50g Cadlights Build Thread

[rtparty]

Finally got some life in the tank with a pink tip branching hammer and a red Firefish. One of my all time favorite fish.

Then I made the biggest mistake and broke my own rule...I added 2 Talbot's damsels....ughhhh!

Have to tear the tank apart and get them out now. The Firefish won't last long at this rate. So stupid on my part. I have a no damsel rule and thought I would be the exception this time...

 

[rtparty]

Up until almost 1AM this morning draining the tank a little, pulling all rocks, catching the devils and trying to piece the tank back together. I couldn't get the rocks back to original and it's going to bug me. I'll have to mess around with that later though. At least the Firefish can live in a peace today

 

[rtparty]

Let's add a couple quick cell phone pics. Still need to work on taking pictures and tuning everything the best I can.

 

[d0ughb0y]

I am planning to cut my plywood for the stand today.
I've done a lot more research (bec I've never done this before) and will build it like yours.
Just have a couple questions.

So is there a plywood at the very bottom of the stand?
and the shelf where the sump sits is 5" above the bottom plywood?

I ask because I calculate for a 4'x8' sheet of plywood, I can cut 2 sides, 1back, 1 door, 1 top and 1 bottom only. I'm thinking of skipping the bottom, and just use the piece for the sump shelf, elevated about 3" from the ground by dado and front kick plate.

I also measured the glass tank to be exactly 23.75". so if the stand top is 24"x24", that leaves 1/8" space all around the tank.

Your stand front is flush with the tank right? so the door is not flush with the tank. I've seen elos stands where the door is flush with the tank, but the front 3/4" of the tank is overhanging the stand. I've also seen elos stand where the stand is flush to the tank, and the door protrudes out by the door thickness. I decided to go with the latter, which is same as your stand. funny thing is, all elos stands have no bottom. it goes straight to the floor I suppose the advantage of that is you can clean up any water spill that goes under the stand, and not be left there for an extended period of time.

 

[JTL]

I am planning to cut my plywood for the stand today.
I've done a lot more research (bec I've never done this before) and will build it like yours.
Just have a couple questions.

So is there a plywood at the very bottom of the stand?
and the shelf where the sump sits is 5" above the bottom plywood?

I ask because I calculate for a 4'x8' sheet of plywood, I can cut 2 sides, 1back, 1 door, 1 top and 1 bottom only. I'm thinking of skipping the bottom, and just use the piece for the sump shelf, elevated about 3" from the ground by dado and front kick plate.

I also measured the glass tank to be exactly 23.75". so if the stand top is 24"x24", that leaves 1/8" space all around the tank.

Your stand front is flush with the tank right? so the door is not flush with the tank. I've seen elos stands where the door is flush with the tank, but the front 3/4" of the tank is overhanging the stand. I've also seen elos stand where the stand is flush to the tank, and the door protrudes out by the door thickness. I decided to go with the latter, which is same as your stand. funny thing is, all elos stands have no bottom. it goes straight to the floor I suppose the advantage of that is you can clean up any water spill that goes under the stand, and not be left there for an extended period of time.

I have been cutting birch plywood for two days in hot weather and I am sick of it. I am building a stand for my Cadlights 100g aquarium and pretty much doing as this thread has described even though I just discovered it. I beefed mine up a little but only used 3/4" plywood. Tomorrow I will finish the screw and glue and hopefully get the sanding done as well. I want to spray it on Monday.

I am also thinking of leaving the interior natural and just give it a few coats of poly. The outside will be a high gloss dark gray. I have used two 4 x 8 sheets of plywood and still need to get another 1/2 sheet to do the doors. I had some waste but not a lot. I probably could have planned the cuts a little better.

I have actually considered purchasing the doors online and not have to deal with the end grain of plywood, but it probably is not worth the extra cost and if you sand, fill and sand with 220 grit you can get it pretty nice. In a perfect world a cabinet maker would put veneer on the edges, but this is reefing and it is far from perfect.

 

[d0ughb0y]

I am planning on using stain to match the furniture color and use satin finish.
did you use regular counter sunk screw?
I am considering using pocket screws. So if I do the rabbets and dadoes 1/2" deep, then I can still use the pocket screws for 3/4" to 3/4" joint.

As to the end grain, if you paint like in this thread, the wood putty to cover it looks nice. Since I will be staining, I plan to use one of those iron on edging. I bought one for like $7 for 25 feet. Using the rabbet joint automatically hides the plywood edge, so I only need it for the door and maybe the front of the shelf.

