BigDeeezyyyy's CADlights 60g CccUuuBbbEee

bigdeeezyyyy

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Somewhat new to R2R but have been in the SW hobby for over 10 years...started off with a 75 gallon FOWLR when I was in college living at home. After college, moved out, got married and set up a 40B in 2014. This setup is running up until this day without any issues. Had our daughter in 2016 and she loves watching the fish and corals move in the bright lights (stops her from crying almost instantly!). It is now 2019 and we had our 2nd child (son) and my wife is kicking my tank out of where it is so that she can turn it into a play area for the kids. Gave the go on getting a tank that will fit a particular corner in the house which I only can fit a 24x24 tank. So through a whole lotta research, I went on ahead and went with the CADlights 60g Versa II complete system.

Equipment list:
AI Hydra 26HD
Apex Classic controller
Trigger systems Amethyst 20C Cube sump (replacing the stock sump that came with the CADlights system - For sale BTW if interested)
Coral Box DCA4000 DC return pump
Bubble Magus Dosing pump w/ triple dosing container
2x MP10W ES
300W heater

My 40 Breeder:
Infested with GSP
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CADlights system:
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Had some rock that I started to fiddle around with for my aquascape
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Trigger Systems 20C cube sump:

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Box of goodies from @Bulk Reef Supply :


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Next is to put the stand and tank together, set at designated location, do all of the plumbing and do a wet run to make sure there are no leaks...stay tuned!
 
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bigdeeezyyyy

bigdeeezyyyy

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This looks great! I love the purple pvc. I kind of want a gsp "infested" tank after seeing that! The purple is such a nice contrast!

Thanks for the kind words! I have always had a fascination with purple items...Even my race car is decked out in purple stuff! :D:D:D

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Bleigh

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Thanks for the kind words! I have always had a fascination with purple items...Even my race car is decked out in purple stuff! :D:D:D

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Okay. Now I’m wanting to redo my whole tank purple. And I just did the blue last week. That looks fierce!
 
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bigdeeezyyyy

bigdeeezyyyy

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So I was able to build the stand yesterday and boy lemme tell ya...i did not see any instructions in the box so basically had to wing it and envision each piece. Thank goodness I am somewhat of a handy person. Working on my race car gave me a lot of experience in being handy...LOL A lot of putting together and taking out to put back together due to some pieces i missed...

Result:

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Fairly nice and sturdy stand IMO
 
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bigdeeezyyyy

bigdeeezyyyy

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Anywho...was able to get some stuff done last night. Moved the stand into the desired location, installed the Trigger systems sump and did all of the plumbing and adjusted to make sure the tank was level.

I disliked that CADlights uses metric so I purchased some Metric to Standard PVC adapters from BRS that worked fairly well for me.

Durso style overflow setup.
Return is 1/2"
Drain is 1.25" to 1" when it hits the sump

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Got some goodies in as well:

AI Hydra 26HD with Red Sea mount
Coral Box DCA4000 DC return pump
Some RFG nozzles, locline, Y adapter and 1/8" screen netting for DIY screen top

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Tonight most likely will try to do a wet run and hope for no leaks as well as mount the lighting and make the screen top...STAY TUNED!
 
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bigdeeezyyyy

bigdeeezyyyy

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Leak test was a success! No leaks and all plumbing was glued and tightened. Left over night with just the return pump on. Found a very slim cabinet that is used for the restroom or tight spaces on Amazon. Tangkula Bathroom Cabinet This is where I will put some fish food/maintenance items and thinking about putting the EB8 in there as well and drill a hole in the back of it to have all wires go through the back instead of mounting it all inside the stand or outside of the stand.

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Mounted the AI Hydra 26 with the red sea mount. Gotta say not a fan of the mount as there is some sagging on the light portion and is not 100% at a 90* angle...
Added some of the rockwork that I glued together into the tank and filled it with saltwater that I have made days ago. Now keep in mind I am going to be transferring the saltwater from my previous tank to this tank so it will be half and half. Majority parameters are matched as well as temp so hopefully no shock to fishes or remaining corals I have.

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What was left of my old tank: Sold some and gave away pretty much all of the GSP...

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Have a Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! Have fun and be safe out there. Hopefully I will be able to do the full transfer over the weekend!
 
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bigdeeezyyyy

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Got it all transferred over this weekend and happy that everything made it without any hiccups. Fish are all fine and corals I have are all good!

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Made the screen top as well which was super easy! The CADlights tank came with the rimless glass cover system in which I used the corners for my screen top instead of using their glass cover.

Window Frame: Home Depot
1/8" Clear screen mesh: @Bulk Reef Supply
Pizza Cutter: Target ;)




Side of the tank with all of the controllers and the slim cabinet. Convenient cabinet since i was able to store a whole lot of things in it and still have the space looking clean.





These Wet Aquatics Coral tamer cups are pretty cool! They had a BOGO so bought 2 of them and put my RBTA in it and it has not moved anywhere and blossoms out of the cup beautifully. Good thing about it is that my pair of Black Ocellaris hosts it like no tomorrow.




For the other cup, since my tank is a bare bottom, I used it as a "sandbed" for my leopard wrasse and Red Scooter Blenny. I have seen both of them taking turns burrowing in it when the lights are off so thats a really good sign!

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Slick man! I have a Tomini as well. He's the boss lol. Looking good. I moved up from a 20 gallon to a 60 and feel like I am running out of room with frags haha. Let me know what you think of that sump. I have the Eshopps Med cube and I like everything about it except the Fuge channel under the skimmer. How the heck do I clean under there? ;Bookworm
 
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bigdeeezyyyy

bigdeeezyyyy

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Slick man! I have a Tomini as well. He's the boss lol. Looking good. I moved up from a 20 gallon to a 60 and feel like I am running out of room with frags haha. Let me know what you think of that sump. I have the Eshopps Med cube and I like everything about it except the Fuge channel under the skimmer. How the heck do I clean under there? ;Bookworm

I love my Tomini. Grazes all day and eats like a pig! Whats cool about him is that my female darwin ocellaris chases and picks on my leopard wrasse all the time and when that happens, the Tomini swoops in to save the wrasse. Something I have observed...
 
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bigdeeezyyyy

bigdeeezyyyy

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Slick man! I have a Tomini as well. He's the boss lol. Looking good. I moved up from a 20 gallon to a 60 and feel like I am running out of room with frags haha. Let me know what you think of that sump. I have the Eshopps Med cube and I like everything about it except the Fuge channel under the skimmer. How the heck do I clean under there? ;Bookworm

I actually like the Trigger cube sump as the refugium section is right in front and easier to maintain. The only issue i am seeing is that the filter sock section seems to fill up and just overflows into the skimmer section via the top opening. Unless I have that section completely wrong...there's a filter sponge that lays on top of the filter sock and an acrylic piece to sit on top of it....I am going to try to restrict the flow a bit to see if it stops doing that.

**UPDATE**
Figured out by researching online that I have to use either one setup or the other and not both! LOL!:
1. Filter sock without the filter sponge pad OR
2. Filter sponge pad without the filter sock
Now it is not overflowing on the top section anymore!
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bigdeeezyyyy

bigdeeezyyyy

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Had some scrap acrylic pieces laying around and decided to make use of it. Made myself a shelf for the Doser that I will be mounting in the inside rear of the cabinet. Also a little rack to store all of my pipettes/Coral feeders

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vetteguy53081

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Very well done, thought out and beautiful !!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

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  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

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  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

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