CADlights 39g Pro build thread

[ArtC]

DSB

DSB

I was thinking about what sand bed to use. Kind of liked the idea of a deeper bed for some of the burrowing fish, but most of those are also jumpers and I don't want to keep the lid on the tank. (safer when you first put a new fish in though!)

So that means a thin bed. Sugar sand and oolitic (round) aragonite are out because they'd never stay in place with the flow I'm expecting. Gravel catches too much debris. So standard aragonite sand. No bare bottom for me - I want my tank to look like a reef rather than a prop tank.

No room for a DSB in the sump, and living in an apartment I want to minimize the number of potential flood sources (and evictions!), so no remote DSB.

I realized that I have one place to put a DSB - the overflow. Plenty of dead space below the Durso, and if I have to get rid of the DSB I can pull the Durso and flush the sand down the drain into a bucket. Plenty of depth, and should be enough volume for a small tank.

There won't be any pictures - the tank is full and against the wall.

 

[reefsahoy]

Re: new dual cooling fan

Re: new dual cooling fan

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13432011#post13432011 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ArtC
CADlights sent me a new version of their evaporative cooling fan.
It consists of two of the original fans in a plastic case with mounting brackets and power switch built in.
If CADlights didn't get this made special, you can't tell by looking at it.
I believe this is the new standard fan for 39g systems.

Mounts over the overflow, pointing down.

how do you like those fans? are they quiet?

 

[ArtC]

It contains two of the original model, so there's a little more noise. But the fans are quiet, I don't hear them over the noise of the water.

Not just tank water noise, I have the Patapsco River running outside the window. So I have to focus to hear the tank. Especially when the trains go by!

I think the design is good.

Putting an evaporation fan inside the cabinet would be ineffective, and the vertical orientation works in conjunction with the natural rising of heat. The fan blows air down into the overflow, where it picks up moisture and heat.

There's no speed adjustment, but you can always slow the fan down by using a lower voltage transformer.

How much cooling is required is going to depend on your local atmosphere. I'm not sure if CADlights didn't include a heater because you won't need one, or because they figured we all have them.

 

[ArtC]

DSB in overflow

DSB in overflow

I put a DSB in my overflow, since there's no place else in a Pro system to put it and I didn't want to run any plumbing to an external tank.

Added 10# of aragonite sand, which give me about 7" of bed but leaves the sand 3"-4" below the intake of the Durso.

Calfo says use oolitic sand, Shimek says variable grain sized for zoodiversity. I went with Shimek and Estes aragonite - the only brand I found with a wide range of grain sizes.

It's not like I'll be able to tell if its doing anything until maybe December...

PS: Turn the pump off before pouring the sand in.

 

[ProdigalPoster]

How's this coming along? Any more progress?

 

[ArtC]

LR is on the last water change before it goes in tank.

I made a cover with egg crate yesterday - I'm thinking about getting some jumping fish and the standard glass cover doesn't cover the whole tank.

Skimmer is working, considering the low organics (one live rock in tank)

Sand in refugium, DSB in overflow, one dose of seed sand from a guy in the club.

Ordered the 'detritivore kit' and some goo from Inland Aquatics - I figure those micro critters can get to breeding before I put fish in the tank. I like that Inland Aquatics sells a lot of captive bred and raised fish, and that they sell a lot of fish that are already paired. I'm looking to get more social behavior in this tank.

Working on the stocking list. Doing OK with fish, but haven't even decided softie or SPS on the corals...

Was fooling with putting an air tube down the Durso to reduce the noise a bit more, but the tubing I had was too small. Caused flushing when I put it in the enlarged air hole.

 

[ArtC]

Eggcrate lid

Eggcrate lid

I don't know for sure if I'm going to use this, but it was easy to make.

I planned to leave the glass CADlights lid off the tank, but then I was thinking about getting some gobies/firefish and other carpet divers and the glass lid doesn't cover all of the tank surface.

So I got eggcrate at HD. They make it thinner than the old days, and using sidecutters it tended to break in the wrong places. So I switched to a Dremel. Put eggcrate over tank, mark perimeter with marker, cut as directed.

Installs using the same hangers as the glass lid and doesn't project above the tank, so it's fairly stealthy. It was pretty hard to look down into the tank from the top when the MH and pumps were running anyway (you want turbulence at the surface to keep organic films from forming - films block O2 and CO2 transfer.)

Of course I'll have to put in cutouts for the light supports, and I'll lose some photons. But I'm not sure I'll lose more than if I used the glass lid. And I'll lose fewer fish.

Zero ammonia on the LR, so I'll start putting that together soon. Usually I cut a cardboard or styrofoam box to the size of the tank and work out the stacking in that. Easier, drier, safer, and can secure the rock in ways that would be difficult once it was in the tank.

 

[jsnicholas]

Skimmer

Skimmer

Hi,

I just got my tank yesterday and am trying to piece it together. Your instructions are helping a lot, but there is not much on the skimmer itself. This is my first skimmer so the questions my seem simplistic.

1) The return from the skimmer to the return chamber (where the bioballs go) seems to short on mine. From the picture it looks like you removed the second elbow so the water shoots at the wall rather than down. But with mine, I can not attach the elbow to the skimmer and have it high enogh to go over the wall between the chambers. I was wondering if you had this issue and what you did.

2) How did you position the pump and air tube. My air tube looks like it might have a tendancy to kink.

3) Is it a good idea to replace the bioballs with LR rubble?

Thanks
John

 

[blureef1]

I had the same issue with the skimmer and trying to get the elbow above th glass divider. The return tube on the skimmer was too short or the glass divider too high. I cut a piece of plastic diffuser (just like he used to make his top) and made a stand. It was just tall enough to make it work.

