CADlights 39g Pro build thread

[reeftivo]

Well here are some shots of my tank:

First what I downsized from - Oceanic Tech 120:

Loved that tank but it was just too big for our house.

Now my CAD:

You can see there are still micro-bubbles but not nearly as many as there were. I cut apart the very porous sponge from my mag 12 and put part of it under the drain and two small slices in the overflow from the center portion leading to the return pump. I don't want to use a filter sock because I don't want to have to clean/replace it as often as needed. As the skimmer breaks in more the bubbles should subside even more.

Here is the under the cabinet shot:

I took Clayw's idea and flipped the sump around so I could get to the skimmer easier. I am "required" to keep everything under the tank and out of sight so the shelf, or some form of it has to stay. I plan on changing the light to an LED light that will lay on the top right of the center section and then make a small (2 gallon) ATO tank that will sit on top of the sump. The ATO tank may become my shelf.

I put an exhaust fan in the back of the cabinet to help with humidity as well.

For the tank lights I disconnected the very loud fan and tried to install two silent computer fans. Unfortunately they spun at just the right speed as to make the metal pieces of the light resonate. So I took them out and placed them on top of the fixture where they are very quite and work great.

So nobody beats me up about how I didn't let the tank cycle, I used 25 gallons of water, sand, macro algae and live rock from the 120. I also tested PH, Alk, Salinity, CA and Mag to ensure they matched before moving everything over.

Overall I love this tank and how the transition from a 120 to a 39 worked out. Now to enjoy it for awhile.

Thanks for all the great ideas from prior owners it really made this a fun and fairly frustration free set-up

Looking good!

Watch out with socketed components or non-sealed circuit boxes in that cabinet. Could be expensive!

If my hinges can rust out with two 4 inch fans in my cabinet, imagine what the salt will do with non sealed components.

Just my .02 cents trying to save you some headache down the road.

Tivo

My .02

Tivo

 

[Gillundr]

Well here are some shots of my tank:

First what I downsized from - Oceanic Tech 120:

Loved that tank but it was just too big for our house.

Now my CAD:

You can see there are still micro-bubbles but not nearly as many as there were. I cut apart the very porous sponge from my mag 12 and put part of it under the drain and two small slices in the overflow from the center portion leading to the return pump. I don't want to use a filter sock because I don't want to have to clean/replace it as often as needed. As the skimmer breaks in more the bubbles should subside even more.

Here is the under the cabinet shot:

I took Clayw's idea and flipped the sump around so I could get to the skimmer easier. I am "required" to keep everything under the tank and out of sight so the shelf, or some form of it has to stay. I plan on changing the light to an LED light that will lay on the top right of the center section and then make a small (2 gallon) ATO tank that will sit on top of the sump. The ATO tank may become my shelf.

I put an exhaust fan in the back of the cabinet to help with humidity as well.

For the tank lights I disconnected the very loud fan and tried to install two silent computer fans. Unfortunately they spun at just the right speed as to make the metal pieces of the light resonate. So I took them out and placed them on top of the fixture where they are very quite and work great.

So nobody beats me up about how I didn't let the tank cycle, I used 25 gallons of water, sand, macro algae and live rock from the 120. I also tested PH, Alk, Salinity, CA and Mag to ensure they matched before moving everything over.

Overall I love this tank and how the transition from a 120 to a 39 worked out. Now to enjoy it for awhile.

Thanks for all the great ideas from prior owners it really made this a fun and fairly frustration free set-up

Too big for the house? Why is that? It's only like 2 cads next to each other. Was it too much to take care of or were there other problems, or did you just need a change? Hehe you can be honest. You needed a new toy huh? I think it's really hard to go down in sizes especially that much!

 

[marinetankdiver]

Re: CADlights 39g Pro build thread

Thanks for the heads up. I'll move those to outside the cabinet. I knew hinges were rusting but didn't realize that was the case even with fans in the cabinet.

Found a new way to slow down bubbles and gurgle from overflow. I had extra screen door screen left over so put that in the overflow. Not only did it cut down on the noise but it is hidden but it still let's critters through.

With my old sump the center were black to prevent the fuge light from causing algea growth in skimmer and return area. I draped the screen on each side of the fuge area with it rolled up slightly and stuck in the overflows. This blocks the light and seems to slow the micro bubbles a lot. I'll post Picts later.

