CADlights 39g Pro build thread

[ProdigalPoster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13441781#post13441781 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ronbis
I think you could do SPS with that light.

Yeah I'm definitely impressed with the quality and quantity of the stuff you get with this package, but I want to be 110% sure I can have SPS on the bottom without having to be concerned with whether or not they're going to get the right amount of light.

I guess I could always upgrade to a 250w pendant down the road if I needed to.

 

[ArtC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13441781#post13441781 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ronbis
I think you could do SPS with that light.

Does that fan pivot? I want to get one for my sump but it has bracing on the top so it would be mounted horizontally instead of vertically like yours. It looks like it pivots so that I could aim it down into the sump. Sweet looking setup. I spent a lot more for my setup and it takes a lot of work to get everything to fit, etc..

It looks like it would, but how about you ask CADlights instead of me breaking mine by trying

 

[ArtC]

First flood

First flood

Way back at the beginning of this thread I advised against leaving the locklines pointed up to avoid a living room fountain.

Well, once I got the tank filled I did the 'pull the plug' test and everything went fine. Sump held what didn't get pumped back up.

But then I was putting some crud in the refugium, and turned the pump off for that. Next thing I hear is the wrong kind of gurgle.

I'd knocked one of the locklines down so that the end was below the level of the overflow cutouts. So it siphoned....

Probably half a gallon overflowed the sump. Worst case would have been down as far as the lockline went - a couple gallons. (Not as bad as the same problem would have been with my 220g.)

So the moral is, keep your locklines level. If you have trouble doing that, or your critters do pull-ups on them, hard plumb or glue the lockline.

The 'cured' live rock I bought from Premium Aquatics is really showing zero ammonia after 36 hours in the trash can. So I'll be decorating soon. (Air cargo - PA dropped it off in Indiana at 4:55 and it was in Baltimore at 7:25. It hardly had time to die again. But that also means it was really cured to begin with.)

 

[ArtC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13441708#post13441708 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ProdigalPoster
With this sized tank and the 150 HQI would you be able to do full SPS or would you be limited to the upper levels?

I'm not that far along that I can answer from experience.

The T-5s are very actinic, so they would penetrate fairly well also.

In the bigger picture, light is one part of SPS feeding and actually feeding your SPS is the other.

You might try asking this in a new thread. I'm not sure how interested the established 39g owners are in a build thread - and they are the ones who would know.

 

[tdsounds]

Way back at the beginning of this thread I advised against leaving the locklines pointed up to avoid a living room fountain. Well, once I got the tank filled I did the 'pull the plug' test and everything went fine. Sump held what didn't get pumped back up. But then I was putting some crud in the refugium, and turned the pump off for that. Next thing I hear is the wrong kind of gurgle. I'd knocked one of the locklines down so that the end was below the level of the overflow cutouts. So it siphoned.... Probably half a gallon overflowed the sump. Worst case would have been down as far as the lockline went - a couple gallons. (Not as bad as the same problem would have been with my 220g.) So the moral is, keep your locklines level. If you have trouble doing that, or your critters do pull-ups on them, hard plumb or glue the lockline. The 'cured' live rock I bought from Premium Aquatics is really showing zero ammonia after 36 hours in the trash can. So I'll be decorating soon. (Air cargo - PA dropped it off in Indiana at 4:55 and it was in Baltimore at 7:25. It hardly had time to die again. But that also means it was really cured to begin with.)

If you add a check valve I think that would solve the problem. Oh yea, by the way what material is the t5 reflector. I just checked mine out I wasn't to happy about it being a reflective paper type.

 

[jsnicholas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13445994#post13445994 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tdsounds
If you add a check valve I think that would solve the problem. Oh yea, by the way what material is the t5 reflector. I just checked mine out I wasn't to happy about it being a reflective paper type.

I checked mine and it is the same. I was supprised too, but the rest of the light is seems such high quality, I though I would give it the benifit of the doubt and give it a try. My only concern is for safety.

 

[ArtC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13445994#post13445994 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tdsounds
If you add a check valve I think that would solve the problem. Oh yea, by the way what material is the t5 reflector. I just checked mine out I wasn't to happy about it being a reflective paper type.

Well, I'd only trust a check valve so much. Like ATOs, they tend to get stuck. (But obviously, I can't trust me entirely either!)

Is there a problem with the T-5 reflector, like doesn't last or has notably worse efficiency than the (better) metal ones?

 

[tdsounds]

Yea its a good light for the money no doubt. But safety may the only concern. I haven't ran it long enough to know how hot the lights gets. At least its no where near the metal halide heat. I only tested it so far for a like 30mins. Maybe other members can chime in on that.

 

[snowriderz]

I have the 39G Signature model but the lights are the same from what i know. my reflectors for the T5s are running with no problems. i bought my tank when CADlights was upgrading to this new light and they told me that the T5s are designed this way to block out the heat that comes from the HQi light.

i put my light on 8 hours/day and T5s are 10 hours per day. the actinics are the bluest i have seen.

as far as for the metal one with the HQI light and the reflective paper with the T5, they both seem to look fine with no deterioration.