I am also now having issues with the bulkheads leaking. The larger drain sealed up fine. The small return from the sump is leaking. There is quite a bit of play between the hole and bulkhead. I'm hoping the hole is not too big. Any suggestions for rookie in installing bulkheads? Should I put silicone on both sides of the gasket and then install it?

 

[ArtC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13550278#post13550278 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by blureef1
I had the same issue with the skimmer and trying to get the elbow above th glass divider. The return tube on the skimmer was too short or the glass divider too high. I cut a piece of plastic diffuser (just like he used to make his top) and made a stand. It was just tall enough to make it work.

I am also now having issues with the bulkheads leaking. The larger drain sealed up fine. The small return from the sump is leaking. There is quite a bit of play between the hole and bulkhead. I'm hoping the hole is not too big. Any suggestions for rookie in installing bulkheads? Should I put silicone on both sides of the gasket and then install it?

I didn't have to raise my skimmer to get the pipe over the divider. I don't recall having a second elbow to direct the flow down, but the laminar flow down the side of the sump seems to minimize bubble formation.

Of course, you want to have the bulkhead centered in the hole, but that usuall isn't a problem - the washer is bigger than the hole.

You cleaned the inside of the tank around the hole, so the the surface is flat? check that the washer and bulkhead flange aren't cut or warped. The washer goes on the inside of the tank.

Even well-installed bulkheads can leak if there is sideways pressure on the pipe. That tends to push one side of the bulkhead down, but lift the other side up. Make sure the lockline connections aren't pushing/pulling the top of the return pipe.

Shouldn't have to tighten the nut beyond hand-tight plus a half turn if you are a pencil-necked geek (like me!)

Shouldn't have to use silicon unless something is wrong, and if something is wrong you want to fix that first.

 

[ArtC]

skimmer detail

skimmer detail

Here's how my skimmer is set up:

Airline plugs into the nipple on the pump and runs up through the retaining ring glued to the body.

In case dimensions have changed, here's the ruler. Note that the outflow pipe just fits over *my* sump chamber divider, without any modifications. Changing the height of the skimmer may affect it's performance.

OceanReeflections says that feedback on the skimmer has been positive.

 

[Brad Villeggiante]

Art,

First off, I've been following this thread for a couple of weeks now and you've been doing a brilliant job. Cheers for that.

I have a question for you. I used to have a 40 gallon with pendant lighting and the light that would "leak out" of the pendant light, which was 7 inches above the tank, would give my fiance a massive headache within 5 min. I am going to get the CAD 39 in a couple of months and am wondering, if instead of using the light stand legs, can the lighting fixture sit on the glass top? Really don't want to have a canopy built for this if possible.

 

[Brad Villeggiante]

Art,

Also forgot to mention. I was also thinking a good alternative would be to have a black piece of plastic cut into the shape of the glass top with a hole cut out of the middle for the light to sit on. That way the light wouldn't have to go through the glass, and I could screw the fixture to the plastic so it was one solid piece.

 

[ArtC]

The standard glass lid, and especially the acrylic lid hangers, aren't robust enough to support the light. You'd wind up with a species tank - electric eels!

There is a glass shield protecting the MH, so the fixture could safely be positioned lower if you had a way to do it. No practical way to adjust the provided legs, but CADlights might do a special for you (bending the legs more so the height was less.)

Otherwise, do a mod. You'd have to retain the critical features of the CADlights design - mount locks into the C-channel on the fixture, locks onto the top edge of the tank, and doesn't block the light. I'd probably go about it by cutting the top and bottom off the provided legs and fastening them to a frame that runs clear across the tank for strength.

I don't get any direct light from the MH and don't consider the scattered light annoying, but YMMV. The 'halo' picture in the thread is just after I added sand to the refugium, so the scattering is more than after things settled.

 

[Brad Villeggiante]

Hmm. Good to know about about the light scattering via the sand. That's the pic my fiance saw and said, "you're going to have to do something about that".

 

[ArtC]

What wavelenghts bother her?

I'm thinking about replacing the standard T-5s because they are beyond actinic - they are bug zapper blue!

If you doubt me, consider that the major source of nitrogen in my tank is moths

 

[Brad Villeggiante]

Hey Art,

I just spoke with her and she said all the light hurt her eyes. Keep in mind it was a 250 watt 10K bulb with 2 x 64 watt actinics and 2 x 64 watt 50/50 bulbs, so needless to say it was way more light than the CAD tank will have. She said the blue light especially hurt her eyes. I wish they made a canopy for this.

 

[ArtC]

Could be worse - my girlfriends complain that I make their eyes hurt

3.5" between the water surface and the MH lens. The really fast thing to do is tape some tin foil along the edge of the fixture so it hangs just above the water surface. No light comes forward of that, but it doesn't shade any of the tank bottom. Can do same in back to reflect wall streaks back into tank.

Here is tank with rocks. Since I accidentally boiled the LR, it's pretty bright right now. A nice coating of algae will fix that. (Run with that - good LR will absorb a lot of light; corals will absorb a lot of light...)

 

[ArtC]

Light arrangements

Light arrangements

Here's how the lights are arranged in the 39g fixture. The T-5s are oriented cross-eyed. That limits the shaded areas in the tank, provides corals with more natural diffuse light (vs. straight down only), and lets you block the sides of the fixture without losing any in-tank light

 

[Brad Villeggiante]

Thanks Art,

Great diagram and picture of the tank. I think I'll give it a test run when I get it and see what the fiance says. I can tell by your pic. already, that the light is much less than my old pendant lighting system, and sits much lower.