 

[marinetankdiver]

Re: CADlights 39g Pro build thread

Actually the 120 was easier to care for than the 39 will be. But the 39 fits in a corner were the 120 took up as much space as a piano. Our living room is only 20 x 15 and the 120 just overpowered the room.

Though getting a new toy didn't suck

That and I'm more likely to get to build an LED system for the smaller tank than I would have for the 120

 

[reeftivo]

Awsome!

Good job.

Smaller tanks are always more difficult because less water = quicker changes in perams and the faster things can crash.

 

[reeftivo]

Actually the 120 was easier to care for than the 39 will be. But the 39 fits in a corner were the 120 took up as much space as a piano. Our living room is only 20 x 15 and the 120 just overpowered the room.

Though getting a new toy didn't suck

That and I'm more likely to get to build an LED system for the smaller tank than I would have for the 120

I hear ya about the 120 overpowering a room! I have a wacky floor plan downstairs and have more windows than wall space. I had a sea clear 125 acrylic FOWLR 10 years ago in my living room and it took up an entire wall(well almost(-. It was fun but my wife hated it-I MEAN HATED IT!!-LOL! I convinced her shortly after that, to let me get a much smaller-LOL 90 gallon and I'll put it upstairs-Yep, UPSTAIRS! It worked well but as you can imagine, maintenance was tasking at times.

I absolutely love the look of my CADlights 39 and it is the perfect size for my livingroom. It's so clean looking and solid!

Tivo

 

[reeftivo]

Update on ZEOvit

6 weeks into zeo and nothing but positive things to say.

PROS:

1)Algae on sand bed and rock-Gone

2)algae dusting on panes-essentially gone/I used to use my magnet at night every other day and now the dusting is barely noticeable after a week. Nice!

3)Growth-sps /lps are all growiing 2 fold, However; mushrooms and zoas don't like the lower nutrients and are not happy. Having to spot feed them.

4)SPS Polyp extension is now day and night instead of primarily night.

5)Can actually control the color intensity of the corals with the supplements.

6)Spotless sump

7) 0 NO3 (Tunze measuring box

8) .02 PO4 (Hanna meter)

9)Maintain natural sea water levels so you dont have to dump as much 2 part in and excess nutrients which build over time.

10)Crystal clear water (although mine was clear before zeo)

CONS:

Really has not been any for me so far. The only thing that is a little tasking for my small brain is remembering the dosing schedule. I write it down on a daily calendar but I know that when I go on Vacation I will need to train someone on the dosing while I'm gone.

Dosing is only a few drops daily which are alternated between supplements.

The only other con may be the cost of the supplements. While they do last quite a while, they are a bit pricy.

FWIW,

Tivo

 

[marinetankdiver]

Update on ZEOvit

Tivo

I looked back through the thread but couldn't find this info. What brand of reactor/filter are you using for the media? What supplements are you also adding?

 

[RealReef]

I use two 4" radio shack fans in my cabinet (hole saw bit from HD helps alot) and have them on adjustable transformer blocks. It gives me 5 different amp speeds. Without the fans on, my cabinet is actually wet inside. On, it's completely dry and my temps stay at 77. During the summer here in california, I bump up the amps on the transformer to compensate for the 100+ days.

I have a chiller hooked up to my neptune controller, but with the fans, it rarely comes on.

I've seen the hofers on the systems at one of my LFS and they are great so it's a matter of preference. Some people have reported to have received short or long pipes with their tanks. The taller Durso standpipe will help a bit with the waterfall effect but will also be a bit less effective at mixing the siphon box and pulling surface junk from the tank. I instaklled a 3 inch taller stand pipe for the durso and the water coming through the weir was not as fast which led to a little surface oils that were noticeable in the main display. Once I put the short piece back on the surface oils went away.

Just my experience!

If you have a shorter pipe and get a lot of noise then that is easy to quiet down. The top of my Durso is six inches down from the top of the siphon box. The water falls in mine about eight inches. I use a clear cd case cover tied to the returns (pictures in this thread) and angled against the wall with some thin mesh batting in between. Works fantastic and doesn't load up and turn into a nitrate factory like the padding.

Happy Reefing!!

