CADlights 39g Pro build thread

[reeftivo]

Oh, I don't use the shelf because I have the fans. I figured it's hard enough to stoop over, kneel down and work in there as it is. With the shelf, it would just make it more difficult for me. I may, at some point, try out the 23" tall ATB multi on this but I'd have to remove the acrylic divider separating the two chambers. The ATB footprint is 6 x 10.

 

[ItsMee]

A question about the UV light in the cadlight pro system: I was reading about DIY UV sterilizers just for fun (I don't plan on making one) and I saw that one must be careful in choosing the material to house the UV bulb as UV lights can easily damage most materials - like pvc for instance. I read that the drop-in UV that came with our systems is recommended to be put in the overflow. If it will damage PVC, will it damage the silicone? When the light is in my overflow and all the other lights in the display have gone off I can see the UV light shining through the sides of the overflow. Should I not use the UV, or only have it runing in the return pump compartment on a timer where it comes on when I won't be looking under the cabinet (I do this a lot because its fun and I have a snail down there cleaning things up and he' interesting) , or am I being paranoid?

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Sorry, I can't help as I've never ran UV

 

[reeftivo]

I had posted in the past that the UV light would damage the silicone and pvc over time. The recent articles I've read state that the silicone should not be damaged but may harden a bit over time with no detrimental effects. The pvc over time will lose its impact resistance but will maintain tensil strength. From that I would assume that the non-shielded light would be okay to use given that one doesn't smack the durso with something a year or so in. I guess you have to weigh the good with the bad. The Cadlights uv will kill algae spores and prtozoan bacteria floating in the water but only minimaly because the contact is not concentrated directly over the bulb. I don't use it for those reasons but I'm sure it couldn't hurt. If one wanted they could just get a good in line or hang on UV and have peace of mind and a better kill rate through the unit.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Finally had a chance to do a little shopping (Please excuse the cell phone photos)

I Acquired a few SPS frags, a Crocea, a RTBA and a small frag of Xenia (my daughter insisted on the Xenia) which I placed off in a corner so I can control the "weed." The frags are just tacked in place until I get a sense of sweeper tentacles, light needs and how much space will be needed.

I forgot what a PITA Nems can be - This is moved to the roof of the cave and started working it's way up to the shelf containing the SPS. I'll gently "coax" it to a more suitable location. The tank is very sparse - I'm planning on letting these settle in for a few weeks, then going ORA SPS shopping :inlove:

Pod population is coming along nicely so I think we'll be ready for our Mandarin in a month or so.

The other major decision are the clowns - My daughter of course wants Nemo, I am however leaning toward a pair of Onyx (planning on buying them young so they initially "look" like Nemo.) She (and I) would also like a blue spotted Jawfish. It would love our DSP but I think the rimless, open top design of the Cadlights would almost guarantee a carpet-surfing death.

All in all, the tank is doing well. Kalk drip using the Aquadoser combined with B-Ionic has does a great job with pH, Alk and Ca. The new 20HF pump quieted down nicely and is putting out about 1000gph while using about 60 watts less than the stock pump. I LOVE the APEX - can monitor and adjust from anywhere including my Palm Pre. Makes setting up a new tank so much easier when you can see trend data in 5 minute increments.

Next hardware is working out a battery backup and waiting to see what Reeftivo thinks about the new Bubble Magus.

 

[timdanger]

Update: I ordered the new Bubble-Magus from Eddie yesterday - shipping out today!

Also, what is everyone else doing about lids to keep jumping fish in? I've just purchased a new bluespotted jawfish (picking him up tomorrow). i went to lowe's yesterday and picked up some stuff to look at solving this issue, but i'm not 100% happy with any of my options yet. looking for ideas, maybe my ideas will get your gears turning?

