spencers Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Hello! I purchased a 12 gallon CADlights tank from fishtanksdirect.com. Definitely recommend them! Stand: I followed the advice from dsn112 and built a stand using a kitchen cabinet. Supplies included an 18x18" tile, a bundle of 3x3 tiles, two 18x18" cut pieces of plywood, and a 12x12x30" cabinet. I finished the stand with some trim around the upper tile/plywood and cut 2.5" holes in the back to allow cords to enter. Tank is broken down.. Tank: - CADlights 12G nano with built in refugium - CADlights 250 gph included pump - Koralia Nano - Vortech MP10 Lighting: - CADlights stock T5 (2) 8W 10,000K and (2) 8W Actinic blues (sitting in a box) - Cree XR-E LEDs (see build list) Live Stuff: - CaribSea AragAlive Oolite sand - Live Rock from SeaLifeInc Clean up Crew - 1 skunk cleaner shrimp - 2 nassarius snails - 1 astrea snail - 2 cerith snails - 1 blue leg hermit - 2 red leg hermits - 1 emerald crab Fish - Purple firefish - False percula - Tailspot Blenny Coral/Misc Inverts - 2 Sexy shrimp - Torch coral - Blue Crocea Clam Miscellaneous: - D-D H2Ocean salt - Water from a Millipore Super-Q Plus - API Saltwater & Reef Master test kits - Koralia 1 - Hydor Flo Refugium - Filter floss and egg crate rack in skimmer chamber - 50W heater in middle chamber - LED refugium lamp in middle chamber - Chaeto in middle chamber - Autotopoff.com dual switch + Aqualifter 01/19/10 RIP! Link to comment
reeftankguy Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Cool... I love to see a CAD12g progress... Your stand should always be equal or exceed the base foot print of your tank... Yours will be top heavy and thus easy to tip over... JMO Link to comment
spencers Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 Cool... I love to see a CAD12g progress... Your stand should always equal or exceed the base foot print of your tank... Yours will be top heavy and thus easy to tip over... JMO Thanks for the info. I think I'll be adding a base similar to the top... 18x18" plywood, topped with some 3" matching tiles. Here it is, empty. Link to comment
PaulE915 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Cool deal, im a noob myself, just started my AquaPod 12 gallon back on the 3rd...I like the rimless look of your tank pretty sweet... anywho goodluck, I had my tank since Oct. 15 before I finally got around to setting it up on the 3rd of november, and its like an addiction now.. LOL... but an enjoyable one! Have fun! Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I'm seeing so many of these CAD 12g's lately that we may soon need our own forum section . Looks like a good start! Link to comment
reeftankguy Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I'm seeing so many of these CAD 12g's lately that we may soon need our own forum section . Looks like a good start! Go ahead and start it up... You were one of the first 12g owners... Truth be known...Yours inspired me to buy mine Thanks for the info. I think I'll be adding a base similar to the top... 18x18" plywood, topped with some 3" matching tiles. That would work great! Link to comment
reeftankguy Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 What part of this fine state are you living in Spencer? I'm in Deep East Texas Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Same here That's great to hear from you guys and I hope your tanks work out to exceed your expectations. Would be cool to see a CAD 12g as a TOTM one of these days. Nice to see that you are keeping the stock lighting. Its not the brightest system at only 32 watts, but heat is minimal and energy costs are low. I'm currently working with some Acropora types, and they seem to be adapting nicely. Are you planning on using a Hydor oscillator? Link to comment
dsn112 Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I'm using the stock lighting for now, but might build an led in the near future. Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I'm using the stock lighting for now, but might build an led in the near future. LED would be the way I would go if I ever change the lighting system. Link to comment
spencers Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Are you planning on using a Hydor oscillator? No, I don't plan on it. I'm sure the Koralia will do fine for adding flow. Speaking of, which should I go with? I ordered both... Nano or 1? Link to comment
spencers Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Update! I'm almost finished with the stand. I added some trim, added a base, and tiled the base. All that is left to do is drill a hole in the back to allow cords to enter. It's VERY sturdy now. *Bonus* I found a fuge light for chaeto. It's a plug-in LED lamp from Home Depot. I used double-sided tape to attach it behind chamber 2. Hopefully it will be powerful enough. Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 No, I don't plan on it. I'm sure the Koralia will do fine for adding flow. Speaking of, which should I go with? I ordered both... Nano or 1? I'd imagine the Nano will be plenty and is quite a bit smaller. There's a thread in here about some easy modifications to the Nano if you eve need more flow. Link to comment
