Cadlights 50G Artisan Cube Tank Build Thread

Oh no I am still in the UK. I just check reefcentral from time to time. But I will be coming back next week to visit my family and my tank.
 
I'm guessing you were back last week or so, with some of the colleges graduating students already. ;)

I always wanted to ask you about your chiller, how you hooked it up. What size, etc, but also read you went to the UK so I figured not to ask, but now that you maybe back in town for a summer time visit, I'll ask?

Any pictures of the chiller next to the stand? The size, how its plumbed, etc, etc.

Thanks in advance.
 
septicdeath said:
I'm guessing you were back last week or so, with some of the colleges graduating students already. ;)

I always wanted to ask you about your chiller, how you hooked it up. What size, etc, but also read you went to the UK so I figured not to ask, but now that you maybe back in town for a summer time visit, I'll ask?

Any pictures of the chiller next to the stand? The size, how its plumbed, etc, etc.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...


Actually I am back in Edinburgh now. I just came home for a week to see my family and visit my old SFVR friends:D. My program here is more condensed than US degrees so I will be doing my dissertation this summer. But feel free to ask me questions. I don't need to be home to know what my setup is like and my family send me pictures of my tank every now and again.

As for my chiller, it is an aquaeuro 1/10hp inline. It is practically identical to the Current chillers. I have a maxi-jet 1200 in the sump that feeds the chiller from the highest section of the sump and the chiller feeds out into the lowest section of the sump. This prevents the cool water from going back into the intake and thus causing the chiller to turn off prematurely.

I just used flex tubing for the plumbing with plastic ties around all connections to prevent leakage. And the chiller is sitting just next to the stand on the right side. Unfortunately I don't think I have any pictures of it but it's pretty straightforward.
 
Thanks. I have a JBJ Artica 1/10 and a 1/15, I'm playing with the notion of trying the 1/15 first, but not sure on if that equates to any savings in power, I went with the JBJ Artica due to the lower flow requirements (both at around 200/250 gph min and 800/900 gph max) so that I could push my return pump though the chiller and into the display. My tank seems to do fine with 300 gph return speed, but It will also handle all that my tunze can throw at it at 800 (I bought a variable speed tunze 1073.50 for this reason).

I do also have a Pacific coast 1/10, but its so much louder than the jbj's, I dont think the wife would allow this thing in the house, might be a perfect chiller for someone with a fish room for their setups, but too loud for the house.

Did you go with a 1/10 right from the start? Just curious, when you say from the highest point in the sump and the lowest point, are you talking about like having the powerhead raised higher in the water column and then returned as low into the column, or do you mean like from the pump compartment and then return to the skimmer compartment? Just curious, I never gave much thought to running it on a loop on the sump, I've always plumbed through the chiller back into the display for best efficiency.

await your posts... thanks

-John
 
Hi John,

When I say from the highest section to the lowest section I mean to say that there is no way for the water output from my chiller to go back into the chiller without first going through my tank. Since you are running the water from your return pump through your chiller and directly into the tank you are doing the same thing since no water coming out of the chiller can go back into it without first mixing with the water in your display tank.

If water coming out of the chiller could bypass the tank and return to the intake of the chiller then the chiller would think that the water in the display tank is cooler than it really is and turn off prematurely. Then it would turn on again soon after. This is obviously very inefficient not to mention annoying.

The only problem I can see with running the water from the return pump into the chiller and into the display (like you are doing) is that then you are putting lots of pressure onto the external plumbing and the plumbing inside the chiller. This may not be an issue but it probably increases the likelihood of a leak forming.

I did not do it that way for that reason and also because I did not want the return rate to be governed by the flow rate for the chiller. But as you said it can work. I am just very fussy about control haha.

As for the size of the skimmer and efficiency, I would say it really depends. It depends on how efficient the chiller is (chillers do not operate with the same efficiency) and how much it is coming on. If you have a smaller chiller and it is on almost all the time then it probably isn't more efficient than if you have a slightly larger chiller that comes on every once in a while. The best way to figure this out is to get a kill-a-watt and see how much wattage your chiller is actually using when it is on. And then try to get an estimate of how much time the chiller stays on during a 24 hour period. Then you will be able to see what is truly more efficient.

And yes I went with a 1/10 right from the start, I really didn't think a 1/15th would cut it and a 1/4 would be too much. I think I made the right choice based on my observations. But I have never done a side to side comparison. Would love to though if I ever get the money or have generous people to donate testing units. :P

Hope that answered your questions. If not please feel free to ask away. Talking about reefs is my kind of fun.:D
 
Thank you!

Thank you!

Richard:
I was ready to buy a nano cube when I run into your post and the details of your setup sold me the Cadlights!!!
A local store offer me a great deal on the complete system so I will be ordering next month!!

Thank you again for taking the time and saving us a lot of headaches.
 
Last edited:
moalvarez66 said:
Richard:
I was ready to buy a nano cube when I run into your post and the details of your setup sold me the Cadlights!!!
A local store offer me a great deal on the complete system so I will be ordering next month!!

Thank you again for taking the time and saving us a lot of headaches.
Click to expand...

I'm glad that this thread helped you out. I hope you enjoy your cadlights tank!
 
sawcreatives said:
Do you have any updates on this tank? I would love to see the growth!
Click to expand...

Unfortunately since I am still in the UK I have not been able to take any pictures of the tank. However, it is a shadow of it's former self since I sold most of the nice corals. I just have a few of the hardier or cheaper corals left in it. That being said a rainbow bulb tip anemone I got from a friend has split and a green acropora seems to be growing very well despite the lack of care. Can't praise refugiums enough! I'll see if my family can take a picture of it for me.
 
Yep so I am back in LA. Done with my program and looking for a job. Here are some pictures of my tank taken today.

IMG_2129.jpg


IMG_2130.jpg


IMG_2131.jpg


So most things survived. A lot of things grew quite well actually. I was surprised that my green acro grew so much even without dosing or water changes. I also have a ton of red hornets now which no one seems to want anymore. All in all I would say it fared well.
 
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