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Cultivated Reef

Chris' CAD Lights 45g Shallow : Another Re-Scape (Video)


cnseekatz

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Filling this guy up was a bit of a challenge. I used Cad Lights bulkheads, which are basically two female adapters connected by a double sided male connector, and a couple of rubber gaskets. The problem was that the male piece was too long, so the two bulkheads couldn't screw down far enough to create a tight seal with the glass. I cut the connectors, and no more leaks.

 

This is my first tank with a sump, so I don't know if the noise I'm hearing is reasonable. The overflow is totally quiet, but there is some splashing noise coming from the plumbing underneath. It's not terrible, but it's noticeable. I'm guessing this is just part of the deal? Also, the skimmer vibrates a little, and that's louder than I would have hoped.

 

So I've got about 50 pounds of this stuff in the tank, and probably about 10 in one chamber in the sump:

 

20-lbs.jpg

No rock yet... I just didn't have time to take care of that. My LFS should have some fresh stuff this week. The hardscape planning continues!

 

I had no issues with the bulkheads but i have the splashing noise in the pipes underneath

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scribed! that stand looks sweet, did that come with the package? i like the gloss to it.

 

Thanks Rock!

 

That's Cad Lights "Artisan II" stand. It's got a nice sturdy, hardwood frame, but is also nice and open inside. The finish is their "piano black" and it's super clean, no moldings, no lips, no edges. There is another stand they sell, a little cheaper, but I would recommend spending the extra $50 for this one.

 

subscribed

 

:wub:

It's an honor and a pleasure to have you...

 

Love it as is

 

Thanks! It's just a Photoshop-job, but I think that's the general idea. I'm going to try to use some more open pieces of rock if I can, while still maintaining the basic structure(s). I like the way the Pukani rock looks. Something with this texture...

 

2qu7m7b.jpg

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Don't you hate it when you go buy live rock, and you play with it at the store, you stack it, and arrange it, and you come up with a perfect setup, then you have to put it in a box and try to recreate it back at home?

 

That's what happened to me. I had a mock up at the LFS that I loved, and I haven't been able to recreate it in the tank. So what you see here will be rearranged, probably more than a few times. But the rock is in, and my cycle has officially begun. The rock I bought was covered with stuff, and I think I fried it all under the Radion, so there should be plenty of ammonia to start my cycle. I would have loved to do an abbreviated cycle with existing rock and sand, but that wasn't possible, so it'll be a full, fresh start-up!

 

I've been having trouble with the Radion connecting to my work computer. There is some security that they've got in place that prevents them from talking to each other, so for now the lights are on a typical sunrise/sunset cycle, but they ramp up to 100%, which is just too much, even with the wide angle lenses. I guess it won't hurt for now, but sooner or later, I'm going to have to convince the IT guy to help me get around their firewalls so I can control my Radion.

 

The cloudiness is pretty substantial too. Every time I stir up the sand at all, I get tons of dust pouring into the water column. It's a brand new sand-bed, made with the Arag-Alive stuff. I've used it before, but don't remember it having so much silt. I suppose it'll settle over time.

 

IMG_20141128_104526_051_zps1003995a.jpg

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Following, cause your stingray is the cutest!

 

Haha... nice...

 

Following. I dig the current scape.

 

 

Love the scape.

 

 

following. wanted to set up this tank since for a while, love the dimensions and the aquascape looks awesome

 

Thanks guys... the basic hardscape will stay the same, but I'm gonna fine tune it so that I've got lots of little swim-thrus and caves and whatnot.

 

I got my DJ strip today! It's from Eliminator Lighting, it's the E-107 rack mount, 8-switch power center. It's pretty cool... gives easy access to all the various elements in the sump/stand. It's bigger than I thought, but it doesn't weigh too much, so I just used some industrial velcro to secure it to the top braces of the stand. I tried to emulate some of the people on this forum who can make their wires just disappear. After about an hour, I decided that those people must be evil wizards, and they are bending the fabric of space-time and shifting their wires to alternate dimensions... Not having mastered those powers, I figured I could make do with the setup below.

 

I also mounted my Radion power supply to the inside of the stand. It's heavy, and I'm a little concerned, but since this setup is at the office, I didn't want any external gear... so here's what I got!

 

Thinking about removing the baffles between the second and third chamber in the sump to give me a single big 'fuge. What do you think?

 

IMG_20141128_173813_389_zps4cd5584c.jpg

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This is lining up to be a great looking tank. Have you mentioned what your livestock plans are yet?

Thanks! It's going to be a pretty standard mixed reef. I like doing a little bit of everything. I'm going to be breaking down the little tank I have at home, so most of the livestock is going to be transferred over. This'll be my first setup with the capacity to grow SPS, so that'll be a big focus for this tank as well.

 

Over the weekend, my tank has very obviously begun its cycle. I came into the office this morning, and found that the diatoms had begun to bloom. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for them to go away.

 

On another topic, the water level in my sump dropped more than an inch over the weekend. Yikes... I guess I need to get that ATO set up ASAP! I suppose I should put the lid on the tank as well...

 

I cruised around a few shops this weekend, while they were having their Black Friday sales. I resisted the temptation to buy everything that was on sale... except for one thing that I've always wanted...

 

Here's a sneak peak!

 

IMAG0746_zps26e34e20.jpg

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Top 5 Questions/Comments about my tank from co-workers who walk in my office:

 

1. "What's that?"

- Requires self control to monitor the ultra-sarcastic response. "I know it looks like a fish tank, but..."

 

2. "Where are the fish?"

- Requires a brief explanation about Nitrogen Cycle to people who couldn't care less, and are immediately sorry they asked.

 

3. "What are you going to put in there?"

- Another opportunity to be snarky... You wouldn't believe how many people believe me when I say "Puppy."

 

4. "I can't wait to go fishing!"

- Obligatory laughter. "You're so funny..."

 

5. "I was wondering why your office was glowing purple from the hallway."

- My personal favorite!

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Didn't know these builds come with a sump too! That's like...45+35 right? 80gallons in the system.

 

Should have picked one of these up instead of my Nuvo 30L :P

 

Maybe in the future when it's time to upgrade

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Thinking about removing the baffles between the second and third chamber in the sump to give me a single big 'fuge. What do you think?

 

I'd say go for it. I opted to not purchase the sump on my 100g and I am building a custom sump out of a 40g breeder instead to have more flexibility over where I place the baffles. Their baffle placement is pretty lame.

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Dirty dirty!!! :lol:

 

Don't make me blush... :blush:

 

Look great so far...love the scape.

 

Thank you sir. How are you liking your Radion setup? I was reading through your thread and thought I felt a disturbance in the force...

 

Looks good to me. Like the setup.

 

Thanks... much appreciated!

 

Didn't know these builds come with a sump too! That's like...45+35 right? 80gallons in the system.

 

Should have picked one of these up instead of my Nuvo 30L :P

 

Maybe in the future when it's time to upgrade

 

45g up top, 30g down below. Keep checking in, and see how it goes!

 

I'd say go for it. I opted to not purchase the sump on my 100g and I am building a custom sump out of a 40g breeder instead to have more flexibility over where I place the baffles. Their baffle placement is pretty lame.

 

Yeah, I think I might just take a razor blade and go to town. The second chamber seems like it was designed to hold a sponge or something, but I don't plan on having anything like that, so it's pretty pointless the way it is.

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