CADlights 39g Pro build thread

[reeftivo]

My guess is these put our about the same as 2 X 250MHs (and they have nice shimmer) - all for about 140 watts of electricity. One negative, there's NO heat, I'll have to run my heater a lot more (you can sell your chiller)

Nice!! You're right, I may have to sell the chiller. If you need more heat just put the old stock CAD pump back in-LOL. I'm looking at getting the Artisan tank for my man room upstairs and if/when I get the AI lights, will eventually put them on the Artisan tank. So I'll still need the chiller for the 39.

I might have to pimp myself out to get some extra cash! That's Ugly! LOL!!!

 

[mkregs]

I just threw these up - haven't had a chance to tweak. They are a bit "spotlighted" but that will be fixed once they are hung a few inches higher.

All I can say is WOW - they change to total character of the tank. It looks so much crisper. The photos are not post-processed. The FTS were taken at 45% power - that approximates the output of the stock bulbs. The Zoa shot is just the blues.

When you turn down the whites, the "Pop" is absolutely unreal - My photo skills in no way demonstrate how beautiful these lights are. I've never seen anything like it.

To say I am impressed would be an understatement.

Sweet lights! and nice looking tank! However, your zoa garden looks a bit crowded..I would be happy to provide you with my address so that you can take care of that problem and ship me some of them

That's a seriously deep bed of substrate you have there.

Nice job!
Mark

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Sweet lights! and nice looking tank! However, your zoa garden looks a bit crowded..I would be happy to provide you with my address so that you can take care of that problem and ship me some of them

That's a seriously deep bed of substrate you have there.

Nice job!
Mark

Thanks Mark,

I've always been a big believer in deep sand beds. It's 4 1/2" in the front and increases to 6" in the back of the tank. 2" of Seaflor special on top of Aragamax Select. I lose a lot of depth, but I've never been able to measure any Nitrates.

To me, it's a good trade off.

 

[timdanger]

Tom, that's a nice looking Midas Blenny. I'd love to have one of those, but I'm not sure how he'd get along with my bluespot jawfish. D:

I need to save my money for corals anyway, I guess.

 

[reeftivo]

Busy here at work but "WOW" had to peek again to see those awsome AI lights.
Thanks Tom!

 

[mkregs]

Busy here at work but "WOW" had to peek again to see those awsome AI lights.
Thanks Tom!

It's always dangerous when you go back to take another look...I have a feeling your wallet is going to be $1200 thinner soon

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

A few days with the AIs and I absolutely love them. I'm starting to see more color from the SPS, and my Crocea seems to be happy basking in the new light. I'm only up to 75% power on the whites, I don't think I'll be able to go much higher until I get them hung.

The light is much brighter than portrayed in the photos, I had to underexpose to keep from washing out the images.

The actinic Pop is unreal - it's nice to be able to dial in any color you want with the turn of a knob.

Purple Firefish - Pretty, but boring.

Tyree Toadstool

I started an AI owners thread on the ReefGeek forum at http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1771587

On another note, I've been having a problem maintaining pH - Diurnal swings have been running 8.06-8.15, and that's with auto dosing 30ml of B-Ionic, and Kalk top off hourly overnight.

I think it's a Co2 issue - a result of the tank being placed in a family room that gets lots of use and has a fireplace in use almost continuously. I ordered a CO2 scrubber to test - It came in on Friday, but had the wrong fittings so I won't be able to get it going until later in the week.

 

[reeftivo]

It's always dangerous when you go back to take another look...I have a feeling your wallet is going to be $1200 thinner soon

You're absolutely right mkregs:lmao:

I vow to stay off this thread for a while until I find out how much damage I'm in for at tax time:!
Every time I see those pics I start opening my wallet and eyeballing my credit card:lmao:. In the mean time, I'm very happy with my 13K geissemann bulb in the fixture and starting to get very good base growth on my acros with extremely good polyp extension now. Still looking forward though to blowing (I mean investing-oops!) a ton of cash on the AI's:thumbsup:

Stop posting those pics CalmSeasQuest-JK-TOO AWSOME!

Tivo

 

[timdanger]

You're absolutely right mkregs:lmao:

I vow to stay off this thread for a while until I find out how much damage I'm in for at tax time:!

No joke, man. This thread is dangerous.

