[Cadlights 34G] No turning back now!

[Rodney013]

Felt like I drove off the lot in a new BMW 7 Series today, then stopped off at the Five & Dime store to get a set of hub caps for my new ride. Tanks is GREAT, the stand is just awful.

 

Going to go look for a better stand before I start to set the tank up. Very busy at work so my pics, progress and posting will be slow.

 

The tank was packaged very well, no damage at all. but I was very disappointed in the quality of the stand.

 

Oh well, maybe my first mistake in this hobby, but sure won't be my last.

[Belatube]

guess what!!! hydor wrote me today saying they shipped the nano koralia 1 month ago in the states so we should be getting them SOON!

[Rodney013]

Here is a pic of how tank was packaged. More pics to follow as soon as I figure out how to post them here.

 

[seiswirth]

Congrats on your new arrivial. There so cute when they are that young!

[Rodney013]

Going slow but it is getting there. I welcome any and all comments.

[Rehype]

Awesome!!!Reminds me of my setup except i have an Ac jr. Hurry up and get some sand and rock in there!!!! j/k Your refugium chamber is different than mine. The baffle is different

[Phixion]

Looks great so far Rodney! I really need to get a nice digital Finnex heater to compliment my tank with. Love the stand you have with it too!

[donreefer]

Nice display, how much? J/K get ready for co-workers not wanting to leave the office. you gotta start charging comission.

[Rodney013]

Thanks for the comments, I feel like a little kid at Christmas time. I was hoping to get LS and LR this weekend but looks like I am going to be too busy.

 

The stand looks good but I am really disappointed in the quality. Still going to keep searching for something better to put it on.

 

Everyone that comes in my office says how nice the cadlights look. Can't wait to get it loaded up.

[Rodney013]

I am new to SW and never used a protein skimmer and the one that came with the tank has very few instructions. Does any know a good website I can go to, so that I can educate myself?

[mokeyz]

Hi All,

I'm ordering the signature series in a few weeks - what exactly is wrong with the stand?

 

marlene

[Rodney013]

Hi All,

I'm ordering the signature series in a few weeks - what exactly is wrong with the stand?

 

marlene

Hi Marlene,

 

Once it is together I guess it is okay, but it is just very cheaply made. I feel like the stand should be as nice as the tank and IMO it is not even close.

 

To be fair, for $150.00 bucks I did not expect much more than what I got.

 

As for the tank......it is wonderful.

[minorSea]

Glad to hear you are pleased with your Cadlights. I did not purchase the Signature model, but purchased everything but the UV sterilizer. When Eddie called me with my tracking number he said he tossed in the UV at no charge, so with everything I purchased I think I did end up getting the Signature model. I was afraid of the stand and you have confirmed my fears. My tank is going to be in my office at work so I don't have to worry about kids or other pets. I hope it will work out even though I am not crazy about the color.

 

I would love to see some pictures if you can take some?

 

 

 

Congrats on the tank. Glad it arrived safely. I left the dig camera at the summer camp. So until I go back or can get a local to drop by and send it. No pics. Well decent ones that is. Did try with the old cam but the glare makes it pretty much pointless. I felt the same way about the stand. Looked ok but was not furniture I wanted in my house quality or style wise. Besides the fact I decided a while back the next tank I set up would have space to set stuff beside it.

I can't say enough good about the tank over all though. I am in the middle of the cycle but my live rock came with a fair number of critters and such. So even this early on it is soothing and interesting to watch and plan. You mentioned the skimmer. Yes the directions or lack there of left much to be desired. They are really pretty simple though. The diagram on the side of the box is the easiest way to get the gist of it. I would caution to look closely at the attachments, ect. I spent a very frustrated couple of days trying to get mine to work and several back and fourth emails. Turns out I had basically all the parts,, just not the right ones. Best of luck and enjoy! I will post pics as soon as I can. Though family and friends like it and such. They don't quite get all the reef type stuff I get excited about. Or they might and just don't appreciate it the way I think they should.

[Rodney013]

Someone please talk me of the ledge.

 

I am thinking about not leak testing with freshwater first?

[Chipsreef]

Leak test it dude. And a skimmer is really just plug and play other than a few adjustments to the cup height for desired skimmate consistency. Oh and letting it break in for about 24-48hrs.

[Rodney013]

Leak test it dude. And a skimmer is really just plug and play other than a few adjustments to the cup height for desired skimmate consistency. Oh and letting it break in for about 24-48hrs.

Takes a big step closer to the window.

[supreme_spork]

Howdy all,

 

I've been lurking around for a few weeks trying to decide between the nanotuners' JBJ 28 and the Cadlights, and pulled the trigger on the Cadlights 34g signature series yesterday... should be here in a week or so. I thought I'd pile-on to this thread since there are a lot of Cad noobs on here like me.

