CADLIGHTS OWNERS CLUB THREAD!

[Rodney013]

I have a question. I am 7 days into my cycle and already have cheato in chamber 3. Should I have waited before I put my cheato in?

 

Also, how much difference is there in everyones water level between the display and chambers? My tank level is holding very nice, but my back chambers are 3 maybe 4 inches lower. This did not happen instantly, but over a period of days.

[Lilrascal]

I have a question. I am 7 days into my cycle and already have cheato in chamber 3. Should I have waited before I put my cheato in?

 

Also, how much difference is there in everyones water level between the display and chambers? My tank level is holding very nice, but my back chambers are 3 maybe 4 inches lower. This did not happen instantly, but over a period of days.

 

You have to top off with plain water not salt water, to keep the levels constant, or else your SG will increase too much. This is due to evaporation. Best option is an auto top off. I am using the Tunze osmolator, and love it.

[supreme_spork]

I have a question. I am 7 days into my cycle and already have cheato in chamber 3. Should I have waited before I put my cheato in?

 

Also, how much difference is there in everyones water level between the display and chambers? My tank level is holding very nice, but my back chambers are 3 maybe 4 inches lower. This did not happen instantly, but over a period of days.

 

because the pump pulls a constant volume of water into the front chamber and there's constant flow into the rear that matches what's coming into the display, you won't see the effects of evaporation in the display area -- only in the rear chambers. your pump is pushing 400gph (depending on what you're using) to the display regardless of the overall system volume, so the evaporation is only visible in the back since the back acts as the resevoir.

 

to get the best impact from the surface skimmer, and assuming you have a mechanical filter pad in the first chamber, you want to have a 1" or so drop between the overflow stream and the water level in the back because you want the water to flow over and through the pad to strain-out the debris.

[Rehype]

I have a question. I am 7 days into my cycle and already have cheato in chamber 3. Should I have waited before I put my cheato in?

 

 

Your cheato will be fine. I kept cheato im my fuge during the cycle with no ill effects. Cheato is pretty much a bulletproof macro

[Gvtv44]

How's that bulletproof stuff growing?

[mokeyz]

Hi All,

 

I have been reading this and other forums for the last 4 months and presently have an 8 gallon Oceanic Bio-Cube with a few mushrooms, ricordia, zoos, sun coral, hermits, emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp, several snails one damsel and various hitchhikers. I just ordered a CADlights 34g Signature series but I am having them modify it to remove the fuge from the tank, drill the tank and put in a center overflow, and a custom 20 gallon long refugium to go underneath the tank. I am getting everything the 34g comes with except the UV filter and I am using a larger cabinet 49.37" D x 19.37" D x 28.25" H. All the plumbing on both the tank and the fuge are included. Eddie is wonderful to deal with.

 

I am doing the above as I love the CADlights tanks, want more room in the tank (not taken up by the fuge and a much larger fuge than the in-tank one would provide.

 

I should be receiving the tank in about a week and a half. What do you all think, am I nuts. Oh, the price from CADlights including shipping on the above is $1040.

 

When I get it I will start posting pictures. I'll also put up pictures of my bio-cube next week (I'm moving to a house from an apartment in a few days or I would post them sooner.)

 

Regards,

Marlene

[Gvtv44]

Sounds Awesome! Lets see those pics

[mokeyz]

Sounds Awesome! Lets see those pics

 

Thank you Gvtv44 - I am very excited about this tank. I was out of the hobby for 10 years and am amazed at how things have changed. In the early 90's I had my own SW tank setup and maintenance business where I introduced my customers to reef tanks - high tech then was trickle filters, and metal halide lighting was way too expensive.

 

I'm also amazed at the variety of coral that is available now - that was not the case back then either. Plus, becuase of most people using excellent lighting, live rock and live sand for filtration the success rate even for beginners is terrific.

 

Anyway, plenty of pictures to come...

 

Marlene

[Rehype]

to the club Marlene!Cant wait to see pics.

[DropDesigns]

So here are some pics of my set up so far.

FTS W/ HQI:

FTS W/ Actinics:

Stand & Tank:

Inside of tank cabinet, please excuse the wire mess, not quite finished yet:

 

I replaced the skimmer with a Tunze 9002, added a JBJ ATO, 2X Koralia 1's.

[supreme_spork]

So here are some pics of my set up so far.

