Chartwell's 50 gallon CAD cube

[Aquabacs]

Looking good and following your thread along

Building my 50G CAD cube as well
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1773991

Mike

 

[galoot]

Very nice so far. I'm debating picking up one of my own

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

Silent Overflow using a Zip Lock Bag

Silent Overflow using a Zip Lock Bag

Kinda concerning that the overflow in its stock form is so loud, I suppose using both holes for a herbie setup might be an option. Anyone know if the back and or bottom of these tanks is tempered or not? I would kind of hate to have the return going up over the edge of the tank if I can help it.

I was able to completely silence the overflow noise on a CadLight 39Gal Pro (same overflow as the 50 I believe) by simply using a one gallon zip-lock bag and a couple of zip ties.

My Durso was cut way too short and I haven't had time to tear it apart to lengthen it. I had been using the CD cover trick, but it was less effective at the higher flow rates I'm using to keep circulation up for a frag tank I built in the sump so....

I removed the CD cover and replaced it with a 1 gallon size zip-lock bag. I draped it immediately behind the teeth of the overflow and attached it with a couple of zip ties so it hangs down into the overflow. The result is the overflow is absolutely silent. The water runs down between the baggie and the wall of the overflow, it doesn't trap any waste in the water and automatically adjusts for changes in water flow.

See http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1472553&page=35 (There's a photo about 2/3rds down the page)

 

[chartwell]

CalmSeasQuest: Thank you for that idea - I just swapped out my CD case + filter pad for a zip-lock bag and it is working great. The filter pad already had a bunch of nasty stuff on it, so I do think it would have been awfully high maintenance. The bag seems to be doing the trick and won't have any upkeep.

By the way, I saw your tank in that thread and your new lights are amazing!

 

[chartwell]

Husband here...The internal structure of the stand is built as follows:

Top structure = (2) 24" lengths of 2x4 and (2) ~21" (depends on the exact thickness of your lumber; you want 24" minus twice the thickness).

Form these into a box 24" square and glue with biscuits and water-resistant glue. Next cut two more 2x4s to slip inside and attach these with pocket screws. You could either use stainless screws or do what I did and get the plugs to fill the pocket holes.

The vertical supports are four sets of 2x4s joined with glue and screws into a right angle (so every edge has full vertical support). I countersunk the screws and plugged with dowels so they wouldn't corrode. I made the length so the overall height would be 32" but you can adjust as desired.

Once dry I jointed them square and ripped to 3.25" inches wide so I'd have larger openings as this is more than strong enough.

Pocket screw + glue these to the square top structure and make sure you get it all square.

I used the scraps from ripping the legs to 3.25" to form the lower shelf support. Cut to length to bring the legs plumb and glue + single pocket screw.

Top shelf is 3/4" plywood and lower is 1/2".

I'll explain the outside skin later if you want (once you see the finished product).

 

[theyammieguy]

That sounds good.

 

[kevantheman35]

thanks for the stand description! my build starts tomorrow

 

[chartwell]

Progress

Progress

Lots of progress over the last few days! I did my aquascaping and it took about twenty different attempts but I'm finally happy with it. I had 25 lbs of reef saver rock from BRS that has been in a rubbermaid tub with old tank water, heat, flow, light and a bunch of live rock and live sand for over a month and it is looking like it is coming to life nicely. Then I added my two best, biggest pieces of live rock (covered with feather dusters, sponges, etc.) from my old tank. I already had a bunch of little pieces of live rock and sand from the old tank in the sump. My Midas Blenny rode over to the new tank inside of one of the rocks. I knew he was going to do that but I think he'll be okay in the new tank. All the parameters look good and there is enough stuff from the old tank that I don't think I'll have a cycle. But I will be watching very closely and plan on waiting a bit to put in the other two fish. I also did not move my open brain yet because it is my best coral and I'm paranoid about it! But I'll move it soon if everything looks happy.

Enough talk, here are some pictures - colors looks way better in person, don't really have a grasp on how to photograph it right:

 

[theyammieguy]

Very nice. I like that BRS rock.

 

[chartwell]

One week report

One week report

Got all of my rock and livestock transfered over and so far everyone seems very happy except my blasto, which is a shriveled, pitiful blob. I have it in a nice shady cave since I know they don't like high light, but I think it is still mad about the MH! Everything else seems to be responding really well. I've never had the ability to have just actinics on and can't believe how beautiful things are under the actinic bulbs! My frogspawn is amazing as are my orange zoas and my open brain. I took some pictures trying to capture how cool stuff looks. Also got the stand finished, just waiting on the door pull.

My Vortech MP10 is awesome, very quiet and puts out great flow. Practically invisible on the back wall. The BM skimmer is producing thick foam, but not actually putting any skimmate into the cup yet. I did take the cup out and rinse it well, it had a brown scum on it. I think there just might not be a whole lot for it to skim yet.

Here are the actinic shots plus the tank and stand, plus a FTS. I swear there are three fish in there but they declined to be caught on film! You can see the clown hovering up by one of the returns if you look closely.

