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Cadlights 50g. Artisan Cube

CHEMCHEF

CHEMCHEF

PERMANOOB
Location
westbury ny
Rating - 100%
79   0   0
So I figured I would start this thread a little bit differently than most, by taking MR through the entire ordering and set up process.
Along with the breakdown of my 34 solana to holding tank.
Holding tank will be a bare bottom, ten gallon rimless with an aqua clear filter, mp10, heater, and light TBD.
The reason I am transfering livestock to a holding tank is because I plan on starting this tank with Macro Rock and letting it cycle. I'm tired of pests and aiptasia. I also would like to use really nice rock and be able to take my time setting it up nicely by drilling and using acrylic rods. ( any link for acrylic rods would be appreciated.)
I have just finished placing my order with Cadlights.
The current offer is $999.00 for the entire system, or so I thought.
It turns out that the stand is not include in the offer price. The stand is an extra $200.00 bucks.
I figured that I didn't need the Led. light offered with the system, seeing that it will be an SPS dominated tank and I don't think it will have enough par to support it.
I have seen these lights at my LFS and although they have cool features like a remote control and dimming capability. They do not have seperate power cords for white and blue, and do not seem terribly bright.. Plus I have my heart set on an Acan Lighting fixture.
Long story long: I wound up getting the following components'
-24x24x20 3 sided starfire cube tahk w/ overflow and all plumbing.
-walnut finish stand
-18 gallon, 3 chamber refugium sump
-Cadlights TIA 1150 protien skimmer. Looks like a Skimz. and has gotten good reviews
-500 GPH return pump
-PC refugium light
$900.00 before shipping of $180.00
So my current light will suffice for now.
Current lighting that I will be running is this.
24" Current USA OuterOrbit 1x150W 10,000KHQI-MH w/ 4x24W T5 HO
& 12 Lunar Lights*
http://www.aquacave.com/24-current-...mh-w-4x24w-t5-hobr--12-lunar-lights-1278.html
I don't know when I wil begin the breakdown of my solana. I dont really want it sitting around dry for too long, as it has nice coaline algae built up on the back wall, and it's sold to a friend of mine, for the office of his auto shop. I would like it to look as nice as possible.

I would like to add that dealing with cadlights so far has been a pleasure.
I spoke with a man named Andrew who was very patient and answered all of my questions thus far.
My unit shold be shipping within 2 days and then the old 3-5 business days for delivery via Fed Ex.
So now I wait by the phone for fed ex to call.
Here is a link to the system.
Thanks for looking.

http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=47&products_id=158
 
CHEMCHEF

CHEMCHEF

PERMANOOB
Location
westbury ny
Rating - 100%
79   0   0
Yea. I had another setup cycling but I scrapped it. I decided to set it up excatly like I want to. Insead of regreting things down the road... Again LOL
 
CHEMCHEF

CHEMCHEF

PERMANOOB
Location
westbury ny
Rating - 100%
79   0   0
OK. Update
Got my temporary holding tank setup. It is a nine gallon rimless I had planned a planted tank build for but never got around to. I have an aqua clear 30 with sponge and carbon, a heater, and a power head. I plan on changing 5 gallond a week, as there will be no skimmer. Light TBD.
Here it is.

 
CHEMCHEF

CHEMCHEF

PERMANOOB
Location
westbury ny
Rating - 100%
79   0   0
OK So Here We Go.
I got a call from FedEx freight on Monday 11/21 to make an appt. with me for delivery. Unfrotunatly the delivery appt. was an all day window. Not a specific time, and with it being Thanksgiving week. I opted to pick it up from the warehouse.
Fortunatly the trucking company FedEx farms it out to was pretty local to me, and open until 9pm.
I would like to add that the trucking company ,,(On Time Trucking--Farmingdale NY.) were very helpful and friendly.
It all came wrapped in heavy black shrinkwrap on a palett. Under the shrinkwrap were multiple layers of masonite around the tank carton. Inside the tank carton there was multiple layers of masonite board and styrofoam sheets around the tank. The sump came in this box, inside the tank wrapped the same way as the tank.
Needless to say. It seems Cadlights has learned alot about shipping glass.
The trucking Co. guy helped me load it into my car and off I went.
I got home and instantly did this.

Here is the sump.



Here is the Pumbing :)

Here is the skimmer.
cadlightsnewtank013.jpg


The cabinet came wrapped well, unassembled in a big square box.. No need for a picture of that.
I started the following evening to put the stand together with my manificently handy son of 13yo at my side.
Well thank goodness my son is handy. Because I cook, yousee,, and am pretty good at it. But I am not gifted at ALL when it come to matters of,,,,I think they call it,, Building things.
Especially when said building project come with NO instuctions.
I called and Andrew at Cdlts. he emailed me instructions right away. The instructions were useless to me without pictures. I am not really complaining about the instructions because i'm sure it was half me.
After about an hour we had it together. It was much more stable than I thought it would be while assembling it.
So after that long hour I called it a night.
TBC Shortly.
 
