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D Z's garage frag tank(formerly CAD 34G Mini)


D Z

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lilmatty5dimes

That's a great fixture. nice grab. your right about doing some mods to get it to run like that. pretty sure you'll need to complete a full circuit with either 2 bulbs or 4 bulbs. at least that was how my tek fixture was. bulbs look good. i'm sure you'll change them a few times.

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That's a great fixture. nice grab. your right about doing some mods to get it to run like that. pretty sure you'll need to complete a full circuit with either 2 bulbs or 4 bulbs. at least that was how my tek fixture was. bulbs look good. i'm sure you'll change them a few times.

 

Thanks. Yeah i was wondeing about the complete circuit. If the bulbs are wired in series for each ballast then that will be the case. I will just have to play with it. I was also talking with Alex B and he recommended just putting actinics in position 1 and 6. The actinics wont spill much and theni can run 3 blue plus and a coral plus in 2 - 5 to utilize all 6 bulbs so this may be an option. If go this route i probably will only run the middle 4 bulbs for 4 or 5 hours a day as its going to be a lot of light for this tank. I dont mind that though as i generally like to have a sunrise and sunset for the pop of the actinic.

 

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Today's the day! My tank should be waiting on my front porch when I get home later today. Don't get any ideas local people. I had received a bunch of the other puzzle pieces late last week and should be getting some of the other stuff today as well. The light comes later this week, so things are moving along. I will be sure to get some shots of the tank and everything else once I have some time.

 

The home renovations have been keeping me very busy lately, but I did move the Nuvo in to our bedroom this weekend to get the stand cleared off and ready for the 34. My rocks have been soaking in RODI for 4 days now. I'll probably take it out of the water tonight or tomorrow to start working on the scape and start soaking my sand.

 

Getting excited....getting very excited!

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I'm very excited to say that my tank arrived yesterday. It was packaged well, but did have 1 small imperfection that I am going to be talking to CAD about. I don't think it really will affect anything structurally, it just should be perfect for the $ you spend for a tank like this, IMO. I have heard from others with similar problems that CAD usually is good about making things right in situations such as this. None the less, things are moving along. I will be doing a leak test tonight and let it sit with water for 2 or 3 days just to make sure everything is ok. Here are some pics:

 

I had quite a few boxes waiting for me when I got home.

14830440824_77aa9ff5a3_k.jpg20140804_190414 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

CADs packaging wasn't bad. I think they have somewhat improved on it a bit. The tank is surrounded by sheets of Styrofoam and then thin particleboard, inside a smaller box. The smaller box is then put in a bigger box and packing peanuts are filled in around the smaller box. My son had lots of fun with all of the peanuts.

14832922574_3e707bf2ca_k.jpg20140804_191615 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

14855151263_d27f89bba6_k.jpg20140804_191916 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

All of the goodies

14835285605_c1cf905bcf_k.jpg20140804_202319 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Obligatory blue bottle shot

14832216171_8a73787522_k.jpg20140804_202331 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

This is the one minor flaw. The bottom pane of glass sits inside of the curve front/side pane. It looks like when they were cutting the radius of the curve of the bottom pane, there was some tearout on the bottom side. It seems like it is structurally sound, but it is still something that they should have caught, IMO. Not the best picture, but hopefully this shows what I am talking about.

https://flic.kr/p/oBqSsF'>14840778691_cf99d24fb9_b.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/oBqSsF'>20140804_193206 by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

 

I am a little disappointed in the height of the skimmer. I the picture of the tank above, you can see how the new PLS-50 elite sticks out of the rear chamber a bit. The reason I went with this tank is that the skimmer is supposed to be completely hidden in the rear chamber. I am going to play with it a bit more, but it seems to me like it is as far down as it goes. Maybe they increased the height of the new skimmer by a little bit? None the less, the tank is still stunning looking and I am very excited to keep moving forward with this build. Leak test and scaping starts tonight. I am going to start soaking my sand in some RODI tonight. My light gets here on Thursday. Hopefully will be getting it wet by the weekend!

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Cameron6796

Looking awesome if I understand correctly that could cause a major crack from the weight of the front pane being suspended a little on the bottom pane.

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lilmatty5dimes

I would agree with Cameron on that. What a bummer. Sure they will fix it right up for ya. Everything is looking great. Have you used the blue bottles before. I'm looking into getting the nano pack for the nuvo 16 and trying to get some feed back.

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Looking awesome if I understand correctly that could cause a major crack from the weight of the front pane being suspended a little on the bottom pane.

Hmmm.....I didn't originally think that it would be a structural issue. Here is a better picture and a more elaborate description of the issue. I colored in the area where there is missing glass. The void in glass does not go all the way through to the inside of the tank. In fact, it is only a small fraction of the thickness of the glass. Basically, you can just feel a slight jagged edge when you run your finger from the bottom of the front pane accross the silicone and onto the bottom of the bottom pane. As far as it being suspended, the bottom pane and the front pane feel like they are perfectly fluch with each other. Also, I am planning on putting some kind of yoga mat type material under the tank for support. Do you still feel this is something I should return and request another tank?

https://flic.kr/p/oAJBrG'>14832923694_3af22bc490_k.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/oAJBrG'>20140804_193206 by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

I would agree with Cameron on that. What a bummer. Sure they will fix it right up for ya. Everything is looking great. Have you used the blue bottles before. I'm looking into getting the nano pack for the nuvo 16 and trying to get some feed back.