Tivo

 

[RealReef]

Picked up new tank in Brooklyn yesterday and made it back home without a scratch, something UPS could not do. The build begins tomorrow and will see how much I get done. First up is to get the cabinet drilled for the side fans and get the electrical installed in the second cabinet. Have hone office so may have some down time to get a little done. Plan is to get everything up and running by this weekend and then take trip to Dr Mac in MD to pickup some live rock. I'm sure I will ping for assistance along the way.

E

 

[coolcorals]

Found a new way to slow down bubbles and gurgle from overflow. I had extra screen door screen left over so put that in the overflow. Not only did it cut down on the noise but it is hidden but it still let's critters through.

I draped the screen on each side of the fuge area with it rolled up slightly and stuck in the overflows. This blocks the light and seems to slow the micro bubbles a lot. I'll post Picts later.

Very interested in photos of both. How did you attach/place the screen in overflow? Loose or in a frame? Are you using the screen in current sump?

As you can tell bubbles and gurgle are still a problem on my system.

 

[meinestrasse]

My 39G Pro finally arrived yesterday -- two weeks late and in a thousand pieces. Even the acrylic sump was cracked. And the second box containing the lights, stand, etc. looked like it had been attacked by a family of grizzly bears.

 

[reeftivo]

I looked back through the thread but couldn't find this info. What brand of reactor/filter are you using for the media? What supplements are you also adding?

I'm using the Vertex 1.5 reactor with .40 liters of zeolites pumped twice daily.

I'm beyond the first exchange of zeolites so my dosing has changed from the initial start up dosing.

3 times weekly= 2 drops zeobac, 2drops Food7, .025ml Pohls Xtra, .15ml Zeo start.

Twice weekly alternating= 2 drops Sponge Power, .25ml Xtra, .15ml Start.


The supplements are food as well for the corals along with the mulm that is created by the reactor. I only feed 5ml of chromaplex twice weekly and lightly feed my fish spectrum once a day.

reactor

 

[reeftivo]

My 39G Pro finally arrived yesterday -- two weeks late and in a thousand pieces. Even the acrylic sump was cracked. And the second box containing the lights, stand, etc. looked like it had been attacked by a family of grizzly bears.

Wow! And it keeps happening over and over again?

I've met with Eddie a few times here in Ontario CA and he has shown me the new way they pack the tanks. I don't know if that when they come out of NY they are packed the same but from what I saw, it was really a solid packaging job (re-enforced everything). They need to ship the components and sump separately because even if they pad that sucker in the tank, it will still bounce after things settle and crack the tank and the sump. Thats the only thing I can think of besides UPS that is creating this issue over and over again. Cadlights must be losing money on all these replacements and you'd think they would nip it in the bud so they can make some dough $$.

Oh well, Eddie will take care of you.

Sorry to hear another one bit the dust.

Tivo

 

[schnitm]

When my first one came the packaging was fine. Some scuffs but nothing that looked like it could have hurt the contents. With the reinforcements the box looks like it could take a lot of abuse without the tank being hurt. The crack ran between the drain and return holes. Looked to me like it could have been a very small crack form drilling that opened up during shipping. Who knows?

Anyway Eddie said he shipped the replacement on Friday. Should be here today or tomorrow. Shure hope this one arrives OK. I'm in no hurry, the stands not done and I haven't even chosen the sump I'm going to use, much less ordered it. These are magnificent tanks. Works of art. Hurts just a bit to see one ruined!

Have to say again, the customer service has been nothing short of excellent! :thumbsup:

 

[meinestrasse]

Wow! And it keeps happening over and over again?

I've met with Eddie a few times here in Ontario CA and he has shown me the new way they pack the tanks. I don't know if that when they come out of NY they are packed the same but from what I saw, it was really a solid packaging job (re-enforced everything). They need to ship the components and sump separately because even if they pad that sucker in the tank, it will still bounce after things settle and crack the tank and the sump. Thats the only thing I can think of besides UPS that is creating this issue over and over again. Cadlights must be losing money on all these replacements and you'd think they would nip it in the bud so they can make some dough $$.

Oh well, Eddie will take care of you.

Sorry to hear another one bit the dust.

Tivo

When I first spoke to Eddie a few weeks ago, he told me all the tanks are being made in California now. Last year I bought a 12G that came from Brooklyn without a scratch. I live in south Florida.