I wound up picking up 3 things: some fiberglass window mesh, some plastic "animal" netting, and a sheet of eggcrate.

first, the window mesh: $6. it says it's made of fiberglass, but i don't know what exactly what that means in terms of heat resistance (though it seems like it won't be a problem). i am concerned about lost par using this, though - it seems to create a fair bit of shade. i will need to do some more research.

next, the "animal" netting: $12. this is actually very interesting -- it's a more rigid plastic, so it's not traditional netting, and the holes in the next are smaller than eggcrate holes. i have no idea how resistant it is to heat. I plan on testing it by holding it under a hair dryer or putting it the oven for awhile or something like that. we'll see how it holds up, but i'm anxious to see how this does.

next, the eggcrate: $11. my thought is that the eggcrate might just not do the job. the holes are large and the jawfish is skinny. I have thought about the concept of staggering two layers of eggcrate to eliminate the issue with those holes, but that's going to take even more of a toll on my par.

finally, i have some ideas for a hybrid: i think i could take a simple piece of glass, maybe 1'x1', and support it with 4 acrylic dowels cut to the dimensons of the tank (2 front-to-back, 2 left-to-right), and then take either the window mesh or the animal netting and cut it to the size of the rest of the tank, epoxy everything together. i could support the dowels with v-shaped supports on the left and right sides only (the front-to-back would be to add structure to the mesh). maybe create a hinged feeding door in the front?

thoughts/comments/suggestions/better ideas?

 

[JoshuaG]

I took the glass top that came with my tank to my local TAP plastics. I am having them trace that and basically make a frame with the middle part cut out, leaving a 1" border of acrylic. My plan is then to drill holes in that and use 1/4" mesh for the opening. Then I can just lay that in the plastic tabs that came with the tank.

Does that make sense? I will get some pics when I am done

 

[timdanger]

that does make sense - i had thought about that. my concern is melting mesh. what kind of mesh are you planning to use? i've only been able to find mesh (so far) that is thin/plasticy/not necessarily intended for use directly underneath a halide light.

i do like this idea the best, though - i had seen someone else do something similar to it, and i like the concept.

unfortunately for me, my tank did not come with a glass top or the little plastic tabs to use as supports. any idea where i could find those?

 

[JoshuaG]

that does make sense - i had thought about that. my concern is melting mesh. what kind of mesh are you planning to use? i've only been able to find mesh (so far) that is thin/plasticy/not necessarily intended for use directly underneath a halide light.

i do like this idea the best, though - i had seen someone else do something similar to it, and i like the concept.

unfortunately for me, my tank did not come with a glass top or the little plastic tabs to use as supports. any idea where i could find those?

My plan was to get some of the mesh the guys here on the forums are selling, their leftovers. I have heard it holds up fairly well under the lights.

If you don't have a top you could put something on top of the tank and trace the outline of the tank, then take that in and have something made that way. I'm sure Eddie would hook you up with those plastic supports if you ask

 

[reeftivo]

Finally had a chance to do a little shopping (Please excuse the cell phone photos)

I Acquired a few SPS frags, a Crocea, a RTBA and a small frag of Xenia (my daughter insisted on the Xenia) which I placed off in a corner so I can control the "weed." The frags are just tacked in place until I get a sense of sweeper tentacles, light needs and how much space will be needed.

I forgot what a PITA Nems can be - This is moved to the roof of the cave and started working it's way up to the shelf containing the SPS. I'll gently "coax" it to a more suitable location. The tank is very sparse - I'm planning on letting these settle in for a few weeks, then going ORA SPS shopping :inlove:

Pod population is coming along nicely so I think we'll be ready for our Mandarin in a month or so.

The other major decision are the clowns - My daughter of course wants Nemo, I am however leaning toward a pair of Onyx (planning on buying them young so they initially "look" like Nemo.) She (and I) would also like a blue spotted Jawfish. It would love our DSP but I think the rimless, open top design of the Cadlights would almost guarantee a carpet-surfing death.

All in all, the tank is doing well. Kalk drip using the Aquadoser combined with B-Ionic has does a great job with pH, Alk and Ca. The new 20HF pump quieted down nicely and is putting out about 1000gph while using about 60 watts less than the stock pump. I LOVE the APEX - can monitor and adjust from anywhere including my Palm Pre. Makes setting up a new tank so much easier when you can see trend data in 5 minute increments.

