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Coral Vue Hydros

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


cnseekatz

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Background and Setup

 

I got a new job back in August, and it came with a new office, and from day one, I've been planning, and plotting, and scheming a new setup.

 

I've been running a 12.5g shallow desktop setup for a little while now, and I absolutely love it. It's low tech, requires pretty minimal maintenance, and it's been successful for what it's been tasked to do. It's at home now, and I miss having a tank at work.

 

I've always had a fondness for the rimless shallow tanks, so I knew that was the direction I wanted to go. I've never had a tank bigger than the 12.5, and I wanted to try something bigger so I could take advantage of a setup with a sump, a skimmer, and some other toys that will (theoretically) allow me to keep more demanding corals.

 

At Reef-A-Palooza this year, I spent some time at the CAD Lights booth, and ended up going home with the 45G Artisan II Shallow Reef tank. They gave me a good deal, and I couldn't resist!

 

Tank: 45G - 36 x 24 x 12 : Starfire on the front and two sides

Sump: 30G - 3 Chamber (50% capacity used as Refugium)

Light: Ecotech Radion XR30W Pro - tank mounted with RMS; AI Sol over Refugium

Flow: Maxspect Gyre xf230 (4 second pulse @ 40%); 2 x Vortech MP10 - (reef crest mode 20%); Return pump 

Heat: Eheim 200w

Skimmer: Vertex Omega 130

Media Reactor: BRS Single Chamber Carbon Reactor running with Chemipure Blue

Dosing Pump: 2 x Bubble Magus T01 dosing Ca, Alk, Mg & Acropower

UV Sterilizer: Coralife Turbo Twist

 

 

 

 

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I know that the CAD Lights package is pretty cookie-cutter, and has been done before, but for my own enjoyment, I'll document the parts and pieces.

 

Here's the 30G sump, with their Gen3 PLS-100 skimmer. I've read that the skimmer and return pump are pretty weak, and will likely need to be replaced once the tank gets stocked. For now, I think they'll work just fine!

 

I'm not sure exactly how I want to setup up the sump, but I'd like to include a fuge of some kind. I've been doing a lot of research on the refugium and the bare bottom vs sand vs mud argument. Any thoughts or suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated!

 

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I spent many many hours thinking about how I would light this tank. There were a couple of major concerns I had during the deliberation process:

 

1. The ceilings in my office are the drop-down (T-bar) style, so couldn't likely handle much weight, and they're very high, so hanging was out of the question. I could possibly do a wall mount, but that can look cluttered if not executed perfectly. I determined that a tank-mount was my best bet.

 

2. Must be low-profile, polished and slick. It's my office, it can't be big or bulky with crazy wires and fans. Heat is a concern. No DIY. For this reason, I figured T5 and Metal Halide were out. LED was my best bet.

 

3. The tank's dimensions are a little tricky with a 36" x 24" footprint. Since the tank is super shallow, I can get away with wide angle lenses that will diminish my PAR output.

 

I toyed with a bunch of high end LED manufacturers. I considered the AI Hydra 52, a set of Kessils, Ecotech Radion, and even some of the custom builders like Nanobox. They all have their pros and cons, but the biggest question always came down to the mounting options and the coverage area.

 

In the end, a great deal made the decision for me. I was able to buy a brand new, third generation, Ecotech Radion XR30w Pro. It gives me the sleek look I wanted, more power than I'll be able to use, a very cool looking mounting bracket, and optional wide angle lenses which should give me the spread I need. I never really considered buying a $750 light, but I found a great deal, and at under $600, I was in the range of most of the other options... so I splurged!

 

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I ordered the RMS (Radion Mounting System) from Ecotech. It was a little pricey, but the construction is top notch, and it looks super clean. It's fully adjustable, so I was able to extend the mount so that the light hangs precisely where I want it to go. It even has a channel to run the power cord down the back.

 

Overall, I'm very pleased with the setup!

 

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What are your plans for stocking? As for the substrate choice, each have their merits, but from what I have read the fuge in your sump is too narrow for a DSB to work properly. I personally think miracle mud is interesting, due to the trace elements it provides. If you were wanting to keep goniopora or catalaphyllia I would tell you to take a closer look at this option, but if the goal is nutrient export, you will probably be best served by a ball of chaeto on a 24 hour light cycle. Congrats on the new tank and happy reefing!