MGDMIRAGE Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Can't wait to see more, it looks great. That fuge light looks bright enough too Link to comment
scubasteve2580 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 time to get water and sand in huh Link to comment
spencers Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 time to get water and sand in huh Yep! A big box from Marine Depot just arrived. Link to comment
scubasteve2580 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Yep! A big box from Marine Depot just arrived. awsome! so youre from texarkana huh? Link to comment
spencers Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 *Update!* My box from Marine Depot arrived containing D-D H2Ocean, a Koralia Nano, API test kits, Chemipure, and CaribSea AragAlive Oolite sand. I went ahead and heated my RO/DI water in a couple of 5 gallon buckets and mixed in the salt with the powerhead. When ready, I then added a couple of inches of water to the tank in order to add the sand. After that, I slowly added the rest of the water. Before After Looks like I need a Mag-float... I built a shelf for the skimmer chamber out of egg crate, placed a bunch of filter floss and an included filter sponge (from Cadlights) on top of the shelf. Took the idea from bps7772000. Illustration Also, according to an Instant Ocean hydrometer, specific gravity is 1.030. A little high, no? *Bonus* I ordered rock from SeaLifeInc. Link to comment
scubasteve2580 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 *Update!* Well, my box from Marine Depot arrived containing D-D H2Ocean, a Koralia Nano, API test kits, Chemipure, and CaribSea AragAlive Oolite sand. I went ahead and heated the water in a couple of 5 gallon buckets and mixed in the salt with the powerhead. When ready, I then added a couple of inches of water to the tank in order to add the sand. After that, I slowly added the rest of the water. However, I still managed to get a lot of particulate floating around (see picture). The pump and powerhead is on and circulating. 30 minutes after this picture was taken, the tank cleared! I built a shelf for the skimmer chamber out of egg crate, placed a bunch of filter floss and an included filter sponge (from Cadlights) on top of the shelf. Illustration below. Also, according to an Instant Ocean hydrometer, specific gravity is 1.030. A little high, no? *Bonus* I ordered rock from SeaLifeInc. But I got an email from Ken and it wont be shipped until Nov. 30(!!!!) So, question: Is it fine to let my tank sit how it is for a week until the rock comes in? my hydrometer reads 1.0225 and actual s.g. is 1.0265. there are correction pages all over the web for these things. following this thread. those are neat tanks. Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 my hydrometer reads 1.0225 and actual s.g. is 1.0265. there are correction pages all over the web for these things. following this thread. those are neat tanks. My SeaTest hydrometer was bought in 1989 and I just had it tested against a calibrated Refractometer. Readings were exactly the same as yours. Amazing that after all these years it has retained its proper 'off-ness' Link to comment
spencers Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 I took some initial tests today, to get used to the API test kit protocol. 81 F 1.028 SG API salt water master test kit 0 NO2 0 NO3 0.2 NH3 8.2 pH API reef master test kit 0 PO4 11.0 KH 480 Ca Link to comment
mbarton2010 Posted November 29, 2009 Share Posted November 29, 2009 I'm from Houston TX. Wbu Link to comment
spencers Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share Posted December 1, 2009 Rock is here, care of SeaLifeInc. It sure looks unhappy right now! Edit: Changed it up a little Link to comment
reeftankguy Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Cool! Nice rock! Sealife is good stuff from what I have read here on N-R Link to comment
spencers Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 Cool! Nice rock! Sealife is good stuff from what I have read here on N-R Smells fresh from the ocean. By the way, I think you'd be interested to know I've placed an order for a few things: - 5.375" x 8" Heatsink (from heatsinkusa.com) - (2) dimmable 1000ma BuckPucks (from ledsupply.com) - (2) MPJA 24v @ 6.5A power supplies (from mpja.com) - (6) Cree XR-E Q5 White (from nanotuners.com) - (6) Cree XR-E Royal Blue (from nanotuners.com) Etc: - Arctic Silver thermal adhesive (newegg.com) - 60W solder gun - 60/40 rosin core 0.04" solder - White, Red, Black, Blue 22 AWG wire (willyselectronics.com) I plan on retrofitting this into the cadlights lamp. Link to comment
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