Next hardware is working out a battery backup and waiting to see what Reeftivo thinks about the new Bubble Magus.

Wow! The tank is looking fantastic!!!!

I'm still waiting for the Bubble Magus. Hopefully it will arrive today along with the stock skimmer collar. I need that collar desperately because I will be leaving for the east coast tomorrow. I'm using the euroreef nano right now and I hate it( I can go into that some other time). If the collar and the Magus do not arrive today then I will be hanging either the MCE600 or ATB so at least I will have piece of mind while I'm gone. I will not be able to review the magus skimmer until I get back on the 28th, but as soon as I do I will get many progress pics and let you all know if it's a performer.

CalmSeaQuest, Your tank is looking great! I placed my rose nem on a separate piece of rock that had a large crevace in it and shut off all circulation. I let her sit on the rock hoping it would find its happy place and fortunately she did and has not moved since. It took about 30 minutes for the nem to embed into the crevace. I was lucky because those suckers are hit and miss and love to travel.

Keep up the good work!

 

[reeftivo]

There are some threads on modding the rimless for jumpers but most if not all lose too much par and go with 250 halides to compensate. I have a modest firefish and even though they have a jumping rep, Mine never travels higher than mid tank and stays primarily at the bottom. If I did have to mod, I would probably go with framing some 1/4 inch diffuser as opposed to screen or mesh unless you could find translucent mesh like fishing line. The black mesh just absorbs too much light.

What do you all think?

 

[reeftivo]

bubble magus skimmer arrived

bubble magus skimmer arrived

The Bubble Magus skimmer just arrived in my office. I wont be setting it up for a couple weeks but FYI, The build quality is much much better than I expected. It has a much better cast acrylic mold than the stock skimmer and the neck transition is a slighly rounded mold as well. Everything seems to be very tight and nicely glued with no sloppy seams-WOW! The collection cup has two inset o-rings which slide easily into the neck and everything seems precision machined. At first I looked at it and thought it would be difficult to clean since the diffuser plate inside is not removable but after looking at the drain assembly, it can easily be removed to get cleaning brushes inside. The diffuser is not a traditional bubble diffuser in the sense that bubbles dont get pushed up through holes. It looks as if the pump will push water up and through the center and the fins on the plate will then diffuse micros on the convergent path downward before exiting the skimmer (should still work good) although it wont lessen turbulence at the air water line much. It has a smaller footprint than the stock smimmer and the adjustable stand pipe is very smooth. The stand pipe comes right out for easy cleaning. I can't believe these things are being sold for $100. What's the catch?LOL. I can't wait to set this up!

Will keep you informed,

Tivo

 

[reeftivo]

bump

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Thanks for the update on the skimmer Reeftivo - I decided to pull the trigger on the Bubble-Magus. It sounds like it's a major step-up over the stock skimmer. Eddie says they will ship on Nov 25th.

I also ordered the glass lid. Not sure how much impact it will have on temp/evap. It seems that between the waterfall in the overflow and oxygenation occurring in the skimmer plus the sump, gas exchange shouldn't be much of a problem. At $20 - it's worth trying.

Eddie also mentioned they are rolling out a 50 Gal Starphire tank in December -

 

[ItsMee]

weird skimer problem:

I cleaned my skimmer recently and expected a break-in period. After not rinsing a filter sock my skimmer has been off due to excess foam - DOH! Today it STILL would not run on the lowest setting without the collection cup instantly filling. I decided to do a bug test. I placed my finger over the air tube blocking the air. This revealed that the problem is not excess foam, but the fact that the water level goes half way up the riser tube even though there is nothing blocking the water exit. It is not clogged or anything and is not gated at all! What gives?

 

[ItsMee]

i put an air restrictor valve on the air line and lessened the bubbles it is taking in and it seems to be skimming very well now. It is almost as if it pulls in WAY more air then it did before I cleaned it, which doesn't really make sense because it wasn't that dirty. Then again, it could just be my imagination. Does the skimmer pump require a certain amount of air (I know if you add more ir then it can handle it breaks it) to not break? I know I cant add air, but will it be possible to lessen the amount of air it gets without ruining it?