 

[ArtC]

The fun's almost over

The fun's almost over

I wired the cabinet with a GFCI and a Coralife(?) timer until I can get the AC III set up.
Note that cord is properly oriented down in a drip loop.

The rock is hopefully in its last water change. Most of it is better looking than in the picture.
Good red and green coraline on some, small macroalge.
Most importantly, lots of openings to provide hiding places and surface area for biochemistry.

And I'll soon be able to use the wet lab for more traditional purposes....

Clockwise from the top - R/O bucket in flood containment unit, RO/DI patched into raw water distribution system, saltwater mixing and rock scrubbing tank, curing tank.

 

[ArtC]

And then, a miracle!

And then, a miracle!

 

[ProdigalPoster]

Sexy picture!

Is that an additional power head you've added?

 

[ArtC]

Tunze nano mixing the salt - why use a stick when you can use a $240 powerhead? And the electric bill is included in my rent

The return pump isn't going to be enough turnover and it's constant speed, so I'll probably wind up with a pair of powerheads mounted low on the overflow. But I'll figure that out once I figure out how the live rock fits in.

 

[ArtC]

gurgle control

gurgle control

The combination of the overflow design and the relatively large return pump produces a bit of a Niagara Falls effect in the overflow. A bit on the noisy side.

Per CADlights, I took one of the included filter pads, folded it in half, and pushed it into the overflow just below the slots.
That turns the falls into a trickle-down flow and quiets the tank very considerably.

 

[VDub90]

I did the same thing with a filter pad on my 25G Cad tank. The overflow hits the pad first. Turned the overflow silent.

 

[ProdigalPoster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13463279#post13463279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ArtC
Tunze nano mixing the salt - why use a stick when you can use a $240 powerhead? And the electric bill is included in my rent

The return pump isn't going to be enough turnover and it's constant speed, so I'll probably wind up with a pair of powerheads mounted low on the overflow. But I'll figure that out once I figure out how the live rock fits in.

Man that's a real shame! I was considering this setup but I'm trying to minimize the amount of equipment visible in the display.

That's a real bummer.

Thought I don't see why you couldn't drill the tank and setup a CL...if you were willing to take the risk and weren't already this far along in the process.

 

[bnmir]

I could be wrong, but with a curved front, doesnt that mean tempered glass? Obviously, the bottom isnt, since its already drilled.
I'd be interested to know if the back could be drilled.

 

[ArtC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13463469#post13463469 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ProdigalPoster
Man that's a real shame! I was considering this setup but I'm trying to minimize the amount of equipment visible in the display.

That's a real bummer.

Thought I don't see why you couldn't drill the tank and setup a CL...if you were willing to take the risk and weren't already this far along in the process.

That isn't the permanent location of the powerhead!

40 gallon tank, 700gph return pump, 4 foot head, means maybe 10x turnover per hour. If you are doing FOWLR, that would be OK.

But almost no coral tank can get by with only the return for flow. Numbers are too low, there is no turbulence (unless you point the locklines at each other), and no flow near the bottom unless you point the locklines down. (And I've already posted on the resulting siphoning problem!)

Increasing the size of the return pump would just overwhelm the overflow slots. I was actually looking at reducing the size of the return pump to reduce noise and provide slower flow across the bubble chamber. But the filter pad fixed the noise.

There are several nano-type powerheads (Tunze, and cheaper!) that you can use. I don't expect that the powerheads will be visible once the rock is installed. The powerheads will be low on the sides of the the overflow and the rock will be in front of them. And soon all will be equally covered in coraline algae (or hair algae...)

Or for Tunzes, you can get an official Tunze rock that the powerhead fits inside of.

If you really want to mod, could you drill the overflow and install vertical CL on either side of that instead of drilling the glass? I dunno which if any of the tank surfaces can be drilled.

 

[Brad Villeggiante]

Just following along as I'm looking to buy this setup in about 3 months. Very good stuff so far.

 

[ArtC]

Just when it looks like I'm in business

Just when it looks like I'm in business

Got home, and things smelled funny. Never a good sign.

When you're curing LR, more flow is better. Except if more pump flow is accompanied by more more pump heat. I got the pumps mixed up last night - both big pumps in the main vat.

Overheated the rock. Coraline mostly bleached; most of the inverts dead.

I checked the heater - it was off. Dropped it on the floor. Apparently it turned on there, because when I moved it it hit a puddle of water and made a cracking sound. Never a good sign. So I picked it up by the cord to take a look and the bottom half disintegrated and fell directly into the tank that contained my surviving LR. Always wear gloves when cleaning LR!

So the one good rock is in the aquarium, the surviving worms are in the fuge, and the rest of the rock is back to Day 1.

And I'm out of beer.