FTS W/ HQI:

[snip]

FTS W/ Actinics:

[snip]

Stand & Tank:

[snip]

Inside of tank cabinet, please excuse the wire mess, not quite finished yet:

[snip]

 

I replaced the skimmer with a Tunze 9002, added a JBJ ATO, 2X Koralia 1's.

 

looking good, excellent stand!

 

how do you like the tunze? the i'm still on the fence with the included catalina skimmer, but it's loud and seems to be touchy.

[DropDesigns]

looking good, excellent stand!

 

how do you like the tunze? the i'm still on the fence with the included catalina skimmer, but it's loud and seems to be touchy.

 

The Tunez 9002 fits way better, as far as function goes I'm not shure as I have not plugged it in yet , the cord was too short. I will take care of that tonight and update on the function of the skimmer.

[donreefer]

Nice job Drop designs, is that coral on the rocks or is it algae?

[Rehype]

Very nice drop. Love the stand

[DropDesigns]

Nice job Drop designs, is that coral on the rocks or is it algae?

Just some coraline algae, I bought most of my rock out of the display tanks at my LFS, and a few pieces that had been in a curring tank for a few weeks. I also was able to get them to give me about 10 gallons of established water from their 200 gal display tank. So I am thinking that this tank will probably never even go through a cycle. If my numbers are still at zero by this weekend I might add a cuc?

[My-eel-bit-me]

How many different plants can I put in my 34g's refugium? I am plaining using LR and a filter pad in chamber 1, skimmer in chamer 2, live sand, turtle grass, halimeda, ect in chamber 3, and chaeto and the return pump in chamber 4. Any thoughts or suggestions? All feedback is most appreciated. Thanks.

 

I also have a bunch of little debris in the tank atm. Some of the fibers from shipping, couple hairs ect. I have my skimmer on my curing tub atm, will the skimmer remove all of that when I hook it up to the tank? Otherwise what do I use to get it out?

[DropDesigns]

How many different plants can I put in my 34g's refugium? I am plaining using LR and a filter pad in chamber 1, skimmer in chamer 2, live sand, turtle grass, halimeda, ect in chamber 3, and chaeto and the return pump in chamber 4. Any thoughts or suggestions? All feedback is most appreciated. Thanks.

 

I also have a bunch of little debris in the tank atm. Some of the fibers from shipping, couple hairs ect. I have my skimmer on my curing tub atm, will the skimmer remove all of that when I hook it up to the tank? Otherwise what do I use to get it out?

 

I used a vaccum cleaner, and a damp cloth. Some of that canned air or a air compressor with a blow off attachment would probably work as well. Then let the filtration take care of what you dont see or can't get.

[supreme_spork]

I used a vaccum cleaner, and a damp cloth. Some of that canned air or a air compressor with a blow off attachment would probably work as well. Then let the filtration take care of what you dont see or can't get.

 

i did the vaccuum/cloth thing too, and then when i filled the tank with tap water to leak test it i was able to suck up the remaining stuff that floated to the top with a turkey baster... then drained the tank, wiped it out with paper towels and filled it up for real.

 

anything left after that is just noise.

[Kellie in CA]

Question: Did your CAD's come with the advertised 450 gph pump? I just did the conversion on mine and the 1350 litres per hour is actually only about 350 gph. What the heck?

[supreme_spork]

Question: Did your CAD's come with the advertised 450 gph pump? I just did the conversion on mine and the 1350 litres per hour is actually only about 350 gph. What the heck?

 

mine is a hopar h-315 1600 litre/hour pump. what do you have?

 

i've been talking to eddie at CAD about my lighting troubles -- broken actinic on delivery and bad actinic fixture. he asked me to take the hood apart and troubleshoot loose wires, which i suppose is fair. as i dove in, however, it was pretty obvious that the lighting assembly wasn't precision machined... lots of ad hoc electrical tape, ragged punches in the metal for wires to pass through and things that don't fit together especially well.

 

coupled with some other issues -- i had the same problem with the back wall being about 1/3" of an inch out of plumb that dropdesigns had on his -- i'd have a difficult time recommending this tank to anyone other than someone who was pretty comfortable modding and troublshooting issues. this is definitely a tank built by a hobbiest that hasn't had the benefit of rigorous production QC and precision components. this isn't the tank that someone thinking about a fancy AIO with neat seams and precise fittings should purchase.