 

[JTL]

I used a combination of pocket screws and regular screws. I have not completely glued and screwed everything together so I can still get some lateral movement, which is not good. Once everything is tied together it should be fine. The edging is fine, it takes a little work to get perfect. I think there is a tool to shave the ends, but a razor blade will work if you are careful.

 

[rtparty]

I am planning to cut my plywood for the stand today.
I've done a lot more research (bec I've never done this before) and will build it like yours.
Just have a couple questions.

So is there a plywood at the very bottom of the stand?
and the shelf where the sump sits is 5" above the bottom plywood?

I ask because I calculate for a 4'x8' sheet of plywood, I can cut 2 sides, 1back, 1 door, 1 top and 1 bottom only. I'm thinking of skipping the bottom, and just use the piece for the sump shelf, elevated about 3" from the ground by dado and front kick plate.

I also measured the glass tank to be exactly 23.75". so if the stand top is 24"x24", that leaves 1/8" space all around the tank.

Your stand front is flush with the tank right? so the door is not flush with the tank. I've seen elos stands where the door is flush with the tank, but the front 3/4" of the tank is overhanging the stand. I've also seen elos stand where the stand is flush to the tank, and the door protrudes out by the door thickness. I decided to go with the latter, which is same as your stand. funny thing is, all elos stands have no bottom. it goes straight to the floor I suppose the advantage of that is you can clean up any water spill that goes under the stand, and not be left there for an extended period of time.

Sorry the late reply. Haven't been on much with work and family being super busy.

Yes, there is a full bottom plus the shelf. The shelf is between 3-5" above the bottom if I remember correctly. That's up to you.

The door came from a half sheet since there wasn't any left over.

At 24*24 the stand is just bigger than the tank. My door does stick out since I wanted the entire bottom supported. I didn't trust the Cadlights tank to not have full support. If the glass was 12mm instead of 10mm, I may have pushed my luck. As is, 10mm is the bare minimum for a tank this size.

 

[d0ughb0y]

how is your skimz skimmer working?

I am still deciding on which skimmer to get. Is the height of the sn123 19.29" correct as listed in the specs?

I finally started working on the stand. It is assembled, and I'll probably stain it this weekend. In hindsight, I should have made the height 34" like yours instead of using the same 30" height as the stock stand to have more room for taller skimmers.

 

[rtparty]

how is your skimz skimmer working?

I am still deciding on which skimmer to get. Is the height of the sn123 19.29" correct as listed in the specs?

I finally started working on the stand. It is assembled, and I'll probably stain it this weekend. In hindsight, I should have made the height 34" like yours instead of using the same 30" height as the stock stand to have more room for taller skimmers.

Love the Skimz skimmer. Once it broke in, it quieted down and pulls a ton of gunk. I only have 2 fish and feed every day. It still pulls a ton IMO.

 

[d0ughb0y]

due to space restriction of my stand, I ordered the coral box D300. I only have 19" vertical space in the sump section because I added a drawer to the stand. That's why I said in hindsight, I should have made the stand height 34".

 

[d0ughb0y]

can you edit all your photobucket links by adding ~original to the end of the url?

what gate valve did you use?

I am going to cut the pvc on my tank and replace the plumbing. I think standard fittings will fit the holes, and 3/4 bulkhead might even fit the small hole.

I am still deciding whether to get a cepex ball valve or separate union+gate valve.

 

[rtparty]

can you edit all your photobucket links by adding ~original to the end of the url?

what gate valve did you use?

I am going to cut the pvc on my tank and replace the plumbing. I think standard fittings will fit the holes, and 3/4 bulkhead might even fit the small hole.

I am still deciding whether to get a cepex ball valve or separate union+gate valve.

I looked at the links and they are all jumbled up. Where do I add the ~original? I'll post the link without the IMG or URL tag so you can show me.

=http://s679.photobucket.com/user/rtparty/media/Aquarium/IMG_20170106_103616_zpsqv8gztdq.jpg.html]http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv157/rtparty/Aquarium/IMG_20170106_103616_zpsqv8gztdq.jpg

I used the economy gate valve from BRS. The one is great and the other is so so. By so so I mean it is hard to turn and adjust. The more expensive Spears may be worth it.

