wishntoboutside
professional snow flake
i like that bracket very well engineered. wondering about hot spots with that reflector for the tank. but i guess i will just have to follow this one.
Cadlights 50G Artisan Cube Tank Build Thread
- Thread starter cocoaandme
- Start date
cocoaandme
New member
Thanks Richard! That means a lot coming from a reef veteran. When I get this thing running I'll definitely have to drop by to load up on goodies. :thumbsup:
Yeah I was just being lazy and hoping to not have to do any more machining.:hmm2:
cocoaandme
New member
Didn't get to fill it today 
but I did finish the plumbing. Here are some pics:
The two unions surrounding the 1/2" tee let me swap it around so that later on I can easily plumb the remote refugium:
And in the overflow:
I plumbed my returns with a y-fitting. The elbow spigots are female threaded to allow the loc-line male threaded fitting to screw in from the other side of the overflow. I did it like this because 1/2" bulkheads won't fit for the return holes. Thank you to BriGuy31+ for the idea!:
Also my durso stand pipe:
I cut the notches in the pipe at different heights and widths and length so that the water wouldn't crash together right at the opening. I hope this makes it a bit quieter. We will see when I do my wet run to test for leaks.
but I did finish the plumbing. Here are some pics:
The two unions surrounding the 1/2" tee let me swap it around so that later on I can easily plumb the remote refugium:
And in the overflow:
I plumbed my returns with a y-fitting. The elbow spigots are female threaded to allow the loc-line male threaded fitting to screw in from the other side of the overflow. I did it like this because 1/2" bulkheads won't fit for the return holes. Thank you to BriGuy31+ for the idea!:
Also my durso stand pipe:
I cut the notches in the pipe at different heights and widths and length so that the water wouldn't crash together right at the opening. I hope this makes it a bit quieter. We will see when I do my wet run to test for leaks.
Sinful Aquatics
Nano Reefer
I see it's coming along nicely
I have mine on an angle at the corner of the wall. That way I can have all the plugs and ballast hidden. Plus the tank directly faces the couch, so I have something to watch during commercials. 4" will be fine, you won't even notice it from the front. Keep up the good work!!
rroselavy
Premium Member
I left a 4" gap in order to fit the bulk of my electrical on the back side of my stand. For example, my Ecotech battery backup is on the back of the stand, and the battery casing is the better part of 3-4" thick. I also was able to fit a ballast, a narrow UPS, chords, and get my hand back there in case I have to reach something or clean the back glass. I can fit the Ecotech MP40W pump on the back glass if desired. Highly recommended. IMHO function is more important than aesthetics for this decision, but the separation has never drawn my attention when looking at the tank.
cocoaandme
New member
Yeah I think 4 inches is a good distance. That's about the distance I had for my other tanks but they weren't rimless and not nearly as nice looking as this one.
cocoaandme
New member
Oh yeah why do you think there will be hotspots for this reflector? Have other people had problems with this? It's only a 150w so if there are hotspots it shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully...
You might want to plan on getting some Plastic Ratchet Aquarium Hose Clamps for the flex tubing on the barbed fittings in your overflow and return pump. Another reefer suggested this to me and it is a good idea that I hadn't thought about. Disregard if you already thought of this.
. I also like your durso. Will the small tubing going though the hole also silence it a bit more? I just have holes drilled(X3) that are 1/8" but it is still pretty quiet.
. I also like your durso. Will the small tubing going though the hole also silence it a bit more? I just have holes drilled(X3) that are 1/8" but it is still pretty quiet.
cocoaandme
New member
You might want to plan on getting some Plastic Ratchet Aquarium Hose Clamps for the flex tubing on the barbed fittings in your overflow and return pump. Another reefer suggested this to me and it is a good idea that I hadn't thought about. Disregard if you already thought of this.
Yeah I will be putting on the hose clamps. I actually haven't cemented the plumbing yet. Just haven't had time to. The tubing is meant to quiet the durso more. Before I had issues with sound coming from dursos without the tubing but it depends on your flow rate. If yours is already quiet then that's good. Have you closed the ball valve on your return at all or are you using full flow?
cocoaandme
New member
I have it a little less then 1/3 closed. I was messing with it when I first set it up and haven't moved it since. Maybe when I get some time, I will open it up all the way and see if it gets louder.
cocoaandme
New member
I just wanted to add some pointers for people who are setting up the Cadlights tank (and these may be helpful for all tanks).
I drilled a hole in the spigot of the return line at the top as a siphon break in case of pump failure. With the Cadlights tanky ou only have to do this on one side as both sides form a single circuit.
I also put a light later of silicone on the seams of the inside of the stand so that if water spills out of the sump it does not seep through the seems and under the stand.
And while I was arranging the rockwork I used cardboard to protect the glass in case the rocks fell over. I then removed the cardboard when the rocks were stable so I could see how it looked. It was quite easy to do and gave me more confidence in trying different things with the rock.
Anyway I just wanted to share those ideas because I thought they might be helpful. Happy reefing everyone!:wavehand:
I drilled a hole in the spigot of the return line at the top as a siphon break in case of pump failure. With the Cadlights tanky ou only have to do this on one side as both sides form a single circuit.
I also put a light later of silicone on the seams of the inside of the stand so that if water spills out of the sump it does not seep through the seems and under the stand.
And while I was arranging the rockwork I used cardboard to protect the glass in case the rocks fell over. I then removed the cardboard when the rocks were stable so I could see how it looked. It was quite easy to do and gave me more confidence in trying different things with the rock.
Anyway I just wanted to share those ideas because I thought they might be helpful. Happy reefing everyone!:wavehand:
cocoaandme
New member
I finished my rocks:
cocoaandme
New member
And filled it up!
cocoaandme
New member
I used 20lbs of fiji pink caribsea live sand. I am going to transfer my purple tang from my other tank to this one. I know it's looked down upon by the tang police but I have had my purple tang for 3 years now and it isn't an open swimmer. it likes to hide and then dart out to scavenge the rocks for food. So I think it should be happy with this amount of space and when it gets bigger I can get a bigger tank. Right now it's just 3 1/2" long. I got him when he was just 2" very cute. I don't know why he is growing so slowly but he has been pretty healthy and eating lots.
As for other creatures, I want to put in a cleaner shrimp, a six-line wrasse and a sand sifting goby. And if anything catches my eye later on I might add that too haha.
What kind of substrate are you using?
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