CADLight 8 gallon Build

[Luckedout]

Well I received my tank today. Everything looked great when I opened it up. They even included the FJ-28 pump, so I was excited about that, until I tried to put the pump in the overflow. The hole for the pump in the overflow is too small.... :-(

Called and talked to CADlights about it and I'm waiting to hear back from them on a solution. I'm a bit bummed because I was hoping to have this up and cycling over the weekend, but that may not come to fruition. I may just go grab a MJ600 or something if the solution isn't quick. I'm not very patient...

 

[Luckedout]

Good news, they are sending out the correct pump. They said the pump I was given was for the 18 gallon tank, not the 8 gallon tank. They resolved the problem in about an hour so that was some great customer service!

 

[Austinchap]

I hope they don't just send you some other pump that won't fit.
Out of curiosity I pulled everything out to see if the 28 even fit and it didn't. I emailed them today about this pump situation as well. Something so simple they can't get right...

I recommended getting the mj 600 or 900 both are working fine. The 1200 might work. It was overflowing when the hydor would rotate. So it will work with out it. I'm just going to use the fp28 for water changes or a fishing weight.

I'd like to see how you hook up the pump and what you use as a diverter. I'm stuck with this tank... andJust not having a good day. I kinda wanna drop this tank off the balcony right now.

On a good/bad note. Note sure yet. I had my rock out of the water for a good 2 hours when doing the aquascape and I have to bristle worm hitch hikers that I've seen so far. Should I try to remove them? I'm surprised they even lived. The temp in my tank was at 85 due to a bad probe for the first week.

 

[Bill Nye]

Was just water testing my tank using the mj1200 and I found it doesnt work with or without the hydor flo. It sucks more water than the AIO can keep up with and brings the water level down pretty low and overflows the front. Pretty disappointing gonna have to return this pump and figure out what Im going to do. Im kinda regretting this purchase at the moment as well. I expected alot more from CADlights.

 

[Austinchap]

Yea I regret it. Hope they make it right for you guys. Im either mad or im starting to realize they send you a glass box with a whole punch of recyclables in it. I wouldn't call this tank a AIO system one bit. Even with the new pump that I would have purchased anyway. Everything has to be rigged.

 

[iFisch]

Thanks for the updates. Just confirms what I previously thought about the company.

 

[Bill Nye]

I hope they don't just send you some other pump that won't fit.
Out of curiosity I pulled everything out to see if the 28 even fit and it didn't. I emailed them today about this pump situation as well. Something so simple they can't get right...

I recommended getting the mj 600 or 900 both are working fine. The 1200 might work. It was overflowing when the hydor would rotate. So it will work with out it. I'm just going to use the fp28 for water changes or a fishing weight.

I'd like to see how you hook up the pump and what you use as a diverter. I'm stuck with this tank... andJust not having a good day. I kinda wanna drop this tank off the balcony right now.

On a good/bad note. Note sure yet. I had my rock out of the water for a good 2 hours when doing the aquascape and I have to bristle worm hitch hikers that I've seen so far. Should I try to remove them? I'm surprised they even lived. The temp in my tank was at 85 due to a bad probe for the first week.

You tried both the 600 and 900? I gotta return this 1200 and my LFS doesnt like to take returns so I dont want to make the same mistake twice. Could you get the 1200 to run without sucking the back dry? When I used it, it was pulling air since it drained the back part of the aio.

I also tried the stock pump they sent with the tank and it is LOL worthy the amount of flow it puts out. How is the surface skimming working for you? It seems to be that its not really skimming that much off.

edit

I have to say if I can get this thing working correctly I wont feel nearly as bad about this purchase. I do have to say the tank looks really nice...now only time will tell if I can get it running as nice as it looks...

 

[A_Z]

Well here is some pics of the aquascaping as

Also what corals can you have if we turn this into a seahorse tank?

no seahorses will fit in this tank 30g minimum per pair. Only dwarfs and those I would classify as expert only, need live food daily. very few corals are safe with seahorses as well.

sps, are usually good with seahorses, along with shrooms.

SPS is not possible, seahorses need low flow no more than 5 times per hour and SPS is like 30-40x per hour around.

seahorses are harder to keep than a reef need much better water and you need a chiller.

other than that this is a nice looking tank, nice purple on the rock

 

[Austinchap]

You tried both the 600 and 900? I gotta return this 1200 and my LFS doesnt like to take returns so I dont want to make the same mistake twice. Could you get the 1200 to run without sucking the back dry? When I used it, it was pulling air since it drained the back part of the aio.

I also tried the stock pump they sent with the tank and it is LOL worthy the amount of flow it puts out. How is the surface skimming working for you? It seems to be that its not really skimming that much off.

edit

I have to say if I can get this thing working correctly I wont feel nearly as bad about this purchase. I do have to say the tank looks really nice...now only time will tell if I can get it running as nice as it looks...

