glad that it works well since I plan to be using that aspect of it.

 

That's just part of the carpet that's lighted. The right hand side is slightly shaded by the sump so it looks like there's paint on the carpet. I haven't used any spray paint in this part of the office so it's all good.