 

[Aquabacs]

Looking good! Hope to get water in mine by Wednesday.

Mike

 

[reefermad619]

Can you post detailed info on how you contructed/wired your ATO? I think this would work well for me, and I like its simplicity. Thanks. Tank looks great.

 

[chartwell]

reefermade619: We just bought the switch, pump and tubing from autotopoff.com We got the one made to go in the sump and it has two switches- one is the main switch the other is an emergency back up in case the water level gets too high in the sump. We used the Aqualifter pump which sits on the outside of the water container. It is slow but works fine for a smaller system like this. All you have to do is attach the float switches to the plastic strip-holder using zip ties (all of this was included in the kit) then plug the pump into the switches and then plug that into the power and voila- it worked right off the bat! My first container was too small because the tank is using almost a gallon of water a day, so now I have a five gallon plastic "Kritter Keeper" from the pet store and it works great.

 

[chartwell]

Well, that sucks - the pump on my skimmer just blew up or something. Heard it make a "zzzfft" sound and now it is dead. I tried draining, cleaning and restarting it, but no go. Guess I'll see if they can send me a replacement pump...

 

[reefermad619]

reefermade619: We just bought the switch, pump and tubing from autotopoff.com We got the one made to go in the sump and it has two switches- one is the main switch the other is an emergency back up in case the water level gets too high in the sump. We used the Aqualifter pump which sits on the outside of the water container. It is slow but works fine for a smaller system like this. All you have to do is attach the float switches to the plastic strip-holder using zip ties (all of this was included in the kit) then plug the pump into the switches and then plug that into the power and voila- it worked right off the bat! My first container was too small because the tank is using almost a gallon of water a day, so now I have a five gallon plastic "Kritter Keeper" from the pet store and it works great.

:thumbsup:

 

[timdanger]

Well, that sucks - the pump on my skimmer just blew up or something. Heard it make a "zzzfft" sound and now it is dead. I tried draining, cleaning and restarting it, but no go. Guess I'll see if they can send me a replacement pump...

sucks man. welcome to the "had to replace X piece of cadlights equipment that crapped out on me" club. you might want to look into replacing that pump with the Tunze Silence return pumps (either the 1073.040 or the 1073.020). they are great, and the people that are using them on their cads like them.

other than that, this looks like a good start! keep us updated in the 39g pro build thread! lots of good information there that also applies to the similarly-equipped 50g artisan.

 

[chartwell]

timdanger: it has been quite a saga on the skimmer pump. I think Eddie is avoiding me completely now :bigeyes: but listen to this: I found a pump at Petco that looked like the right size and was about the same GPH. I had to sand down the input to let the fitting from the skimmer fit over it, but it actually ran the skimmer. But it had a lot of turbulence. So I took apart the original pump to see if I could fit the meshwheel in the Petco pump. That didn't work, but after noticing how touchy the Petco pump was about having the impeller "just so" or it wouldn't run, I tried messing around with the original pump and it decided to work again!

I still want to get a back up pump in case of failure and I have heard good things about those Tunze pumps. The only thing is they look to be much stronger than the skimmer pump. I might get one to be a back up return pump though. I'm getting to where I don't trust any of the original equipment! The cooling fan rusted within days and I replaced it, and the MH fan sounds like a jet taking off and we plan on replacing it soon. Other than that the light seems solid.

I still love the tank, just taking a little tweaking to make it all that it can be!

 

[FISHUNT-72]

Chartwell I learned from buying my AIO's.Everything they came with has been replaced.That's why I bought the tank only.I'll buy everything separately.Buying a package gets you up and running a lot faster,but it seems like they cheap out on some stuff.(pumps,cooling fans,bulbs)My tank is still in the box.I'm still getting supplies to build my stand.What type of wood did you use on the exterior of your stand?It really looks good!By the way,I'm using a Tunze 1073.04 for my return.Really good pump.Tunze=Quality.Also are you happy with the MP-10?I was planning on getting a 40,but I might go with 2 MP-10's.

 

[chartwell]

I hear you FISHUNT-72 - I plan on ordering a back up return pump so maybe I'll get that Tunze. Actually I would use it as the main pump and keep the stock pump as a back up. I must say though, it has been silent and had no problems. I did upgrade to a Ushio MH bulb which I like. I want to get some better actinics for when it is time to change them, but can't decide what would be good. I think the stock bulbs are not true actinics because they are blue. I like the way they look pretty well so maybe I should get some blue +'s?

The stand exterior is Cherry.

I LOVE the MP-10 but am thinking of getting a second one to go one the other side of the overflow. I have a bit of a dead area over there. I think that would be perfect for flow.

 

[chartwell]

One more thing - that Tunze pump says it is 792 GPH and the stock one is 1,000. Does that matter? I have this image of the water draining out faster than it can re replaced! You can tell I've never dealt with a plumbed tank before, it is like witchcraft to me! :hmm2: