TimDanger's CADlights 39g Pro

[timdanger]

Spoke to Eddie@Cadlights yesterday about several of these issues. I will say, as frustrating as some things have been, Eddie is definitely the best when it comes to customer service. He is always accessible, and he will talk to you about everything that's going on to help make sure you come away satisfied. that really does make all the difference.

 

re: the skimmer pump, eddie confirmed that he has had a few complaints about it, and they have been testing new pumps for about 2 weeks. he said that they are going to figure out which one they're going with and are going to ship a replacement to me on Tuesday. hopefully, that will be problem solved.

 

i don't know if this may be related (it definitely may be), but my GFCI tripped 3 times :eek: between 10pm and 2am again last night after not tripping at all since 2:30am last night. flippin' weird. anyway, i just unplugged my skimmer from the gfci to see if that made a difference. the gfci didn't trip again last night, but we'll see how tonight goes. i may just run it during the day to keep the water clean and turn it off at night until the replacement pump gets here. i might throw some carbon in there too, just to make sure my parameters don't get too out of whack (especially with my new fish, none of which like to eat the food i put in - cyclopeeze, frozen mysis, hikari marine-a...) in the meantime (i haven't been running any chemical filtration yet). maybe time to regenerate that purigen i've got just sitting around.

 

re: rusted hinges, eddie was surprised at that and had not heard any similar complaints, especially not in such a short timeframe (i know of at least one other person who has had a rust issue, though), but he said he would see what he could do (and, worst case scenario, i could go to HD for replacements).

 

he also said that they would begin selling tempered glass tops around November 20 for about $20 for those of us who have jumping fish. he said they don't make any money on them, but they just want to provide them to suit the needs of their customers. good stuff (especially since i am interested in keeping a jawfish and a royal gramma down the road).

 

he also suggested another option for getting rid of drainpipe-caused microbubbles: take an AquaClear sponge, cut to size, and wedge it between the overflow box and the grey elbow joints on the return pipes, below the surface skimmer (teeth). just throwing that out there for those who haven't had success with other methods (i still haven't tried it myself). he said the aquaclear sponges were porous enough to not get too clogged/cause water level variations like filter floss might do.

[rizakaniza]

Sweet! I'm interested in the tempered glass. I heard it can be a pain to keep clean and could limit gas exchange...any thoughts?

[mkregs]

Sweet! I'm interested in the tempered glass. I heard it can be a pain to keep clean and could limit gas exchange...any thoughts?

Funny, when I bought the Pro package, the glass top was advertized to come with it...and I didn't get one. It didn't matter much to me because I wasn't going to use a top anyways as IMO it takes away from the beauty of this tank.

 

About gas exchange...I wouldn't worry too much about that if you plan on using a glass lid. There are so many AIO tanks that have closed hood designs. I have been running my 29 Biocube with a closed hood for over 9 months and haven't had any problems. Besides, the 39 Pro has a sump...and what better place for gas exchange than an area of the system that has the most turbulence.

 

Tim,

I would agree that CADLights has been great when it comes to problems resolution. However, it would seem that a tank system that should compete with the elite systems out there would be one that you can get, plug it in, and enjoy. Also, all the components should be of top quality. I just haven't found that when it comes to this setup. I love the tank and wouldn't trade it for another. But, most of the other components could be of better quality/design when you invest as much as we have in this package.

 

Mark

[rizakaniza]

Tim,

I would agree that CADLights has been great when it comes to problems resolution. However, it would seem that a tank system that should compete with the elite systems out there would be one that you can get, plug it in, and enjoy. Also, all the components should be of top quality. I just haven't found that when it comes to this setup. I love the tank and wouldn't trade it for another. But, most of the other components could be of better quality/design when you invest as much as we have in this package.

 

Mark

To be honest, the only thing that has given me trouble from the start has been the fuge light. I hate the design, I think it's cheap. In fact, today it shorted out and breathed it's last. Apart from that I feel like everything else has performed perfectly.

[timdanger]

Sweet! I'm interested in the tempered glass. I heard it can be a pain to keep clean and could limit gas exchange...any thoughts?

 

i said the same thing to Eddie - he said that, if you do get salt creep on it, you should be able to just clean it with some warm water, or worst case scenario go with some vinegar, and it will come right off.

 

i'm not as concerned about the gas exchange limitation, especially with an uncovered sump, several chambers, the skimmer, etc. -- plus, i don't know if the overflow will end up being covered (i would imagine it won't be, but i have no idea, i guess). that's just my opinion, though.

