MartyD Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Ok ... I hope to document this from start to finish. If anyone has thoughts on the best way to present this, please let me know. I have pics of the tank being unpacked, the rock being cured, other equipment and lots of other stuff, which I will post later. I have had many larger reef tanks (90 and 180 gal.). This is my first attempt at a nano. When I filled up the tank yesterday, it leaked. There was a chip on the edge of the glass (in the fuge) which was most likely caused by the pump, which was just rattling around back there when I unpacked the tank. Fuge Damage I fixed that yesterday and filled the tank with fresh water for testing. I will run it for a couple of day to make sure no new leaks pop up. I also want to dial in the pump, calibrate the heater ... etc. I am also waiting for the stand, which I ordered yesterday from Cadlights. I was going to make my own, but theirs looks very good ... better than what I could build. My initial thoughts? The build quality is very good. The tank does have a "hand made" quality to it, but it is very nice. The glass is nice and thick and there are beveled or polished edges where you want them. I had to clean off some caulk (and fix the leak), but other than that, the tank is very nice. I would do some things different, but Cadlights is also making changes to the tank as they go. This is the most recent design. The overflow has been replaced with a bulkhead style overflow and the pump return line has been relocated to the middle right side of the tank. The pump that comes with the tank (unknown brand) is rated at 1350/l per hour. You can run it wide open without the strainer guard on the bulkhead fitting. If you put the guard on, you do have to throttle the pump back. I am not sure what to do about this. I am thinking about building a small overflow box and attaching it to the back of the tank. The tank and pump are almost silent when running. You can hear a mouse fart ... really, it is that quiet. I did test the lights and have some issues with them, but I will discuss that later on. I am off to the LFS to buy supplies ... more to follow. If you need pics or measurements of anything, just let me know. Tank Set Up for Testing Pump/Fuge Side Bulkhead Tank Side Bulk Head Fuge Side Link to comment
donnoj Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 more pics! I'd like to see a side view and overview of the refugium... Link to comment
JG Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 I have one of the original 25g's whats the benefit of the bulkhead flow as opposed to the regular overflow? I like the clear side that is a great idea and allows to see whats going on in the back. Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Yesterday was equipment testing day. I am still waiting for the stand and I am at a stand still. I put the Tunze nano skimmer in with the live rock that is curing to see what it would do. As reported, without a constant water level, the skimmer is impossible to adjust. I was very please to find out that a simple float switch hooked to a maxijet is all you need to make the skimmer work it's magic. It has been pulling out a nice med color skimmate for the past 24 hours. I was a little worried given some of the write ups, but I think the Tunze was a good choice. Skimmer and Float Switch Skimmer Link to comment
JG Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Where did you put the skimmer? Link to comment
quy_nquyen Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 that's a really nice tank! Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Right now, I am testing the skimmer in my 20L, which is where I am curing my live rock. I have an Octopus skimmer in there that is doing most of the work, so what you see in the Tunze cup is really nothing worth mentioning. I will put the Tunze in the fuge when I get the tank set up on the stand. I am probably going to put it in the center compartment, which is where the rubble rock and algae goes. There is enough room and that is the most stable chamber from a water level standpoint. Rather than putting the fuge light on top, I am going to velcro it to the side. That will keep it out of the way and closer to the algae. Fuge Center Compartment Octopus Skimmer Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 I should have posted these first, but I am not much for doing things in a logical order. The SOB's at DHL would not deliver the box. They promised me is was coming for two days. I finally went to pick it up myself. Everyone had a great time watching me put the box (all 70 pounds worth) in the car by myself. Box Packing ... how it survived is beyond me. That foam is about it. More packing. Two pieces of foam and the lights and ballast stuffed in the bottom of the box. Nothing on the top except packing paper. I should have taken a pic of what was under the tank ... wadded up newspaper. One slightly bruised, but not broken Cadlights 25g! Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Rock curing ... now the boredom starts to set in. Link to comment
VDub90 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Looks good, really enjoy all the pics. I can't wait to get my tank! Link to comment
zombiedust Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Dude....Thanks for posting this...What was the dealio with the lights ? Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 Vdub, when did you order your tank? Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 Sump pics as requested ... Pump Side Link to comment