Even with the supposedly new packaging design, I still think the packaging is insufficient. There needs to be some sort of air space or crumple zone between the outside of the box and the tank. I know there is styrofoam and heavy duty cardboard around the tank, but the tank is squeezed in there, so there's still a lot of energy transfer directly to the glass from anything that collides with the outside of the box. The tank should probably be floated inside the styrofoam so that nothing touches the glass. Maybe have the tank suspended by reinforced styrofoam corner blocks or something.

And yes, he's got to get the sump into a separate box on its own. It's wrapped in padding but not terribly secure inside the box, and it rolls around. The shards of glass from the broken tank actually took some chunks out of the acrylic.

And what looked like was in the worst shape was the second box containing the cherry stand, ballast, lighting, etc. Every thing looks like it was stacked in there loosely, with tubing and durso wedged in there to try and hold everything in place.

 

[reeftivo]

When my first one came the packaging was fine. Some scuffs but nothing that looked like it could have hurt the contents. With the reinforcements the box looks like it could take a lot of abuse without the tank being hurt. The crack ran between the drain and return holes. Looked to me like it could have been a very small crack form drilling that opened up during shipping. Who knows?

Anyway Eddie said he shipped the replacement on Friday. Should be here today or tomorrow. Shure hope this one arrives OK. I'm in no hurry, the stands not done and I haven't even chosen the sump I'm going to use, much less ordered it. These are magnificent tanks. Works of art. Hurts just a bit to see one ruined!

Have to say again, the customer service has been nothing short of excellent! :thumbsup:

I hear ya! Eddie is a cool guy! I didn't realize how young he was until I met him. The stock sump works well if you are looking to use a Fuge. I really liked mine. I went with a different design for better skimming options and the use of the zeovit reactor. If you're interested in the simple design I have (15 ga two chamber), http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=106086&stc=1&d=1269368360.

The diagram is for an included small area for macro algae but I chose to not install the second set of wier dividers on the right because of the reactor. I now have an 9 x 13 inch skimmer chamber and 10 x 13 inch reactor/pump chamber. More space, no micros in display and simple/yet effective.

 

[reeftivo]

When I first spoke to Eddie a few weeks ago, he told me all the tanks are being made in California now. Last year I bought a 12G that came from Brooklyn without a scratch. I live in south Florida.

Even with the supposedly new packaging design, I still think the packaging is insufficient. There needs to be some sort of air space or crumple zone between the outside of the box and the tank. I know there is styrofoam and heavy duty cardboard around the tank, but the tank is squeezed in there, so there's still a lot of energy transfer directly to the glass from anything that collides with the outside of the box. The tank should probably be floated inside the styrofoam so that nothing touches the glass. Maybe have the tank suspended by reinforced styrofoam corner blocks or something.

And yes, he's got to get the sump into a separate box on its own. It's wrapped in padding but not terribly secure inside the box, and it rolls around. The shards of glass from the broken tank actually took some chunks out of the acrylic.

And what looked like was in the worst shape was the second box containing the cherry stand, ballast, lighting, etc. Every thing looks like it was stacked in there loosely, with tubing and durso wedged in there to try and hold everything in place.

Excellent points about the buffer zone on the packaging. I think your right about having an area or something to absorb that initial shock when something bumps the boxes.

If you have not all ready, if you dont mind, I'll PM Eddie and run it by him.

Tivo

 

[meinestrasse]

Excellent points about the buffer zone on the packaging. I think your right about having an area or something to absorb that initial shock when something bumps the boxes.

If you have not all ready, if you dont mind, I'll PM Eddie and run it by him.

Tivo

I don't mind at all. I'm actually waiting to hear back from Eddie on my refund, and what he wants me to do with all the damaged goods. I'm actually going to order a tank from Glass Cages now and meet the delivery truck at the drop-off point in Orlando.

 

[reeftivo]

I don't mind at all. I'm actually waiting to hear back from Eddie on my refund, and what he wants me to do with all the damaged goods. I'm actually going to order a tank from Glass Cages now and meet the delivery truck at the drop-off point in Orlando.

So you're not going with CAD after all? Sorry to hear that!

My brother had a 75 long rimless from them (Glass Cages) and had some bad luck as well. The shipping was good but he had issues with their seams and specs. He eventually had it worked out but I guess their are issues with everyone.

You should tell Eddie to send you an artisan tank at the same cost, for all the trouble you've gone through!

Good luck!

Happy Reefing!

Tivo