[timdanger]

To be honest, the only thing that has given me trouble from the start has been the fuge light. I hate the design, I think it's cheap. In fact, today it shorted out and breathed it's last. Apart from that I feel like everything else has performed perfectly.

 

geez, i wonder if the FUGE LIGHT is what is causing my frequent nightly GFCI trips. That would make a lot of sense (since it is the only light that I have on at night, which is pretty much the only time I get the GFCI trips). That will be the next thing I test when looking for a culprit if it turns out not to be my skimmer pump.

[timdanger]

Funny, when I bought the Pro package, the glass top was advertized to come with it...and I didn't get one. It didn't matter much to me because I wasn't going to use a top anyways as IMO it takes away from the beauty of this tank.

 

About gas exchange...I wouldn't worry too much about that if you plan on using a glass lid. There are so many AIO tanks that have closed hood designs. I have been running my 29 Biocube with a closed hood for over 9 months and haven't had any problems. Besides, the 39 Pro has a sump...and what better place for gas exchange than an area of the system that has the most turbulence.

 

Tim,

I would agree that CADLights has been great when it comes to problems resolution. However, it would seem that a tank system that should compete with the elite systems out there would be one that you can get, plug it in, and enjoy. Also, all the components should be of top quality. I just haven't found that when it comes to this setup. I love the tank and wouldn't trade it for another. But, most of the other components could be of better quality/design when you invest as much as we have in this package.

 

Mark

 

Mark, I think we probably purchased at around the same time. i believe mine was advertised to come with the top, too -- when I asked Eddie about it originally, he said they stopped including them because no one used them. I was not as concerned about jumping fish at that time, so I kind of just let it go. I still might not buy one and instead try to come up with some kind of DIY net/mesh solution so that i don't have to buy a chiller down the road.

 

As far as the Cad 39g Pro competing with the elite systems, I've been thinking about this the last few days. I agree that they would need to be doing something different to compete on the "elite level." However, my conclusion is that, at this price point, I don't think that's what Cad is doing. To my knowledge, there's nothing "elite" commercially available at this price point (excluding DIY). Now, when you start adding an extra $600, I bet Cad could put together something that competes admirably with the Elos or a custom-made system, for instance.

 

However, it seems to me that, with the 39g Pro, they're targeting a different market here, and frankly, it's a niche where they have no real competition (at least that I know of). This is more of a "transitional prosumer" tank than an elite/custom setup, where you can make a gradual transition instead of a blind leap from the Biocube world to the DIY world. It seems to me that they're niche is "giving the consumer a complete, all-in-one kind of solution that includes a sump," end of story. Their position is that you don't NEED to upgrade the components, but at the end of the day, if you want to, you can. i think with the 39g Signature, it's less of a unique product -- however, the volume you get plus the halide/t-5/led combo light fixture at that price point is unmatched by anyone else that i know of, too. Now, I don't know how big that niche market is, but that's not at issue here. It has absolutely been instructive, though -- my knowledge/understanding of the entire hobby is not even on the same level as before I got this tank 6 weeks ago (and I'd had my biocube running for over 2.5 years prior to getting this tank).

 

I do agree with you on this (which I believe is the biggest problem Cad has going against it): other than the light fixture, none of the stock components seem to match the target market's expectations/desires. for instance, for an extra $15, I'll bet they could have given us a better return pump, and I bet no one would've complained about paying an extra $15. same goes for the cooling fan in both the light fixture and for the sump fan. I ordered mine without the UV, but why not ditch the UV and include a high-end heater instead? That seems to me to be much more of an essential/basic component for a tank, it would probably lower cad's costs, and it would let people who really want the UV to buy a more "expectation matching" UV (an in-line UV or spiral that increases exposure time, for instance). what about including an ATO system (like I believe they used to!)? Simple things that would've made a big difference for me - and, it makes the cost of ownership a lot higher. Our expectation is for a high-end setup.

 

the one tricky part with "matched" components for this market is with the skimmer. at this time, it's hard for me to complain about the skimmer, because for all i know, my pump has been malfunctioning from day 1, and they have identified this issue and are addressing it. maybe the new pump will make it better. however, other people have complained too, so maybe the skimmer could've been better. this is less of a cheap fix, but for example, i wonder how much it would cost them to have euro-reef be their supplier for a private-label skimmer? would it have added an extra $100 to the price of the setup? At that point, maybe it's better to just let people upgrade the skimmer at their discretion. Just my opinion.

 

EDIT: i made this post 3 days before Cadlights announced that they were going to have Bubble-Magus supply their new high-end skimmers with the new Cad Pro X-1! I am some kind of soothsayer.