 

I didn't get the stand, since the overwhelming consensus seems to be that it sucks. I'm probably going to get a long sideboard thing at IKEA or somewhere cheap so I can have a bunch of room for other stuff.

 

I've done reefs before -- my last tank was a 90g acrylic (never again) that I ran for a few years until I bought my latest house in 2005, which had crappy 1928 wiring. It now has 2007 wiring and I can (in theory) hook stuff up without burning the house down.

 

I did get some additional stuff off the bat:

 

*JBJ mini-arctica chiller (one notch bigger than the nano arctica)

* A Phosphate reactor and Rowaphos

* Purigen

 

I'll grab some chaeto for the back as well when the time is right.

 

I also have a 3g JBJ pico that I'm going to set-up as a little pod breeder/tank feeder that i might close-loop connect to the main tank, but I'll figure that out a bit down the road. Everything but the chiller will likely be out in the open on the sideboard since I'm going for the "visually pleasing science experiment" look, so I gotta figure out how to show-off the equipment while hiding the wires.

 

In any case, I love seeing the pics of the Cad tanks as people get 'em. Keep them coming!

[Chipsreef]

Takes a big step closer to the window.

 

 

You have to clean the tank out anyway...

[Rodney013]

Howdy all,

 

I've been lurking around for a few weeks trying to decide between the nanotuners' JBJ 28 and the Cadlights, and pulled the trigger on the Cadlights 34g signature series yesterday... should be here in a week or so. I thought I'd pile-on to this thread since there are a lot of Cad noobs on here like me.

 

I didn't get the stand, since the overwhelming consensus seems to be that it sucks. I'm probably going to get a long sideboard thing at IKEA or somewhere cheap so I can have a bunch of room for other stuff.

 

I've done reefs before -- my last tank was a 90g acrylic (never again) that I ran for a few years until I bought my latest house in 2005, which had crappy 1928 wiring. It now has 2007 wiring and I can (in theory) hook stuff up without burning the house down.

 

I did get some additional stuff off the bat:

 

*JBJ mini-arctica chiller (one notch bigger than the nano arctica)

* A Phosphate reactor and Rowaphos

* Purigen

 

I'll grab some chaeto for the back as well when the time is right.

 

I also have a 3g JBJ pico that I'm going to set-up as a little pod breeder/tank feeder that i might close-loop connect to the main tank, but I'll figure that out a bit down the road. Everything but the chiller will likely be out in the open on the sideboard since I'm going for the "visually pleasing science experiment" look, so I gotta figure out how to show-off the equipment while hiding the wires.

 

In any case, I love seeing the pics of the Cad tanks as people get 'em. Keep them coming!

Sounds like you have much more experience at this than me. I am sure I will have lots of questions along the way and will post them here along with pics as the days and months pass.

 

I think you will REALLY like the Cadlights. I have mine in my office and even without it being setup everyone says it is the best looking fish tank they have ever seen. I don't even try and correct them that it is a nano reef tank. Also, I think you are making the right choice about the stand, I am still searching for something better before I add SW, LS and LR.

[supreme_spork]

Sounds like you have much more experience at this than me. I am sure I will have lots of questions along the way and will post them here along with pics as the days and months pass.

 

I have a fair amount of experience with easy to midrange stuff -- I've never gone nuts with SPS or really difficult to keep critters, and I'm looking forward to pushing ahead a bit here with the new system.

 

Out of the gate, I think the best advice you'll hear is to go really, *really* slowly after you've cycled. Most people do OK up front when they're waiting out the cycle, but as soon as they start adding their first coral there seems to be a tendency to hit the LFS or online store every few days for new eye candy -- or to throw-in a half dozen things at once -- until their tanks are filled with cyano or hair algae. The longer you can wait before adding stuff after you've cycled the better, and the slower you go when you do start adding stuff the better. since it's a living, chaotic closed system, every thing you do to it has the potential for major consequences, so you want to make sure that when you change anything (like adding a fish or a coral) you then sit back and take some time to see how it effects your ecosystem. If you're in things for the long-haul, then waiting a few weeks after you introduce each new inhabitant before throwing other stuff in there isn't really that crazy. Don't aim to have your tank fully stocked at 6 months!

 

I'm totally nuts about controlling the nutrients in my tank and giving things time to mature and troubleshooting to completion each problem as it arises before making any additional changes to the bioload, and letting the tank go through any crap it needs to go through on the way before I start throwing a bunch of stuff in there. I've been pretty lucky with managing algae blooms and "ugly tank syndrome", so this approach at least works for me.