Standard plumbing would not fit any of the holes on my tank. I bought a standard bulkhead and it just misses. I didn't feel like the risk of forcing it in and cracking the glass. The Cadlights bulkheads are actually really nice and easy to install with no leaks. I just hate the metric sizing on them. They do sell a conversion kit that I should have done instead of buying a ton of adapters to make it all work.

 

[d0ughb0y]

I looked at the links and they are all jumbled up. Where do I add the ~original? I'll post the link without the IMG or URL tag so you can show me.

=http://s679.photobucket.com/user/rtparty/media/Aquarium/IMG_20170106_103616_zpsqv8gztdq.jpg.html]http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv157/rtparty/Aquarium/IMG_20170106_103616_zpsqv8gztdq.jpg

I used the economy gate valve from BRS. The one is great and the other is so so. By so so I mean it is hard to turn and adjust. The more expensive Spears may be worth it.

Standard plumbing would not fit any of the holes on my tank. I bought a standard bulkhead and it just misses. I didn't feel like the risk of forcing it in and cracking the glass. The Cadlights bulkheads are actually really nice and easy to install with no leaks. I just hate the metric sizing on them. They do sell a conversion kit that I should have done instead of buying a ton of adapters to make it all work.

I unscrewed the bulkhead nut and tried to measure the hole using a caliper, and they seem bigger than metric. definitely standard 1/2 and 1" bulkhead will fit. I'm hoping the 3/4 bulkhead will fit in the 1/2 bulkhead hole. I ordered a 3/4 bulkhead to test. I figure if it does not work, I'll just use a standard 1/2.

edit the url inside the img tag. like this

 

[rtparty]

All pictures should be fixed. Thanks for the help!

Now some new additions and news since this tank hasn't had anything going on almost all summer.

Green Birdsnest that needs some TLC.

Green and purple acans

Not sure on name. Guy said it was a moon coral...

As for the news:

The Tunze power heads will be retired this week and replaced with 2 MP10wQD! It's been years since I had Vortech pumps on my tank(s). Can't wait for the clean look and controllable aspect to come back. This entire tank has been about clean, modern and minimalist. The Tunze just stick out too much for me. Space is a premium on smaller tanks.

I had to take the chaeto out recently as it wasn't growing at all for some reason. There is plenty of food for it to grow and do well but it just wasn't. The light in the stand was also growing algae and other nuisance items in my sump. I'll need to figure something out because I really like chaeto and the more natural approach.

Thanks all for looking!

 

[rtparty]

Man I've missed Vortech pumps! Probably should have gone with MP40s since my glass is just thicker than recommended and the one wet side has had issues staying put.

I took the wet side out, cleaned the glass really well and then really made sure there was no air between the glass and foam. That seems to have fixed the issue for now.

 

[rtparty]

Update:

This last week I had to finally take care of some nuisance algae I had growing. Thankfully, someone on R2R identified it and knew what to do. I had chrysophytes and had to employ manual scrubbing, 3 day blackout, running phosphate removal media and start dosing potassium nitrate. I figured my nitrates were elevated but turns out they were at 0 after I got a new test in.

Everything seems to be doing well and my corals are expanding more than ever.

I have had some thoughts about removing the protein skimmer and just running a large ball of chaeto. I know skimmers are considered an absolute necessity for most of us, but with the more recent BRS videos it has me thinking they aren't nearly as important as we think. The nice thing is I can keep the skimmer in case I change my mind and the "experiment" doesn't work out.

Here is my thinking:

A skimmer cleans the water by removing organics before they break down. Most studies have shown a skimmer will only remove roughly 25% of the DOCs in a system. Meaning 75% are still broken down and handled by other means. Chaeto has shown it can easily handle the control of nutrients in a tank.

Skimmers are promoted in a way that they will raise your pH by aerating the water and bringing in "fresh" air. Chaeto with a strong light has been shown to drastically increase pH. Meaning by running it on a reverse daylight schedule I can keep my pH super stable and even raise it. I know that a lot of us don't worry about pH but raising it can never be a bad thing for most of us.

Chaeto will allow me a great place to raise pods as well.

My one issue will be keeping chaeto in its section and not getting into the return section.

Any thoughts?

 

[rtparty]

Skimmer is staying put but I may shut it down during the day. I'm having to dose nitrate to even keep my nitrates between 2-4. The Skimz skimmer also creates a TON of micro bubbles and it's quite annoying to look at the tank with the bubbles.

Going on a trip next week so I won't be adding anything until after that. I'd also like to find a decent LFS to visit. There is literally no LFS within an hour of me that I would consider good. Just decent