[timdanger]

Picture time!

 

acclimation of Chompers the Algae Blenny

 

and, now the photoshoot! he's very photogenic, folks.

 

eat it up.

 

chew it up.

 

vomit it out!

 

or, maybe he was just surprised:

 

cardinal #1 (it's tougher to get pictures of these guys -- they haven't been as sociable as ol' Chompers.

 

current state of my sump (note my use of the shelf!):

[Rehype]

Nice pics Tim.

[timdanger]

Nice pics Tim.

 

thanks

 

 

 

so, i made it through another night with no GFCI trips! still not necessarily conclusive, but it certainly seems like it might have been the skimmer pump the whole time, especially since it had been acting finicky already.

 

now the question becomes, how can i decide for sure whether it's the skimmer pump. my idea is to arrange my electrical setup as follows:

 

1) everything except the skimmer plugged into a portable GFCI outlet, which is plugged into wall outlet #1 (my current setup)

2) skimmer plugged into extension cord, which is plugged into my other portable GFCI outlet, which could be plugged into wall outlet #2.

 

i am hesitant because everyone seems to hate extension cords in salt water applications (though i'm not sure why, exactly). but what else can i do? these cords are not that long. would taping up the connections with electrical tape be useful?

 

this is further complicated by the fact that i'm going away this weekend (leaving early saturday, coming back sunday evening) -- maybe i should just wait to worry about it until I get back. how bad could it be to not have a skimmer running for 4 days (it's been off for over 48 hours now, and if i don't plug it back in, it will continue to be off until sunday when i return). maybe i'll just throw a bag of carbon in there. thoughts?

 

since we're on the subject of stupid things to do with electricity/salt water, i should NOT have set my aquarium up in a place that covers a wall outlet. very poor planning on my part. oh well.

[mkregs]

You don't have nearly enough livestock in your tank where you would need to worry about your skimmer being off for a few days. IMO you don't need a skimmer at all with your current stocking level.

 

If you want a good insurance policy for the future (when you add more livestock), get a better fuge light and add more macro.

 

Oh, BTW....nice pics!

[timdanger]

You don't have nearly enough livestock in your tank where you would need to worry about your skimmer being off for a few days. IMO you don't need a skimmer at all with your current stocking level.

 

If you want a good insurance policy for the future (when you add more livestock), get a better fuge light and add more macro.

 

Oh, BTW....nice pics!

 

thanks!

 

 

 

Posted this on the Cadlight Owners thread, but thought i'd post here too -- apparently a new cadlights pro 39g version is going to be available in November: the "Pro X-1"... Link.

 

Looks like they've upgraded the skimmer (Bubble-Magus Pinwheel) and the return pump (1000gph), at least....

 

very interested to see what they're up to!

 

EDIT: talked to eddie, they are going to offer the upgraded bubble-magus skimmer and 1000gph return pump at wholesale prices to existing pro users. nice. also, said that the new 1000gph return pump is a lot quieter than the current one. i think he said they would be available end-of-november-ish.

[rizakaniza]

When I talked to Eddie today he said he would offer a discount to those who made purchases recently. $100 shipped for the skimmer...apparently he is offering a different PC Strip light and Return pump too...I advised him to consider making the shelf mods that I have on my tank as well...

[becact]

Looks like your tank is doing well so far! The pro is certainly a nice tank, I wonder if I should have taken that route sometimes .

[timdanger]

i'm sad to report that i lost one of my cardinals -- he was stuck up against the overflow surface skimmer this morning.

 

i got back from my out-of-town weekend last night at around 10:00, and everything looked fine. no visual evidence of any issues. i then spot-fed the cardinals some freeze-dried krill (they had seemed maybe a little more interested in the krill than the frozen mysis) and went to bed. next morning, i check on them, and that's when i found him. the other cardinal looked fine, and my lawnmower blenny also looks fine.

 

so, now i'm trying to determine cause of death. there are 3 that come to mind:

 

1) they seem to only lightly pick at everything i've tried feeding them (includes pellets, flakes, frozen mysis, cyclopeez, freeze-dried krill) -- i can never tell how much they actually eat. they definitely don't seem that interested in anything i've tried feeding them. but, i was also not super worried about it, just because i wanted to give them a chance to get used to their new home before panicking. i'm a very, very, very light feeder, anyway (i feed my 110g cichlid tank and my 8g biocube every 3 days or so). but, still, i'd had them for a week, and they still aren't eating.