Give me your opinion on that as well.

 

As far as the blue bottles, yes. I am currently using the nano package + ZEOBak on my Nuvo 8 and love it. I have been able to keep the Nuvo 8 at a fairly stable low nutrient system even without a skimmer. I feel that the additives have helped to maintain color and growth on certain pieces. Also, Zeobak is great for maintaining a healthy nitrifing bacterial colony and sponge power helps all of the beneficial filter feeders.

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Thanks I'll probably be getting it here soon. How are you dosing it?

NanoTopia, the queen of all things ZEOVit, has a great thread going with a lot of information on dosing ZEO products and it is geared towards nano-tanks. If you are considering using the nano package, I would definitely read through it. Most importantly, she has put together a quick reference chart for dosing amounts based on total water volume(not total tank size). Here is a link to that particular post:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/344885-korallen-zucht-zeovit-nano-thread/?p=4726922

 

What is your opinion on my tank issue?

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Looking good! Dont you just love the feeling of coming home to lots of packages? it's like christmas all over again. I swear sometimes I buy random stuff on Amazon just so I get that feeling....

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Looking good! Dont you just love the feeling of coming home to lots of packages? it's like christmas all over again. I swear sometimes I buy random stuff on Amazon just so I get that feeling....

LOL....yep! We order A LOT off of Amazon, not just aquarium stuff, so there are always boxes showing up. Half the time I cannot remember what it was that I ordered. :lol:

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lilmatty5dimes

NanoTopia, the queen of all things ZEOVit, has a great thread going with a lot of information on dosing ZEO products and it is geared towards nano-tanks. If you are considering using the nano package, I would definitely read through it. Most importantly, she has put together a quick reference chart for dosing amounts based on total water volume(not total tank size). Here is a link to that particular post:

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/344885-korallen-zucht-zeovit-nano-thread/?p=4726922

 

What is your opinion on my tank issue?

thanks i'll bookmark that page and write it a lil later. its not raining over here so some much needed yard work was needed. lol

 

i would call up CS and see what they say. your paying high dollar for that tank to be spotless. plus its on the bottom so i would hate coming home or waking up to 28g on the floor.

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thanks i'll bookmark that page and write it a lil later. its not raining over here so some much needed yard work was needed. lol

 

i would call up CS and see what they say. your paying high dollar for that tank to be spotless. plus its on the bottom so i would hate coming home or waking up to 28g on the floor.

Spoke with Jason at CAD about an hour ago and explained the issue. I sent him the picture and am awaiting a call back....we'll see what he says.

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Spoke with Jason at CAD about an hour ago and explained the issue. I sent him the picture and am awaiting a call back....we'll see what he says.

GL figuring it out. You have the makings of a really great setup here.

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GL figuring it out. You have the makings of a really great setup here.

Wow, thank Ark! I'm sure everything will work out just fine. Glad to have you tagging along!

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Jason and Scott helped me out with my tank. Got my new one on Friday. I'm sure they'll fix you up too.

As far as the skimmer… I don't know that I've ever seen one that you can't see a little tiny bit of the skimmer, even on the non-elite model. But you could always paint the lid black (or use some vinyl) and poke holes in it where they are at on the lid. That might camouflage it a little bit.

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SouthFlorida_Tron

Jason and Scott helped me out with my tank. Got my new one on Friday. I'm sure they'll fix you up too.

As far as the skimmer… I don't know that I've ever seen one that you can't see a little tiny bit of the skimmer, even on the non-elite model. But you could always paint the lid black (or use some vinyl) and poke holes in it where they are at on the lid. That might camouflage it a little bit.

Mine doesn't show at all. Id say the white lid sits millimeters above the black acrylic back wall. Maybe since I have the screen top, it blocks its further but regardless i don't see it anyways...

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Yours has the crack just near the bottom front corner?

I wouldnt call it a crack. It is a chip along the curve of the bottom pane in the fron left corner.

Jason and Scott helped me out with my tank. Got my new one on Friday. I'm sure they'll fix you up too.

As far as the skimmer I don't know that I've ever seen one that you can't see a little tiny bit of the skimmer, even on the non-elite model. But you could always paint the lid black (or use some vinyl) and poke holes in it where they are at on the lid. That might camouflage it a little bit.

Mine doesn't show at all. Id say the white lid sits millimeters above the black acrylic back wall. Maybe since I have the screen top, it blocks its further but regardless i don't see it anyways...

Yeah, im sure CAD will work with me to resolve the issue in one way or another. As for the skimmer, I think they very slightly increased the height of the cup. I also had flipped through Trons thread and see what you are saying about the screen top helping to hide it. Luckily, I was planning on building a screen top for mine as well, once i can source some black tulle.

 

Dont get me wrong. All in all, I am still very happy with this tank, I just expected to be able to completely hide the skimmer. As far as I know, even with the increase in skimmer cup height, it still is the best option on market for being a sleak AIO in this size range.

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SouthFlorida_Tron

My first one shattered in the same spot after fully filling with rock, sand, and water. It was a disaster. Had to run to get a temporary tank from pet supermarket and waited two weeks as the replacement arrived in pieces!

 

In the end, it will get resolved.

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Cameron6796

Lol of they let you keep the damaged tank ship it to me I'll pay for shipping lol birth day didn't bring a tank to me ;(

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