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

[kimberbee]

Gettin' loaded

 

 

 

How long did it take him to find it?

 

I sort of wonder if I should get nori for my urchin as I really don't have much algae...

[cnseekatz]

 

How long did it take him to find it?

 

I sort of wonder if I should get nori for my urchin as I really don't have much algae...

 

Brent isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so I had to stick it right in front of his face a couple of times before he realized what it was.

 

Be careful with this stuff, and use it sparingly. It gets soggy and then flakes off. I suppose if you have herbivorous fish, it's fine, but I wouldn't just let it sit in the tank too long otherwise.

[kimberbee]

Brent isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, so I had to stick it right in front of his face a couple of times before he realized what it was.

 

Be careful with this stuff, and use it sparingly. It gets soggy and then flakes off. I suppose if you have herbivorous fish, it's fine, but I wouldn't just let it sit in the tank too long otherwise.

 

Ah cool, thanks for the heads up.

[cnseekatz]

Super motivated after a feed....

 

[relethg]

Hi, I have the same tank and just put water in it today. Wanted to know if you are still happy with the Radion lights? Also why did you go with the Pro over the standard Gen IIIs? Do you think you have adequate light coverage with the wide angle lenses? Will continue to follow your build.

 

Thanks Glenn

[picoreef78]

Did you get the wide angle lens. I have been thinking about getting them. So far I have my Gen 2 radio Pro running at 60% and thinking of backing down to 55%. Definitely a central hotspot.

 

Since I mounted on the RMS it is about an inch higher that I previously had it.

[cnseekatz]

Hi, I have the same tank and just put water in it today. Wanted to know if you are still happy with the Radion lights? Also why did you go with the Pro over the standard Gen IIIs? Do you think you have adequate light coverage with the wide angle lenses? Will continue to follow your build.

 

Thanks Glenn

 

 

Did you get the wide angle lens. I have been thinking about getting them. So far I have my Gen 2 radio Pro running at 60% and thinking of backing down to 55%. Definitely a central hotspot.

 

Since I mounted on the RMS it is about an inch higher that I previously had it.

 

I haven't stocked the tank yet, but I think the Radion is going to work out great. I got the Pro version because I got a killer deal. I don't think I need the extra PAR that it offers, but I couldn't turn down the price.

 

I think the Wide Angle Lenses will be perfect. It gives me almost a perfect spread when mounted with the RMS. It obviously dims a bit toward the edges, but I think I'll be able to grow most corals anywhere in the tank. The wide angle gives me 36" spread, no problem. Plus the wide angle will diminish the power a bit, so I'll be able to run the light at a higher level.

[cnseekatz]

I did a little work on my sump today. I removed the baffles between the second and third chambers. Now I've got a nice big area for my refugium. I also added a Koralia Nano (240gph) circulation pump to the first chamber to try and get a little bit more water moving around. All and all, I'm pretty pleased!

 

I also brought a big rock from my home aquarium that's covered in xenia and kenya trees, and stuck it in there. I'm interested to see how they do in there. If they look good in a couple days, I'll start bringing over the rest of the stuff from home.

 

[relethg]

I did a little work on my sump today. I removed the baffles between the second and third chambers. Now I've got a nice big area for my refugium. I also added a Koralia Nano (240gph) circulation pump to the first chamber to try and get a little bit more water moving around. All and all, I'm pretty pleased!

 

I also brought a big rock from my home aquarium that's covered in xenia and kenya trees, and stuck it in there. I'm interested to see how they do in there. If they look good in a couple days, I'll start bringing over the rest of the stuff from home.

Chris, How much more flow do you think you got over the pump that came with it? Is the drain handling it OK. I like the sump mod and think I will do the same. I chucked the sump light and went with the HD setup.

 

 

Anyone going to get this tank make sure you check the gap between the the bulkhead fitting screwed completely together. You will find it is still bigger than the thickness of the glass. You will need to trim some off the threaded piece to make sure it will seal properly. All three of mine came to big and I think Chris had one.

 

 

 

Glenn

[Lawnman]

Super motivated after a smoke....

 

Fixed that for you

[cnseekatz]

Chris, How much more flow do you think you got over the pump that came with it? Is the drain handling it OK. I like the sump mod and think I will do the same. I chucked the sump light and went with the HD setup.

