New but not brand new

[JTL]

After an absence of 3 years I decided to jump back in. I had pretty good success the last time, was one of the first to use led lighting, even built my own. Man has that come a long way! Anyway to the point. I have considered my options for a tank and initially thought about Glass Cages ( I built my last 3 aquariums myself with a lot of advice from Uncle of 6). I'm not interested in doing that again so I looked at the various options and it looks like Cadlights might be the best deal. They are actually a lot cheaper than GC. I know Reefer Ron has a 125, I read his build thread and I think he likes it so I hope he chimes in. Assuming I purchase from Cadlights I think I will only purchase the tank and the sump. My thought is that the tank is a good deal and so is the sump. I priced acrylic sumps and they were all a lot more than Cadlights at $125, I can't even buy the material to build it myself for that price. I have the ability to make my own stand and finish it in high gloss.

My questions are:
Has anyone had problems with the Cadlights tank?
Does it make sense to purchase my own skimmer and return pump and if so I appreciate recommendations. I believe the Cadlights skimmer was $250 and the DC return pump was $200. Would be nice to find some good used equipment.
I need to consider lights, I definitely want to use led but there seems to be almost endless possibilties. Suggestions please.
I am thinking I will use BRS reef saver rock, it seems to get good reviews. I will just seed it to get it live. Thoughts?
Need powerheads. I had MP 40's before they were ok, but always fun to try something new.

I have forgotten how much "stuff" I had and sold/gave away when I exited the hobby, boy do I regret that now. It will be fun to start fresh with corals. Maybe more sps this time. We had lots of softies that last time and it started to look a little cluttered. Probably own a few fish, like a coupe of clowns ( had black and white last time and they looked great). I tried my luck with mandarins and it was not good. I don't want to think what I spent on pods, died anyway. It will be a while before I can stock anything so lots of time to consider this.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hey John, you're correct. at 8 months in I'm still more than happy with my CADLight system. The tank is great and I've even become a big fan of the eurobrace. The stand shows no sign of issues, but then it is only 8 months old. The sump is very well madeand all glass. But there is room in the stand for a 33% bigger sump. And since I added a display refugium, I can use that stand for controllers and other things that don't need to be in or close to the sump. The pump is a good looking DC that pumps 3200gph and has 10 speeds, it looks very much like all the other DC pumps on the market. The skimmer works very well, but is very finicky about water levels. I need to get my ATO set up soon.

I think the biggest issue I had read about CADLight is their customer service. But they dealt with my single issue very well (I didn't get plumbing with the tank). And as it turned out, it's metric (just like Red Sea) and I ended up not using it anyway!

As for lights, the question for you is, what features do you want in a light. These days even sub $100 Mars Aqua leds will grow coral and work well. IMHO 95% of any additional cost goes to what extra features you want and 5% to better build quality. I've had a $750 led fixture from one of the premier brands and it wasn't really any better quality than the $200 alternative.

You might look at a gyre or crossflow powerhead, they are getting better made all the time (they were both very iffy when they first came out). And they move a ton of water.

Depending on how you want to do your rock, you might consider raising it up off the sand on egg crate raised above the sand on pvc pipe legs. I gives your critters more access to sand and it makes for more hiding places and protected areas. It allows even the underside of the rock to work for bacteria, sponges, feather dusters and more. I also allows for water flow under the rocks along the sand and helps eliminate dead spots were cyano likes to start. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[JTL]

Good morning Ron,
Thanks for the info. Could you confirm that the overflow has 3 holes, 2@1" and 1@1- I see it is the Herbie style drain. Do you find it to be quiet? Does it come with the loc-line?

Tank. I looked long and hard at the Glass Cages product realizing that they have had some bad raps but the more I looked the more I realized they are not any bargain. For example a 48x20x21 is $1143 and that is with low iron glass only on the front and you have to meet their truck for delivery. I my case I would need to drive 70 miles. The Cadlights 47.5x23.5x20 is $850 delivered.

I know your 125g is eurobraced, but the 100g is not, at least it doesn't say so on their website. You also have 5/8 glass on the bottom where the 100g is 1/2 throughout. I would actually prefer a eurobrace on the bottom with only 1/2" glass. The bottom is the most suspect for a potential failure. When I built my own 110g tanks I used 3/4" on the bottom to give me more surface area. I also used a premium rtv adhesive/sealant, not the standard big box store stuff.

The Cadlights return pump is Jebao i believe and they want $200 for it. I think the same pump can be purchased for less. I am certainly open to suggestions for a return pump.

The sump for the 100g is about 33g, but it is certainly priced right. I may just purchase the acrylic and build my own. It will cost more but I can customize it to fit the cabinet I will be building.

Skimmer, I need some help with this. There are so many options. If I could narrow down some good candidates I could started looking for a used one. Seems like people are always switching skimmers.

Lights are another huge issue. The only thing I know for sure is that I want led lighting. My last lights (4 yrs ago) I made myself from individual emitters. I had each color wired to a pot so I had good control. Unfortunately is had lots of wires and required a large heat sink so this time I will purchase something. Again if I can narrow it down to a few good units maybe I can find one used.