Speaking of pocket-emptying calamities, my wife and I just discovered that the water line to our refrigerator's ice maker has (had) apparently broken, and the ensuing result is that my subfloor/crawlspace/insulation under my kitchen is wet. From my non-expert eyeballing of the situation, it doesn't look like it's been wet so long that it's caused any MAJOR damage (though there is some sporadic mold-looking growth), but ServPro is coming out tomorrow to give me an estimate on drying it out/cleaning it up. Sigh.

 

[reeftivo]

No joke, man. This thread is dangerous.

Speaking of pocket-emptying calamities, my wife and I just discovered that the water line to our refrigerator's ice maker has (had) apparently broken, and the ensuing result is that my subfloor/crawlspace/insulation under my kitchen is wet. From my non-expert eyeballing of the situation, it doesn't look like it's been wet so long that it's caused any MAJOR damage (though there is some sporadic mold-looking growth), but ServPro is coming out tomorrow to give me an estimate on drying it out/cleaning it up. Sigh.

I've been known to let things crumble around my house before I would miss a water change!:lmao:

Sorry about the darn water line. That happened to me about six years ago but it was fortunately on a concrete foundation.

Hang in there!

OOPS, Here I am again looking at those pics?

I may need a 12 step program soon!

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I may need a 12 step program soon!

I think I might be beyond the help of a 12 step program.....INTERVENTION

I decided NOT to buy anything else, especially since there is a huge frag swap coming up nearby on 1/31 where I've already committed to tons of SPS, Acans and Chalices...

So I was innocently browsing RC, just learning without ANY intent to buy anything and BAM

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1757159 A,B,D and E

I....couldn't....resist.....:inlove:

I truly need help :rollface:

 

[reeftivo]

LOL!! Hear Ya!

Don't freak out too much about the swing. When your lights are off in the morning and you have your moonlights on, can you see polyp extension on the corals? (may have to use a backround light to see them good from the side of the tank).

The reason I'm asking is if the animals are not responding negatively, there may be a minor calibration issue with the Apex. I have the AC Jr. and was holding daytime pH at 8.3 with a drop of .3 during the evening. I calibrated the sucker a few times and was told by Neptune Systems that I needed check my calibration fluid. I was using the 7.1 and 10 packets and they said to use the 7.0 and 10 fluid. They also said for me to set calibration as soon as the number drop stalls for a few seconds. I was waiting at least a minute for the number to stabilize and they said thats why my numbers were not correct.

Just a thought!

Tivo

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

PE looks OK, and I learned the hard way about calibrating probes (new they were .25 high :mad2 Now I calibrate pH probes every couple of months with the 7.0 and 10.0.

I just think that because the room the tank is in is often full of people AND the fireplace, CO2 levels are probably high. I'm mostly curious as to what the impact will be - The scrubber can be refilled in bulk, so its really cheap to run.

 

[reeftivo]

PE looks OK, and I learned the hard way about calibrating probes (new they were .25 high :mad2 Now I calibrate pH probes every couple of months with the 7.0 and 10.0.

I just think that because the room the tank is in is often full of people AND the fireplace, CO2 levels are probably high. I'm mostly curious as to what the impact will be - The scrubber can be refilled in bulk, so its really cheap to run.

C'mon Tom! Wear a darn jacket and keep those people out of your fish room!:wildone:

I'm sure you right about the fireplace and the extra bodies in there. Maybe you could get a huge CUC to clean up the people in there:lmao:

Let me know how that scrubber works out. I have an extra RO canister and may try it out. I'm a bit leary of how quick some say it they have to change out the media. Good call on buying the media in bulk (way cheaper). They claim it enhances skimmate production. I assume the lack of CO2 allows for more surface area on the bubble to collect more proteins-Could be?

Tivo

 

[creefer01]

A few days with the AIs and I absolutely love them. I'm starting to see more color from the SPS, and my Crocea seems to be happy basking in the new light. I'm only up to 75% power on the whites, I don't think I'll be able to go much higher until I get them hung.

The light is much brighter than portrayed in the photos, I had to underexpose to keep from washing out the images.

The actinic Pop is unreal - it's nice to be able to dial in any color you want with the turn of a knob.

Purple Firefish - Pretty, but boring.

Tyree Toadstool

I started an AI owners thread on the ReefGeek forum at http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1771587

On another note, I've been having a problem maintaining pH - Diurnal swings have been running 8.06-8.15, and that's with auto dosing 30ml of B-Ionic, and Kalk top off hourly overnight.

