MY 50 Gallon Cadlights Artisan II reef tank build

[Cheebs]

Howdy all,

I've been in the hobby for many years now, and I've upgraded and downgraded many times based on moving, finances and all that jazz, but I finally pulled the trigger on a setup that I had been eyeing for a long time. I really enjoy the look of rimless cubes, and when the Artisan II went on sale I couldn't resist.

I am located in Ottawa, Canada, so getting a tank shipped from California was a little nerve-racking, but it came in perfect shape!

Here are a few pics from when it arrived, to where I'm at today:

So things are beginning to cycle now! I am working on a fish list. So far my ideas include:

Firefish (Purple or helfrichi)
Flame Angel
Maroon pair I've had for roughly 9 years (I will have to wait for the tank to be nice and stable as they are with their S.Gigantea)
Yasha or Yellow Goby + Pistol Shrimp
Six Line Wrasse (or another wrasse alternative)


As for equipment, this is what I currently have:

CADlights 50 Galoon aquairum, stand, sump +plumbing
160g CADlights skimmer
Ecotech Radion Gen 2 LED light
Vortech MP40w (my christmas gift to myself, it's on the way)


I built the aquascape with roughly 60 lbs of live rock, and have more rock in the sump. Now is the waiting game! I hope to come back with an update soon.

If anyone has any advice or comments, they would be welcome. I'll leave you with a couple shots of my former/current setups:

Thanks for looking, be back soon!

 

[Bogue Chitto]

Nice looking set ups. I hope you enjoy the new tank.

 

[Cheebs]

Thanks! I added a little food to the tank to get the cycle started. I am apprehensive about adding water from my holding tank to quicken things, as there is bubble algae and aiptasia in there. I imagine I could contaminate my current tank, so I'll just have to be patient.

 

[Bogue Chitto]

Yes, you sure don't want to get that bubble algae started in the new tank.

 

[ServiceCadLight]

This looks beautiful!

 

[Bent]

Howdy all,

I've been in the hobby for many years now, and I've upgraded and downgraded many times based on moving, finances and all that jazz, but I finally pulled the trigger on a setup that I had been eyeing for a long time. I really enjoy the look of rimless cubes, and when the Artisan II went on sale I couldn't resist.

I am located in Ottawa, Canada, so getting a tank shipped from California was a little nerve-racking, but it came in perfect shape!

Here are a few pics from when it arrived, to where I'm at today:

So things are beginning to cycle now! I am working on a fish list. So far my ideas include:

Firefish (Purple or helfrichi)
Flame Angel
Maroon pair I've had for roughly 9 years (I will have to wait for the tank to be nice and stable as they are with their S.Gigantea)
Yasha or Yellow Goby + Pistol Shrimp
Six Line Wrasse (or another wrasse alternative)


As for equipment, this is what I currently have:

CADlights 50 Galoon aquairum, stand, sump +plumbing
160g CADlights skimmer
Ecotech Radion Gen 2 LED light
Vortech MP40w (my christmas gift to myself, it's on the way)


I built the aquascape with roughly 60 lbs of live rock, and have more rock in the sump. Now is the waiting game! I hope to come back with an update soon.

If anyone has any advice or comments, they would be welcome. I'll leave you with a couple shots of my former/current setups:

Thanks for looking, be back soon!

What's that big hairy thing in the back that looks like a toadstool?

 

[Cheebs]

That is my S. Gigantea I've had for about 7 years now.

 

[Bent]

Dang.

I'll never know how you guys keep nems and corals in the same tank. I had to get rid of my BTA cause the thing kept splitting and crawling all over the place stinging the crap out of what small amount of coral I have.

That's amazing.

 

[Cheebs]

Thanks!

Some BTAs seem very prone to splitting, even with decent conditions, so it can be tough. I've had to re-aquascape based on anemone movements a few times, but the carpet generally stays still (and doesn't split, obviously).