 

that said, eddie has been really responsive to my email and i'm hoping to get the lighting issue fixed quickly (it's likely a bad ballast). and because i don't mind rewiring in a new actinic ballast, hopefully there will be a happy ending. so far i can still recommend CAD to tinkerers.

[Rehype]

mine is a hopar h-315 1600 litre/hour pump. what do you have?

 

i've been talking to eddie at CAD about my lighting troubles -- broken actinic on delivery and bad actinic fixture. he asked me to take the hood apart and troubleshoot loose wires, which i suppose is fair. as i dove in, however, it was pretty obvious that the lighting assembly wasn't precision machined... lots of ad hoc electrical tape, ragged punches in the metal for wires to pass through and things that don't fit together especially well.

 

coupled with some other issues -- i had the same problem with the back wall being about 1/3" of an inch out of plumb that dropdesigns had on his -- i'd have a difficult time recommending this tank to anyone other than someone who was pretty comfortable modding and troublshooting issues. this is definitely a tank built by a hobbiest that hasn't had the benefit of rigorous production QC and precision components. this isn't the tank that someone thinking about a fancy AIO with neat seams and precise fittings should purchase.

 

that said, eddie has been really responsive to my email and i'm hoping to get the lighting issue fixed quickly (it's likely a bad ballast). and because i don't mind rewiring in a new actinic ballast, hopefully there will be a happy ending. so far i can still recommend CAD to tinkerers.

 

I totally agree with you. I think the excellent customer service is what keeps me from complaining.

[Kellie in CA]

I totally agree with you. I think the excellent customer service is what keeps me from complaining.

 

 

+1 I have been hesitant from saying anything because everyone has been so nice.

[supreme_spork]

+1 I have been hesitant from saying anything because everyone has been so nice.

 

yah, i wouldn't want to drive business away from CAD... but then again, it's important to know what you're getting when you spend 700.00 on a system.

 

i think eddie's a good guy who wants to do the right thing, so i think letting him know where CAD can improve will definitely help him out in the long run. my advice for CAD would be to slow down a bit, invest some time in production improvements to make stuff a bit more robust and polished and quicker to assemble, and then jump back in swingin' and start to seriously compete with the bigger brands.

 

but i'm a project manager and i do exactly this kind of critique on production cycles all day, every day, so i can't help myself.

[DropDesigns]

wow its like dejavu or something, your issues with the system are hauntingly familiar. If it were not for the great service, I would have been be pretty pi$$ed off. It kind of sucks because once you get past all the little bugs and get it set up, the tank looks and functions great. I think that it took me about a month of time sending parts back and waiting on new ones to arrive before I actually got to get the tank up and cycling. I think it is C.A.D lights secret way to teaching reef keepers the patience that they will need in the future.(lol) I must say that the 2ND tank that I received is fawking perfect, everything straight, clean silicone. ect. But I think that your right, I think that the CAD brand is in its infancy as of right now, and to make it, they will need to smooth out the wrinkles.

 

mine is a hopar h-315 1600 litre/hour pump. what do you have?

 

i've been talking to eddie at CAD about my lighting troubles -- broken actinic on delivery and bad actinic fixture. he asked me to take the hood apart and troubleshoot loose wires, which i suppose is fair. as i dove in, however, it was pretty obvious that the lighting assembly wasn't precision machined... lots of ad hoc electrical tape, ragged punches in the metal for wires to pass through and things that don't fit together especially well.

 

coupled with some other issues -- i had the same problem with the back wall being about 1/3" of an inch out of plumb that dropdesigns had on his -- i'd have a difficult time recommending this tank to anyone other than someone who was pretty comfortable modding and troublshooting issues. this is definitely a tank built by a hobbiest that hasn't had the benefit of rigorous production QC and precision components. this isn't the tank that someone thinking about a fancy AIO with neat seams and precise fittings should purchase.

 

that said, eddie has been really responsive to my email and i'm hoping to get the lighting issue fixed quickly (it's likely a bad ballast). and because i don't mind rewiring in a new actinic ballast, hopefully there will be a happy ending. so far i can still recommend CAD to tinkerers.

[Kellie in CA]

Yeah, I am one of those picky people that wants everything to look perfect (especially when new). These tanks are hand-made and it is obvious when you take a close look. But, I just have to keep reminding myself that the overall picture is pretty darn awesome looking.

 

 

DropDesigns- Our tanks were started up a day apart. It will be interesting to compare our progress. I will post some pics as soon as I get my camera back.