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CHEMCHEF

CHEMCHEF

PERMANOOB
Location
westbury ny
Rating - 100%
79   0   0
On Friday I deacide to put it all together, since I was only working a half day.
The first thing I needed to do was "Build HAHA" a Light tree.
I bought 3/4" EMT condiut, some threaded eye hooks, 3/4" conduit straps, a pipe bender, and flat black spray paint.
It all cost about 65 bucks, minus the 46 dollar pipe bender that went back to the store as soon as I was done....SHHH. Hey if they would have rented one I would have opted for that.
I dont have any pictures of this process but I Measured 18" from the end of the pipe and started a 90 degree bend there. I wanted about 13-14" to hang over the tank. I used a level to get it "true"??
The bending was pretty easy. after a little wiggling the 2 pipes matched.
I hack sawed off the the straight end of the pipe to get the lenth I wanted behind the tank to fasten it and make some adjustments
Keep in mind that the 2 previous days I watched youtube videos on how to bend conduit and thought. This will never come out right. But it did.
Then I drilled holes appropriate to the size of the threaded eye hook and bolted them on the conduit, spray painted it flat black and that was pretty much it.
After that my son got home from his friends house so I was grateful to see him.
We screwed the condiut to the back of tha stand using the 2 hole straps. Piece of cake. Installed.
We then got to leveling the stand.
While at Home depot I picked up some screw in feet for the stand. The stand did not come with any type of feet wich was suprising to me because otherwise it is just a big square 24x24" flat surface.
I drilled the bottom for the feet in the supportive side panels.
It was pretty unlevel in the spot WE,,,, (My Wife and I) chose. We leveled it under the feet with fender washer then unscewed the feet and put the fender washers between the feet and the stand. Viola!! Leveled!
We then istalled the plumbing which was pretty straight forward. Screwed it in till it was had tight and snuuged it a tiny pit with channel locks.
The plumbing seems to be of excellent quality. I dont know anything about plumbing but this is not the whit pvc I see at HD. A friend said its Schedule80 which he said is better quality..??
Here is the tank on the stand.

I forgot to mention that my Eco Rock from BRS arrived on thursday. I ordered 50 lbs. and I'm sure I got more than that. The rock is as beautiful as rock can be. It is a little haeavy for the size and look of it. I am very happy with it. There does not seem to be any need for rods ar epoxy unless you are doing something radical. It locks together very easily. here is the preliminary scape.

TBC later
 
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CHEMCHEF

CHEMCHEF

PERMANOOB
Location
westbury ny
Rating - 100%
79   0   0
After tank was leveled and up. I ventured out for distilled water and sand.
I bought 20 lbs of sand and 60 gallons of water on Black Friday, so Walmart was a lovely place to be. LOL
There was no water on the shelf but I asked the manager and he got me 18 cases from the warehouse. excactly what ,, I'm sure,, he wanted to do at 9pm on black friday.


I used egg crate to protect the bottom of the tank and keep the rock from sliding on the glass. then layed in the sand around the rock.
I feel like I finally did this right for once. It all feels very stable. I generally put the rock in after the sand. This seems much better and less likely to rockslide into the glass.
I used Carib sea pink fiji sand.
I filed up the tank with water using the old "bowl trick"
If I could hit the rewind button. I would have washed the rock first. It was very dusty. However with the rock from BRS came my new TDS meter.
My tap water is 71ppm so I didnt want to rinse the rock with it or waste a bunch of distilled water to do it.
It turns out I could have wasted some distilled because the tank including the sump only took 44 galons so I had 14 to spare.
The return pump that came with the tank is a brand I have only seen in 1000 island aqaurium and aquarium village. It is a BOYU. This had me a little worried.
Sraightjiggy was over my house picking up a treadmill as a trade for some unreal frags (thanks Again Naquan) and said he had the same pump and loves it.
I asked if it was quiet and he said it is.
Wel it is about the quietest RP I have heard.
So here it is setup and running.
Thanksgivingscape3001.jpg




I was worried when I order this system about a few things like build constuction, sloppy silicone, if the stand would be of decent qualiy and if it would be noisy.
The answers are.
Build constuction for all components are oustanding.
The silicone is pitch back and straight as an arrow.
The glass is invisible when empy. I cant wait till the water clears up. (anyone have a diatom filter I can borrow?)
As far as the noise goes. I can not tell the difference when if is off or running and neither can the judge.
The only negative thing I can say is when I woke up the following morning there was a little bit of bubbling back up the overflow pipe but a drinking straw through the hole in the overflow cleared that right up
I'm very happy I can leave the return pipe under the water line of the sump to reduce slashing
I tried this many times with my 72 bow but could never get it to stop bubbling.
I ran it without the skimmer until today. I put it in at around 2:00. It also is barely audible.
I guess its time to start feeding the tank.
I have a few questions about starting this tank with macro rock.
1, Should I be running the skimmer yet?
2, should I run Phosban and carbon yet?
3, Can I Put Cheato in the fuge? or should I wait until it is cycled?
Thanks for looking.
 
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