The 1200 is to much. The risk of overflow is just to high in my opinion.
The surface skim works fine if you have the pump break up the water surface. I have the hydor flo which rotates and breaks the surface to help with gas exchange and oxygenate the water.
This is how I have the 900 hooked up right now which works "fine" still rigged in my opinion. It might be over kill but that's the most flow I'd use. If you are going to mount it straight through. I'd use the 600 just to be safe.
I didn't return the pumps... I figured I'd use the one I didn't use in the tank for water changes or mixing salt.
you have to trim the 900 back a hair to hook it up like this so it will fit.

Starting to get a little algae growth today. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate all read zero so I'm assuming I have some phosphates...
Did a quick water change and I'll do a lights out for a awhile. Also should I try to remove the bristle worm? I've read mixed reviews... My concern is the size of the tank.

The Glass is nice I'd give it a 9 on the tank it self. The light I'd give a 5. The entire package from the box they send it to you in id give it a 4. There is no way you could keep anything in the tank but algae with what they sent me. I do agree once you get it "working" with out worries. You will like the tank. I know I will.
Besides it looks damn nice in the kitchen. Post some picks of yours!

 

[iFisch]

Love the aquascape! You may be reading 0's in your testing, because the algae is consuming it.. And it appears your tank is cycling, as it appears the brown diatoms are a sure sign of this.

Just remember, nothing good happens quickly in this hobby.

 

[Bill Nye]

Thanks for the update. I have a hydor flo that im going to use so Ill probably pick up the 900 as well. What are you using to connect the pump to the return hole? I was thinking of making an eggcrate platform for it so it could sit at the return hole like they send it stock to you...that seems like a lot better option.

I also thought the light looks crappy so I ordered one without the light. I picked up a boostled par 30 instead. I will put up some pictures once I get some rock in it. Right now im just making sure there are no leaks!

 

[Luckedout]

We'll see about the pump. Like all AIO's I think this tank needs some tweaking to make it right. TBH, I didn't expect much from the stock pump. I have a JBJ 28 gallon and their pumps are crap too. I'll have a back up pump at least, but I'll probably go with a MJ 600.

As far as surface skimming, the overflow holes are quite small and spaced far apart. If you want more flow from a single pump you will probably need to widen the holes, or cut more holes. I'm toying around with the idea of adding a koralia nano right now. I like a lot of flow and I don't really want to mess with the overflow too much.

I actually quite like this light. The spread on it is superior due to multiple low watt LED's vs. a single higher want LED that causes a spot light effect like a PAR 38 bulb or something similar. Whether it will grow anything is still up in the air right now. I only plan on growing softies or LPS so my light requirements will be minimal.

Overall I think this tank is worth the sale price that I got it for, but time will tell. I love the look of the tank still.


Sorry for hijacking your thread, btw. I think you are going through a good cycle right now. I wouldn't worry about lights or anything like that, it's normal at this point. I also don't think you need to worry about your bristle worms. I've had a lot in different types of tanks and they never bothered anything.

 

[Austinchap]

No hijack at all! I rather have input and photos from other cadlight users!

 

[Luckedout]

Well I went ahead and set my tank up. It's cycling right now and cloudy from the sand. No pump yet, so I just threw a rio 600 in there I had lying around. I'll post some pics when it clears up. The longer I have the tank, the happier I am with it.

 

[SaintMark]

Looks great!

I would go with a plastic ATO.
I would find something that would go behind the tank. Just make sure you can fill it up easily.

 

[jpguppy]

I just received mine that I ordered last week for my birthday present. I just unpacked it and absolutely love the glass. I was curious about the power on the LED system, but for an AIO in starfire glass, I decided to take the hit.

Definitely wish I had found this thread before I ordered so I could have pointed out to get the correct powerhead... I'll probably just order an MJ-900 with a Hydor Flo attachment. I didn't know the flo attachment would fit on the pump, else I would have ordered it with the tank.

Thanks for the thorough review though! I'll definitely be working on the sump to make sure it fits snug before I fill it up. I'm waiting on my reef-saver rock to cook anyway, so I probably won't set up till after Christmas at least.

One thing I did notice is that the light will peel the backing pretty easy on the tank if you tighten down the set screws. I went around and trimmed the edges with black electrical tape on the back of the tank to try and prevent any further damage and keep it from peeling.

 

[Luckedout]

Realistically that damage should be minimal if you don't mess with it too much. really it's just paint.

I think the hydor flo is a good idea. I may first get the koralia nano and try that initially.

My pump is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so we'll see how it works out!

 

[jpguppy]

Mainly I'm just being knit-picky. Hope the pump works out!

 

[Bill Nye]

Well Im officially upset. I just have been water testing the tank to check for leaks and was draining out the water last night when I noticed that the bottom strip of the AIO is not even siliconed down properly so it just flaps around down there and theres a visible hole between the top sliding portion and the bottom part. I just sent an email out to cadlights today...lets see what kind of response I get.

 

[jpguppy]

A couple of the dividers in mine weren't adhered well either. Since it's acrylic, it shouldn't be a big thing to fix since you only need a little acetone or methylene chloride run along the seam and seal it.