 

I spend a lot of time reading threads from people who have beautiful tanks and trying to understand what they do to get 'em and keep 'em, and a lot of time reading threads from people who have less than beautiful tanks and trying to understand what *they* do (or don't do).

 

In any case, I still have a lot to learn and I'm looking forward to starting my own build thread!

 

I think you will REALLY like the Cadlights. I have mine in my office and even without it being setup everyone says it is the best looking fish tank they have ever seen. I don't even try and correct them that it is a nano reef tank. Also, I think you are making the right choice about the stand, I am still searching for something better before I add SW, LS and LR.

 

Your tank pics actually helped me make my decision -- you posted a great shot of the back of your tank, and that's what I hadn't really seen... it's exactly the look I'm going for, and I like the tank dimensions way more than the NC 28... I've seen a bunch of sideboard type things that I think will work great, I'll post some pics when I get things up and running.

 

Good stuff!

[Rodney013]

I have a fair amount of experience with easy to midrange stuff -- I've never gone nuts with SPS or really difficult to keep critters, and I'm looking forward to pushing ahead a bit here with the new system.

 

Out of the gate, I think the best advice you'll hear is to go really, *really* slowly after you've cycled. Most people do OK up front when they're waiting out the cycle, but as soon as they start adding their first coral there seems to be a tendency to hit the LFS or online store every few days for new eye candy -- or to throw-in a half dozen things at once -- until their tanks are filled with cyano or hair algae. The longer you can wait before adding stuff after you've cycled the better, and the slower you go when you do start adding stuff the better. since it's a living, chaotic closed system, every thing you do to it has the potential for major consequences, so you want to make sure that when you change anything (like adding a fish or a coral) you then sit back and take some time to see how it effects your ecosystem. If you're in things for the long-haul, then waiting a few weeks after you introduce each new inhabitant before throwing other stuff in there isn't really that crazy. Don't aim to have your tank fully stocked at 6 months!

 

I'm totally nuts about controlling the nutrients in my tank and giving things time to mature and troubleshooting to completion each problem as it arises before making any additional changes to the bioload, and letting the tank go through any crap it needs to go through on the way before I start throwing a bunch of stuff in there. I've been pretty lucky with managing algae blooms and "ugly tank syndrome", so this approach at least works for me.

 

I spend a lot of time reading threads from people who have beautiful tanks and trying to understand what they do to get 'em and keep 'em, and a lot of time reading threads from people who have less than beautiful tanks and trying to understand what *they* do (or don't do).

 

In any case, I still have a lot to learn and I'm looking forward to starting my own build thread!

Your tank pics actually helped me make my decision -- you posted a great shot of the back of your tank, and that's what I hadn't really seen... it's exactly the look I'm going for, and I like the tank dimensions way more than the NC 28... I've seen a bunch of sideboard type things that I think will work great, I'll post some pics when I get things up and running.

 

Good stuff!

 

Glad I could help.

 

Taking it slow seems to be the one overwhelming bit of advice most everyone agrees on. I am starting to set everything up and should get my new stand tomorrow. I am currently reading directions and trying to figure out the best and most astatically pleasing way to route all the wires. I hope to have some new pics posted very soon.

 

I took one last spin by my LFS and made my decision on where to buy my LR and LS. At first I thought the cost of LR($5.99 /LB) was high, but seems to be the going rate in the Dallas area.

 

Thanks for all the feed back from everyone and hope to have more on my progress soon.

[Rodney013]

Got my new stand today, mounted my surge protector, my JBJ ATO and my Reefkeeper 2 outlets inside. Still trying to decide where and how to mount my Reefkeeper 2 display. I am thinking about cutting out an area in one of my stand doors and flush mounting it so I can see it on display. Purchased some flexible split plastic conduit to run all my wires together, I really do not want to see a bundle of wires behind my tank.

 

I feel like I am really moving V E R Y slow, but don't want to have many regrets over my choices.

 

I REALLY want to get some SW, LR and LS in this thing soon. Maybe this weekend if all goes well

[Rodney013]

I am leak testing my tank and have only 5 gallons of water in the main take so far. There is a small amount of leakage under the false wall into the back chambers. Is this a problem?

[donreefer]

you sure? i had that with my 175G tank with the overflow box when i first got it. my maintenance guy just took some aquarium silicone and dabbed it on the spot where it is and we filled it the night after and the drip went away.

[Rodney013]

you sure? i had that with my 175G tank with the overflow box when i first got it. my maintenance guy just took some aquarium silicone and dabbed it on the spot where it is and we filled it the night after and the drip went away.

False alarm......seems I splashed some water back there when filling my tank.