VDub90 Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Vdub, when did you order your tank? Well it's kind of a long story. I ordered my tank at the begining of Dec. It arrived the second week of December, and was left on my doorstep on it's side. The tank was broken as well as the stand. UPS came and picked up the tnak ans the stand, and Cadlights immediately sent out a new tank (Cadlights has been fantastic through this whole ordeal). Well I was working out of town all of January so I sort of forgot about the tank. Well after talking to UPS it turns out my tank never got off the plane!!! So as of now the tank is currently being traced by UPS, but I'll probably have another sent out. Also at the begining of January UPS called and wanted to return my broken tank, so I give them my address and ask them "what about the stand?" They reply "What stand." I told them that the driver picked up 2 boxes that day, a tank and stand. Well they apparently misplaced my stand, and have since stopped returning my e-mails. Ohh and they keep sending me invoices for the brokerage and duty!! I told them once I get the stuff that I probably still won't pay as it's been 3 months now. Arrrgghh. lol. Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 My tank was shipped via DHL. I feel lucky that it got here mostly in one piece. Part of the problem is how the tanks are packed. They should double box them. I am now waiting for the stand. As per Eddie, it was shipped today. I can't wait to see how it is packed and if it arrives in one piece. Link to comment
VDub90 Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 My tank was shipped via DHL. I feel lucky that it got here mostly in one piece. Part of the problem is how the tanks are packed. They should double box them. I am now waiting for the stand. As per Eddie, it was shipped today. I can't wait to see how it is packed and if it arrives in one piece. I agree the tank and stand could have been packed a little better. But 80% of the fault lies with UPS the boxes were thrashed when I received them. the way the tank and refugium light was broken the tank had to have been dropped hard on it's side, which is how it was left on my doorstep. Every corner of the box was mashed in and with the amount of huge arrows pointing in the up direction they must have monkeys working there. Link to comment
MartyD Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 To DHL's credit, my box was in one piece. Other than a small puncture on one side, there was no damage to the box. You could see that some care was taken in handling it. I hope you have better luck this time. Link to comment
JG Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 just an fyi with this tank; I lost a clown and a clown goby to jumping so I ordered the cover. I did not like the cover on it got all misty and raised the heat somewhat. Plus the tape that was stuck to it was impossible to take off and left some residual marks. So I ordered some netting from a guy on reef central. Well I recieved it a week ago but didn't get a chance to use it. TOday I needed to fish my six line out of the refugium. It was a real pain emptying out the cheato and rubble, then the little bugger went into the overflow and down into the 3rd chamber with the pump. I had to take out the pump, heater, carbon, ato float switch and remove the fan. It was still a pain in the ass to get him out. So if you have fish that might jump, you might want to do something to the top. Link to comment
MartyD Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 A lucky find tonight ... I stopped by my LFS to look around tonight and found these! No one on the internet had them in stock. All I need now is the damn stand! Link to comment
casiano80 Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 So the new tanks come with the bulk head overflow?? What if you want the old overflow?? Also i notice you didnt have the front return??? GL with the setup Link to comment
MartyD Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 Eddie did say that he has a small number of the old style tanks available. This is the new style ... no overflow and the return line and been relocated to the right side of the tank (in the middle). I did not like the overflow being brought out to the right front corner anyway. I understand why it was done, but did not like the way it looked. I ran the tank for a couple of days. The bulkhead seems to work fine. It does decrease flow (overflow) when you use the strainer. I am worried about it getting clogged. I am going to work on some type of mod to improve it. Marty Link to comment
JG Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 What didn't you like about the lights? Link to comment
MartyD Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 I am going to take some pics and do a more detailed review on the light, but let's just say that it is cheaply made. There are some sharp edges and cheap materials. At the moment, one of the actinics is dead. I think it is the socket. On the plus side, you can hang the light over the tank, the halide does fire every time, the ballast is quiet (for now) and the light runs fairly cool (for a halide). I am not wild about having a remote ballast (one more thing to hide), but if it does die, it is easier to fix. I was going to buy an Orbit fixture and sell this one (or use it on a fuge), but I decided to see how long it will last. Marty Link to comment
smithcreek Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 Thanks for the write up. I can't help but think the new overflow and return were changed to cut costs not improve performance. I'll be honest that I've come away from reading your posts much less impressed than I was previously. I'm sure you'll end up with a beautiful tank, and I love the look of the cadlights, but it seems like the wonderful reputation they achieved having only a small number of units on the market could be in jeopardy. Link to comment
MartyD Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 I understand what you are saying, but I am not sure if I agree. There is no doubt that the bulkhead is cheaper and easier to install in the tank, but there may be some other advantages to doing it that way. I need get the tank running with with rock and saltwater before I comment about it. Having ran the tank with freshwater for a couple of days, I do think either overflow design will be fine. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.