 

Just to clarify, the pump I added is just a little circulation pump to move water around inside the sump. I'm still using the return pump the tank came with.

 

I'm a little torn replacing the stock return pump with a more powerful one (like the Sicce 2.0). I would like to turn the water over more, but I don't like the output of the flow back into the display. The return is placed awkwardly, and I can't think of a good way to distribute the flow in such a shallow tank. I'm afraid any more volume from it will cause a massive standstorm. If there's some way to diffuse it, that might work. I think an MP10 placed appropriately will provide all the current I need.

 

I definitely plan on replacing that stock fuge light, but I haven't figured out what I want to use yet. I have a PAR38 bulb lying around that would be perfect, but I'm not sure how to mount it. I could always bring my AI Sol over and just set it up on low. That might not be a great use of a $400 light fixture though!

 

 

 

Anyone going to get this tank make sure you check the gap between the the bulkhead fitting screwed completely together. You will find it is still bigger than the thickness of the glass. You will need to trim some off the threaded piece to make sure it will seal properly. All three of mine came to big and I think Chris had one.

 

+ 1 million on this. It's a very simple fix to a problem that was difficult to figure out. I wish CadLights would take the time to do this themselves, but it's a very good tip for anyone who buys one of their "pre-plumbed" setups.

 

Fixed that for you

 

Much obliged sir!

[cnseekatz]

"I am not here. You do not see me."

 

- Frank Caliendo as Bill Clinton

 

I moved over a few maxi minis, and a torch this weekend, and both seem to be doing fine! I'll probably bring over some zoanthids and acans tomorrow and see how they do before transferring the rest of the tank over.

 

Good times!

[cnseekatz]

I just set up an Autoaqua Smart ATO in my sump. I kept the reservoir on the outside for ease of access. It's black and shiny and I think it looks fine next to the stand.

 

Everything I've brought over seems to be doing fine (so far so good), so the rest of the move is still on for the next few days!

 

 

 

[cnseekatz]

I've starting playing around with my Radion schedule/program. The web interface, called EcoSmart Live is pretty awesome. It allows you to create fully custom color combinations, with 6 individual color channels. You can change the timing, intensity, spectrum, and even add in cool (but completely useless) features like lunar phases and cloud/weather simulations. One of the aspects I really enjoy is that you can create a whole schedule while you're offline, save it, and then connect to the light module and preview the cycle at your leisure. Other people can share their programs with you, and you can try them out as-is, or you can tweak them to your liking.

 

 

It's a little overwhelming trying to get the hang of the software, but I'm getting some advice from some pretty cool people (special thanks to Eugene), and I think I'll get it under control soon.

[Rehype]

I've starting playing around with my Radion schedule/program. The web interface, called EcoSmart Live is pretty awesome. It allows you to create fully custom color combinations, with 6 individual color channels. You can change the timing, intensity, spectrum, and even add in cool (but completely useless) features like lunar phases and cloud/weather simulations. One of the aspects I really enjoy is that you can create a whole schedule while you're offline, save it, and then connect to the light module and preview the cycle at your leisure. Other people can share their programs with you, and you can try them out as-is, or you can tweak them to your liking.

 

 

It's a little overwhelming trying to get the hang of the software, but I'm getting some advice from some pretty cool people (special thanks to Eugene), and I think I'll get it under control soon.

 

No problem bud....if you need any help just pm me.

[cnseekatz]

Note of caution... MP10 controller and salt water do not mix!

 

I was running the cord from behind the tank, and the controller fell into the sump for about 3 seconds. That was an $85 oops!

 

[metrokat]

oops

[cnseekatz]

I took a trip up the CA coast line this weekend with the girlfriend, and took some photos I thought you all might enjoy!

 

We stopped at a beach outside of San Simeon where there were a bunch of elephant seals hanging out. They're ENORMOUS, the males weighing in at over 5,000 lbs! We even watched one female have a baby. I caught it all on video if anyone is interested!

 

 

 

The rest of the shots are from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's an amazing place, and I would certainly encourage anyone in the area to go check it out!

 

 

 

 

 

Just a couple brittle stars!

 

 

 

 

 

What we fishermen refer to as a Bait Ball

 

 

 

 

 

They had a jellyfish exhibit that was just spectacular!

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a few Tube Anemone... This one is for you Eugene!