Thanks for any comments and suggestions.

 

[Ron Reefman]

John as far as lights go, I'd look at a Reef Breeders Photon V2 at either 32" or 48", or their Aquasanrise which has easy in and out leds and wifi.

One other option I recommend is a pair of ReeFi-Labs pendants. I have one and I like it. It uses Cree leds and has 5 times as many blue leds as white leds, it has 5 channels of color control and insane sunrise/sunset control.

 

[JTL]

John as far as lights go, I'd look at a Reef Breeders Photon V2 at either 32" or 48", or their Aquasanrise which has easy in and out leds and wifi.

One other option I recommend is a pair of ReeFi-Labs pendants. I have one and I like it. It uses Cree leds and has 5 times as many blue leds as white leds, it has 5 channels of color control and insane sunrise/sunset control.

I think the RB Photon V2 is a very good choice. Why did you not get the Aquasanrise? I seems to be more adaptable ie changing out the led emitters.

 

[Ron Reefman]

John, if only somebody had asked me that before I bought the V2!!!

Everybody here was all over the Photon V2 and I had experience with the first version (an EverGrow IT2080 which is virtually the same fixture as the original Photon but sold directly by the manufacturer in China). Even now I think the Aquasanrise doesn't get enough notice here. Today I'd buy the Aquasanrise.

 

[JTL]

Ron, I watched the Aquasannrise video and was impressed. I like the idea of being able to swap out the leds. I would probably swap out the green for UV because I good luck with UV on my last tank. I am in between the R90 and the R120 (48x24 tank) to be safe I suppose I should opt for the larger fixture. Thoughts?

My dry rock should be here in a couple of days. I was thinking of going down to the Gulf since it is only a couple of blocks away and grabbing some water. Do you or anyone else see a problem with this. This the BRS reef saver rock that has never been in the water. I just want to get it "living".

 

[Ron Reefman]

I think the R90, which is 35", will cover a 48" tank OK. You are only talking an extra 6.5" on either side. But then the CADLight tank is only 20" deep so less room for light spread. I'd look into what lenses it has now and what Logan might be able to come up with. Thinking that the last 2 or 3 pucks might spread better with a wider angle lens.

BTW, you were thinking about a cheap temporary light while you are setting things in motion. I have a 32" Reef Radiance (same as the original Photon and EverGrow fixtures) that is just sitting in my garage. You are welcome to use it as long as you like. Stop by to pick it up and you could see the ReeFi-Lab pendant and a new 'unreleased' fixture I have over my shallow reef.

I think you are looking for zoas and soft corals, right? I also have a 6"+ tall, 5"+diameter green toadstool leather in my shallow reef. I want the shallow reef to be all local stuff and I don't have any room for anything even half that size in the 125g DT.

Water from the gulf should be OK if there are no blooms going on. I'd try to get as far out from the beach as you can to collect. And you might consider running the water through a filter sock just to keep bigger stuff out. I get water for my collected critters just off the beach about chest deep when I'm down in the Keys. And I've never seen any issues with anything I've brought home. We even do some collecting of the beach out on Sanibel Island and it's always when the weather is stormy and the water is very stirred up. Critters make it home in good shape.

 

[JTL]

I think the R90, which is 35", will cover a 48" tank OK. You are only talking an extra 6.5" on either side. But then the CADLight tank is only 20" deep so less room for light spread. I'd look into what lenses it has now and what Logan might be able to come up with. Thinking that the last 2 or 3 pucks might spread better with a wider angle lens.

BTW, you were thinking about a cheap temporary light while you are setting things in motion. I have a 32" Reef Radiance (same as the original Photon and EverGrow fixtures) that is just sitting in my garage. You are welcome to use it as long as you like. Stop by to pick it up and you could see the ReeFi-Lab pendant and a new 'unreleased' fixture I have over my shallow reef.

I think you are looking for zoas and soft corals, right? I also have a 6"+ tall, 5"+diameter green toadstool leather in my shallow reef. I want the shallow reef to be all local stuff and I don't have any room for anything even half that size in the 125g DT.

Water from the gulf should be OK if there are no blooms going on. I'd try to get as far out from the beach as you can to collect. And you might consider running the water through a filter sock just to keep bigger stuff out. I get water for my collected critters just off the beach about chest deep when I'm down in the Keys. And I've never seen any issues with anything I've brought home. We even do some collecting of the beach out on Sanibel Island and it's always when the weather is stormy and the water is very stirred up. Critters make it home in good shape.

Thanks for the offer but I'm not sure when I will get down your direction. My thought was to find a small led unit that I could use now to keep some corals alive in a 10g tank while I am waiting on my DT to cycle. I would then use it in my cabinet to supply light to a fuge.

Another decision. I am seriously considering going bare bottom. I have read some of the comments in various posts but still on the fence. I like the idea of no sand to keep clean. In the past my critters did not do a very good job. Sand just seems to be a source for bacteria and algae. I don't plan on having any fish that need sand so that is not a consideration. The look is a little "bare" but in time there should be some coral growth. Anyway i am always looking for opinions.