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What are your plans for stocking? As for the substrate choice, each have their merits, but from what I have read the fuge in your sump is too narrow for a DSB to work properly. I personally think miracle mud is interesting, due to the trace elements it provides. If you were wanting to keep goniopora or catalaphyllia I would tell you to take a closer look at this option, but if the goal is nutrient export, you will probably be best served by a ball of chaeto on a 24 hour light cycle. Congrats on the new tank and happy reefing!

 

I'm still plotting and planning my 'scape and resulting livestock list.

 

Someone mentioned that putting the miracle mud in a tupperware container lets you try it out, but also gives you the ability to easily remove it if you don't like it. I think that's a pretty cool idea.

 

I think ideally, I'd like to keep some macros, and some softies for nutrient export. I've got Kenya Trees and a nice colony of Xenia that I think might work well in my fuge. Luckily they're currently on one big piece of LR that should fit. My only concern with that is giving them enough nutrients. The sump is currently set up to have the skimmer in the first chamber. I don't think I want pre-skimmed water going into my refugium, so I might need to rethink the setup. I could always have a secondary feed of "dirty" water dribbling into the fuge, or I could just reorganize the chambers. Lots to think about!

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Nice start! I just recently set up a cads artisan and I'm pretty damn happy with it. Following along

 

Sweet. I always like to see what other people do with similar gear! I'll be keeping an eye on your progress as well!

 

That is an awesome setup so far!

 

Thanks Halo! I'm gonna try to go against my nature and take it slowly, methodical.

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I've read 100's of tank build threads over the past couple of years, and I always find them fascinating. It's very cool to see people plan tanks, choose equipment, and execute. The part that always makes or breaks the tank (for me) is the aquascaping. I know that it's a very personal choice, but I hate when I see a beautiful setup get hardscaped poorly.

 

I've spend a lot of time and money to assemble all the pieces for this project, and I would really hate to ruin it all by throwing in a crappy 'scape. So I've been playing with ideas, and figured I'd post them for review/critique.

 

I like a clean look, but I probably wouldn't consider my taste minimalist. I want to have plenty of things to look at, and good territory for fish. With a 36" x 24" footprint, I think I can design a scape with some depth.

 

The concept below has two islands with creepers coming out. The bulk of the left island will start toward the back of the tank, and the peninsula will come diagonally toward the front. I might use pieces of tonga branches to acheive some nooks and crannies. The right island will start in the middle, and trail off behind the other... or something like that! This will give me two different layers, foreground and background, with lots of swimming space, and plenty of open sand (my favorite).

 

This is totally preliminary, and I'd appreciate any suggestions or constructive criticism you might have!

 

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I think the scape looks good. nice height and leaves enough floor space. I need to get a taller piece of rock to take up some the void space. Going from a shallow to a cube left a lot in my tank

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The Radion is super powerful, and when it's on, I can't look at the LEDs directly, I have to inspect them by looking at their reflection in the glass. With the standard 80 degree lenses, they put out readings shown in the graph below. Given that my tank is only 12" deep, I would like have to run the light at a pretty low %.

ET_Radion_spec_XR30wPro.jpg

 

I figured that I have more than enough PAR to give up, so I decided to equip the Radion with a set of wide angle lenses. These should give me much better coverage, and allow me to run the lights at a higher level. Here's Ecotech's sample of the different lenses.

 

 

 

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Found an ATO Reservoir on Ebay. Acrylic, 5 gallon capacity, and should fit nicely right in front of the sump. I would have liked to find something to fit along side the sump, but it pretty much takes up the whole width of the stand... so this'll have to do.

 

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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!

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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!

Been there done that with there crap plumbing. I have the same tank sitting in my garage cracked from trying to fix there leaky bulkheads.
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Been there done that with there crap plumbing. I have the same tank sitting in my garage cracked from trying to fix there leaky bulkheads.

 

Always nice to read crappy reviews about the restaurant after you order.

 

I keep wondering why they don't address the plumbing, when it's obviously the biggest complaint people have. I know Chinese pipe and fittings are cheap, but using good stuff couldn't add more than a couple bucks to the build cost, could it?

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Always nice to read crappy reviews about the restaurant after you order. I keep wondering why they don't address the plumbing, when it's obviously the biggest complaint people have. I know Chinese pipe and fittings are cheap, but using good stuff couldn't add more than a couple bucks to the build cost, could it?
They say there plumbing is a upgrade :rolleyes: they offered to sell me another tank for 450 shipped. But I would of had to use there plumbing again. So I went custom and ordered a 36x24x12

 

But you are correct it would add a few bucks. Well worth it in my opinion.

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