 

2) this is related to the first one - in addition to not running my skimmer, i'm not running any kind of chemical filtration (carbon, purigen, etc.), which has been fine for me while i didn't have fish that i was feeding (who also weren't eating). however, now that i'm feeding, i wonder if uneaten food may have caused an ammonia spike. my inverts/hitchhiker polyps/etc. haven't reacted negatively, though, so i don't have much evidence to back that up other than conjecture. i haven't had a chance to test parameters yet (i was already late for work), but i'll look into this at lunch.

 

3) the temperature when i got home last night was a little lower than i'd expect for that time of day (it was around 79 - it's usually around 80.5 at that time), but not a huge deal. the temperature when i got up this morning was the coldest i've seen it, at 77.4. it turned cold here over the weekend, and we didn't have our heat on (turned it on this morning). the way i figure it, though, the max temperature fluctuation that could've happened would be from 82.5 (about as high as my tank gets now) to 77 over the course of 12 hours. i just don't believe that's enough to actually kill the fish.

 

out of these 3, i think #1 is most likely: stress of shipping/new environment -> food refusal -> dead fish. the fish hadn't been at my LFS very long, either. maybe only 3 days before taking him home. looking back at this, i probably should've asked them to hold them longer before taking them home. however, i think the bigger take-home lesson here is: i should have made the LFS feed the fish before taking them home with me so that I could verify whether the little guys were eating/what they were eating. i had intended to do this, but i went in already knowing what i was going to buy, and i just ended up forgetting to ask.

 

 

Looks like your tank is doing well so far! The pro is certainly a nice tank, I wonder if I should have taken that route sometimes .

 

thanks for the encouragement!

[rizakaniza]

Dude, that sucks! I'm sorry for your loss.

[Rehype]

Sorry for the loss tim. Unfortunately even though you may take excellent care of your fish sometimes they just die for unknown reasons.

[timdanger]

So, I've been absent for a few days (stupid work getting in the way of my reefing fun) -- but, i've had the chance to do some work in my tank. I've made some improvements, but other problems still persist. Here's a synopsis of my activities. I'll post some pictures this weekend.

 

1. I completed the migration from my 8g biocube. Biocube is now officially unplugged (although I might plug it back in to keep the LR alive to see if the LFS will take it). From the Biocube, I took a scarlet hermit, a 1/4" snail (that apparently appeared out of nowhere - i didn't put him in there), and my first salt water fish that I got back in February 2007, who has survived all of my noob mistakes/malcare: my ocellaris clown, who we affectionately call The Bandit. Everyone is acclimated, added, and enjoying themselves in the bigger space! The Bandit even seems to get along with the remaining cardinal -- maybe we'll start calling the cardinal Smokey?

 

2. I added a rather large mystery hermit crab to my fuge to kind of stir up the sand a little bit and do some maintenance. In retrospect, he is too big to be down there, so I might take him back and trade him in for something smaller (although he'd be great for gathering up uneaten food, I don't know if it would be prudent to add a crab that large with all of the other tiny hermits in my display).

 

3. In an effort to both limit microbubbles from the drain and to quiet the tank down, I took a 70g-size Aquaclear sponge, cut it to fit between my loclines/drain and the overflow box, and stuffed it in there. the waterfall is now silenced. however, i continued to have trouble with the microbubbles (my skimmer isn't running, so it's definitely the drain). this does make it a lot easier to sleep with the tank at night!

 

4. Finally, I got down to business to solve this microbubble issue. Over the course of about 2 hours, I tried several different things, trying to incorporate many of the strategies others have used.

 

First, I moved the drain hose as far to the left as i could. Because this didn't make any immediate difference, I decided that I needed to pack my LR less densely in that chamber to make it easier for bubbles to get to the surface. So, over the course of 3 separate attempts, I gradually removed smaller pieces, thus allowing more space for bubbles to get to the surface before getting sucked through the baffles. Overall, I probably removed half of the LR rubble that was in the chamber. Still, however, I was getting the microbubbles that would pass straight through the first set of baffles.

 

So, I wondered if the problem was that the hose had been cut too short, thus causing the bubbles as the drain splashed against the surface of the drain chamber water. However, I had to keep in mind that the reason the hose was cut in the first place was because the drain was gurgling as it drained into the water, and having it drain above the waterline seemed to help that issue).