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I'm not a skimmer expert, Reeftivo can probably give a better analysis - It seems to me the last thing you'd want to do in decrease the volume of air. There must be a way to correct the problem without reducing the skimmers efficiency.

I'm having a great day today as within 12 hours of being introduced to the tank, my new ORA Picasso pair is making gestures toward hosting in my RBTA.

I reduced the flow (dialed back the MP20) and the RBTA is slowy exiting the cave and positioning itself front and center for the clowns:fun2:

 

[ItsMee]

Those are some good looking clowns! I was just researching what I should get for my clowns to host - RBTA's look really cool. Thanks for posting

The skimmer has settled down. Either that is what is going to happen everytime I clean it, or it is from the filter sock I installed. Reducing the air worked good as a temp fix until it sorted itself out. Skimers are very interesting. I may try to DIY one someday. it would be fun to take out the shelf under the cabinet and make a skimer as fat and tall as possible maybe even with a recirculating pump.

 

[timdanger]

And now, pictures of Cadlights' new Bubble-Magus skimmer!:

what comes in the box:

collection cup/wedge-pipe:

skimmer body:

Afman PH-1100 pump box. This skimmer was redesigned from the Bubble-Magus NAC3 for Cadlights, and now uses this pump instead of the NAC pump that comes with other Bubble-Magus NAC skimmers. The pump fits snuggly into the body with no teflon tape needed (I might add some to really secure it in there/make sure I'm not leaking any pressure, but it doesn't seem necessary at this point). I did have to unscrew a fitting that was screwed into the "out" hole and move it to the side "in" hole - not sure if they all come like this, but this is definitely a requirement to get the thing to fit together.

Afman PH-1100 pump and intake nozzle. reasonably quiet. not sure how much heat it's adding to the system, but my temperatures have increased about 2 degrees (F) since installing (running between 81-83F). However, I don't know if this might have more to do with the top or the skimmer.

instructions/warranty card(? I don't know this for sure, I guess) that came with the skimmer and pump (the picture was useful; the rest was in Chinese (I'm assuming).

assembled (took about 10 minutes to unpack/assemble, despite no English instructions).

installed/0 minutes of skimming. milky fine bubbles -- awesome. i like the bubbles in the stock skimmer, but this is definitely a big improvement. I'm getting a bit of a straw-slurping sound from the air intake tube. The skimmer does not come with a silencer like the stock skimmer does for some reason. No idea why not. I talked to Eddie, and he suggested that I could use a silencer on it without affecting performance too much. He also suggested sticking a sponge over the top of it to muffle it a little bit (because the sound isn't horrible -- at least it's not grating on my nerves yet). I might look into that.

after 48 hours of skimming, with the wedge pipe tuned to the dryest skimmate setting ("Max"). Not much in the actual collection cup, at this point, but it's clearly ready to start producing if I just tuned it down some. But, I wanted to run it on Max for awhile to start with and then gradually tune it down.

after 72 hours of skimming. I messed around with tuning the wedge pipe for a while, and I finally settled on tuning it down to about "4" to get the water level a little higher/a little wetter skimmate. It's nice to be able to control the skimmate so much more precisely like this -- much better than having a ball valve. The skimmate I'm producing at this point is black and disgusting, just like I like it! And, looking at the skimmer this morning, I've more than doubled this amount of skimmate since I took this picture last night (about 8 more hours). So, it's really taking drawing out that gunk now! I could certainly take out more if I tuned the wedge pipe down to about 3-3.5, too, I think. But, I am going for a dryer skimmate (at least at first).

 

[timdanger]

Sadly, I have no good pictures of my new Bluespotted Jawfish, JAWS, yet (glass is a little dirty while I wait to receive my new Nimble Nano, and that wreaks havoc on my picture-taking). However, I do have a neat picture of Jaws while he is acclimating!:

He is the basis for my forthcoming post on my DIY mesh/glass/eggcrate top.