I think it's a Co2 issue - a result of the tank being placed in a family room that gets lots of use and has a fireplace in use almost continuously. I ordered a CO2 scrubber to test - It came in on Friday, but had the wrong fittings so I won't be able to get it going until later in the week.

Tank looks fantastic, Tom. I have a small planted FW that I run LED on and the difference is unreal however not like what you are experiencing. I'm still in the planning stages with my build and don't know if I'll be able to dump AI dough at this point. I may have to wait on that one. Still trying to decide if I should do CAD 39 Pro, 50 Artisan, or custom 40 br. The decision is killing me. The more I evaluate and run numbers, more time goes by that could be devoted to cycling the new tank...

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Let me know how that scrubber works out. I have an extra RO canister and may try it out. I'm a bit leary of how quick some say it they have to change out the media. Good call on buying the media in bulk (way cheaper). They claim it enhances skimmate production. I assume the lack of CO2 allows for more surface area on the bubble to collect more proteins-Could be?

Tivo

The increased skimmer production intrigues me too - not sure of the mechanics behind it. As for media exhaustion, it will vary based on the ambient CO2 levels - With our smaller skimmers (well except perhaps you RT, Mr. "skimmer of the week, build me a bigger sump so I can have an even BIGGER skimmer" foam fractionating guru :lol2 I think the media will last at least a couple of months. It's color changing so it will be easy to tell - and replacement media is pretty cheap. If it works, it will be worth it, if not, it never hurts to have an extra canister around.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Tank looks fantastic, Tom. I have a small planted FW that I run LED on and the difference is unreal however not like what you are experiencing. I'm still in the planning stages with my build and don't know if I'll be able to dump AI dough at this point. I may have to wait on that one. Still trying to decide if I should do CAD 39 Pro, 50 Artisan, or custom 40 br. The decision is killing me. The more I evaluate and run numbers, more time goes by that could be devoted to cycling the new tank...

Thanks creefer01 - This hobby is certainly time (and $$$) consuming. I researched for a couple months before going withe the Cad Pro. I think if the Artisan had been available, many of us would have gone with that.

As inevitably happens, no matter what you pick, you'll likely want more later. I'm working on a 6' shallow 3 sided Starphire peninsula reef now, just have to find a way to beef up a few floor joices in a finished basement first

Big Frag swap meet in Lansing 1/31 and I'm already out of space :eek1:

 

[creefer01]

Thanks creefer01 - This hobby is certainly time (and $$$) consuming. I researched for a couple months before going withe the Cad Pro. I think if the Artisan had been available, many of us would have gone with that.

As inevitably happens, no matter what you pick, you'll likely want more later. I'm working on a 6' shallow 3 sided Starphire peninsula reef now, just have to find a way to beef up a few floor joices in a finished basement first

Big Frag swap meet in Lansing 1/31 and I'm already out of space :eek1:

You're right on the time and $$ thing. Planning is key and once I have everything figured out, I'll start to procure equipment. I'll likely start a build thread once I start getting equipment. I'm limited on space, so I'll only be able to have one DT and adequate space for all the ancillary equipment, most of which will need to go into the stand. I too will need to do some reinforcement of the floor framing prior to tank arrival.

I plan on trying to get up to the swap to simply check things out, see what's available in terms of equipment, and visit Pruess.

 

[mkregs]

I decided NOT to buy anything else, especially since there is a huge frag swap coming up nearby on 1/31 where I've already committed to tons of SPS, Acans and Chalices...

I was thinking about going to the frag swap on 1/31 too. It probably would not be a good idea though as I just dropped $1200 on repairs for my '99 Mustang Conv and I know I couldn't walk away from a frag swap without dropping some coin.

This hobby is crazy. If I was to add up what I have spent in the past year, I would probably have to change my tighty whiteys after looking at the grand total. But, seriously...how cool is a little piece of the ocean inside your house?? Also, I love the fact that my kids are involved and are learning from it.

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

But, seriously...how cool is a little piece of the ocean inside your house?? Also, I love the fact that my kids are involved and are learning from it.

+1

Even if I were to add it up (which I will NEVER do...) When you consider the countless hours of enjoying - it's still cheap entertainment.

My Son is away at school in Ann Arbor, he will often come home with a few friends and instead of playing Xbox 360 or watching TV, they will sit, sometimes for hours around the reef tank.

If it has the power to stop teenagers in their tracks, it simply has to be magic.