 

So, I came up with a plan: I bought a "x" shape 4-way connector PVC piece (I thought about a T shaped one here as well) and stuck the drain hose into that connector. This allows most of the water to drain straight through, but also allowing some water to fall out the second down-facing side of the "x" (thus diffusing the concentration of bubbles and maybe allowing more to escape) and allowing water to splash up into the up-facing side of the "x" instead of creating any back-splashing up into the drain (which would avoid the creation of microbubbles in the drain hose itself).

 

I would say my results have been mixed. I was getting a fair amount of bubbling noise from the up-facing opening, so I stuffed the reaminder of my Aquaclear sponge from my overflow into the top, and that quieted it down tremendously. Overall, it is running much quieter now. However, I'm still getting some bubbles (haven't been able to pinpoint how many).

 

I think my only remaining option is the Filter Sock. So, my plan going forward is this: get a filter sock, have both the skimmer and the drain drain into it. possibly substitute a T or straight-connector piece for the X shaped piece, and then lengthen the hose with flexible tubing so that it is draining underwater, about mid-depth in the chamber and all the way to the left. stack the LR rubble between the drain hose and the baffles and hope for the best (maybe experiment with density some more).

 

Any other thoughts? Suggestions on where to get filter socks?

 

5. I took the leftover LR rubble and scattered it into the return pump chamber. I'm up in the air as to whether this can be a long-term solution. I'm worried that it will be tough to maintain and that it will create even more noise from rattling against the vibrating return pump (I haven't noticed this yet, but the return pump is loud, so it's tough to figure out).

 

6. Also, did my first substantial water change. probably about 7%. it started off VERY poorly, with one end of the hose flying out of the tank and nearly drenching my electrical equipment/outlets. I got off easy, and only ended up having to wipe down the outlets of my GFCI. Otherwise, very, very lucky. Ended up sucking out a lot of green algae from the sand. For some reason, snails/Chompers the Lawnmower Blenny/hermits haven't been touching that algae. getting kind of concerned about that. Might need to add reinforcement snails.

 

Parameters pre-water change were all very good. 0 ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, 460ppm calcium, 1.026 salinity, 0 phosphate. hopefully the algae is a short-term issue. we'll see, though.

[mkregs]

Tim,

Your LFS should have filter socks. I use the ones that have a 4" collar which fit pretty nicely in the CAD sump. That will solve your microbubbles problem. Make sure you buy 2 of them. As they need to be cleaned on a weekly basis, I rotate them. Some people use bleach and water and run them through a washing machine. I rinse them off with hot water, spray them down with white vinegar, then throw them in the washer by themselves on a hot water cycle (make sure you don't use soap).

 

If you can't find them at your LFS, you can order them online. I know marine depot has them.

 

If you have any questions, PM me.

Mark

[timdanger]

Tim,

Your LFS should have filter socks. I use the ones that have a 4" collar which fit pretty nicely in the CAD sump. That will solve your microbubbles problem. Make sure you buy 2 of them. As they need to be cleaned on a weekly basis, I rotate them. Some people use bleach and water and run them through a washing machine. I rinse them off with hot water, spray them down with white vinegar, then throw them in the washer by themselves on a hot water cycle (make sure you don't use soap).

 

If you can't find them at your LFS, you can order them online. I know marine depot has them.

 

If you have any questions, PM me.

Mark

 

thanks Mark!

 

I checked several LFS - haven't found any of them that carry Filter Socks. ): I may just have to order from MD or DFS or something.

[timdanger]

sadly, the other bangaii cardinal didn't make it, either. neither one of the little guys ever really started eating. i thought the one that died today would make it, though - he had at least shown interest in food (as opposed to the other one, which had generally ignored it every time i fed).

[Rehype]

Sorry for your loss tim

[rizakaniza]

Dohhh...that stinks!

[timdanger]

went to my LFS (Atlantis Aquariums in Richmond - great folks over there) to talk to them about my Cardinals. Water is still testing fine, clown/blenny/inverts are all doing fine, so it's tough to figure out what went wrong other than they just weren't eating.

 

while they didn't have any other Cardinals there (well, they DID have some neat orange stripe cardinals..), they did have something else I was interested in. And, they offered me a very generous discount, based on my bad experience with the Cardinals.

 

So, I bought it right then and there. However, I had to leave it at the store -- before I can bring it home, I need a top for my tank! So, tonight/tomorrow, I'm going to have to figure out at least a temporary solution for keeping it covered!

 

I'm pretty excited. Anyone want to venture a guess on my tank's new inhabitant??

[Rehype]

Sounds like you got a jawfish. Congrats tim. Just so you know you Tim if you cover the tank at some point you will need to invest in a chiller.your tanks temp will go up considerably( if your using the cadlight canopy)