 

 

 

 

 

Last one is a shot that we can all aspire too... maybe minus the photo-bombing blue tang. This was a tough tank to photograph, as it had Dori and Nemo in the same place. The kids were going nuts for it. I felt like one of them, but for different reasons!

 

 

 

[cnseekatz]

I transferred all of the inhabitants from my old tank to the new one, did a quick 'scape-job, and promptly went out of town for a long weekend. It's pretty nerve wracking to set the tank up and then not see it for 4 days, but when I came back, it was a revelation. The water cleared up completely, and all of my corals are open, happy and all is right with the world.

 

Here are my first shots of the occupied tank. The hardscape still needs a little tweaking, but the setup now is pretty good. It has a very open, airy background structure that starts high on the left and slopes down to about the 3/4 mark on the right, and has a ton of holds, caves and grottoes. The structure in the front is low and flat, slopes slightly right to left, and comes out to about the center of the tank. There is a very nice little valley between the two structures, which will become more pronounced as the corals fill in. There's lots of open space and a ton of nice bright white sand!

 

And... why not? A shot of things to come...

 

[cnseekatz]

I moved a few corals around, and more importantly, I cut up a bunch of zoanthid colonies from my last tank that had strands of bryopsis growing in and amongst them. They're now just a bunch of single and double polyp frags, but they're bryo free!

 

Happy New Year to you all, have a safe and fun holiday!

 

[Rehype]

Awesome pics chris and the tank looks great so far!

[hey]

beautiful tank sir, and I enjoyed the monterey bay aquarium pics... I need to plan more vacations around visiting those.

[cnseekatz]

Awesome pics chris and the tank looks great so far!

Thank you sir. Photographing a wide, shallow tank can be challenging. One of these days I'll get myself a big boy camera and lense....

 

beautiful tank sir, and I enjoyed the monterey bay aquarium pics... I need to plan more vacations around visiting those.

Thanks! I think a lot of the aquariums are hit or miss, but Monterey Bay is always top notch! We were there the day after Christmas, and I think the rest of the state was there too!

[cnseekatz]

Right now, I have a BRS media reactor and a Bubble Magus dosing pump sitting dry in boxes. I bought them because the reactor was cheap, and I got the doser used from a local listing for $100.

 

My issue now is whether or not to install them. The tank is so new, I don't know if either are necessary at this point.

 

1. Carbon/GFO Reactor: My last tank went for a long time with zero mechanical or chemical filtration (besides water changes), and looked great. I'm concerned about overly cleaning my water. Is it possible to just install a reactor and run it as needed, or does it need to run 24/7? Am I over-thinking this? Then the question becomes where do I put it? If I put it in the first chamber (with the skimmer) then the water going into my fuge is probably too clean. If I put in in the third chamber (after the fuge), then does that siphon out all the little pods that should be going into my display?

 

2. Dosing Pump: I don't think I have a need for this yet. I only have one clam, and one little SPS frag, so I probably don't have any need to dose 2-part just yet. Or do I? What else do people dose? Mag?

[Rehype]

Right now, I have a BRS media reactor and a Bubble Magus dosing pump sitting dry in boxes. I bought them because the reactor was cheap, and I got the doser used from a local listing for $100.

 

My issue now is whether or not to install them. The tank is so new, I don't know if either are necessary at this point.

 

1. Carbon/GFO Reactor: My last tank went for a long time with zero mechanical or chemical filtration (besides water changes), and looked great. I'm concerned about overly cleaning my water. Is it possible to just install a reactor and run it as needed, or does it need to run 24/7? Am I over-thinking this? Then the question becomes where do I put it? If I put it in the first chamber (with the skimmer) then the water going into my fuge is probably too clean. If I put in in the third chamber (after the fuge), then does that siphon out all the little pods that should be going into my display?

 

2. Dosing Pump: I don't think I have a need for this yet. I only have one clam, and one little SPS frag, so I probably don't have any need to dose 2-part just yet. Or do I? What else do people dose? Mag?

 

1.You dont need to run a reactor on a tank so young. Id wait a while (few months) test your water and see if its truly necessary.

 

2.I doubt you need to dose anything as your tank is so young. Give it some time and if you see your calcium or alkalinity being rapidly depleted then consider hooking up the dosing pump.