Cade 1500 Peninsula Build

[WhenKeepinItReefGoesWrong]

After a cross country move that required me to break down my last tank, I’m ready to get my next setup going, which will be an LPS dominated mixed reef. I really like using peninsula tanks as room dividers, and I also prefer wide tanks as I think it gives a much more natural look. It seems like pretty much all the major manufacturers only do 2 foot widths on their peninsula tanks, with the exception being Cade. As the length of their tanks increases, so does the width. I ended up settling on the Cade 1500 peninsula tank, which measures 60Lx30Wx24H. Despite being a 5 foot tank it comes out to 180 gallons due to extra width, 210 including the sump.

My new tank has been shipped and should be arriving within the next few days; though with the location the tank will be going I am a little worried about the weight so will be reinforcing the floor to be safe. In the meantime I’m getting together the rest of my equipment list. I still have a large amount of equipment from my last tank (RODI system, testing, dosing, Hydros controller, etc) so luckily I won’t be starting from scratch. The primary items I still need to get are lights, return pump, powerheads, and skimmer. I’ve got thoughts on each of these but would love any suggestions from the community as well.

Lights: I’ve debated which lights to go with and settled on a ReefBreeders Photon 50 to start. With a 30 inch width, I think I will end up adding a pair of lumen bars or AI blades in the future for fill and to get light out to the edges of the tank. My last tank used Photons, and I found them to be excellent value, and I love the slim profile.

Return Pump: On my last tank I went with a Sicce SDC 9.0 which worked well for me, so I am considering going with it again. I’ve also been looking at potentially going with a Varios. I’m very open to suggestions on other DC return pumps if you have any.

Powerheads: The advantage of peninsula tanks is extra viewing area, but that creates their biggest issue, getting adequate flow without obstructing the viewing area. On my last tank (6 foot peninsula) I went with a pair of IceCap 4k gyres mounted vertically. This worked reasonably well, but I found them to require more frequent cleaning than I would like, and it took quite a bit of tweaking to get the angle just right for the flow I wanted. My hope is to go with 2 Octopulse 4s both mounted on the wall side of the tank. Since I’ve got a Hydros controller I figured I’d pick up a wave engine and then if I want to add another pair of Octopulse I can easily add them.

Skimmer: Looking at the sump diagram below, if I wanted to be able to use a skimmer and refugium divider plate as intended, my skimmer section would only end up being 9.8”x9.1” which is small for the most appropriately sized skimmers for a tank this size. My plan is to not use the divider plate and run a refugium in the following chamber, so I can go with a properly sized skimmer. Currently, my plan is to go with a Reef Octopus Regal 200INT.

More updates as the build progresses!

 

[danieyella]

Love my CADE tanks and my reefbreeders. I just ordered some quanta bars to supplement the width on the 1200 and am seriously considering ditching the ai light I have on my cube and replacing with a RB instead.

 

[canjosh]

Return Pump: On my last tank I went with a Sicce SDC 9.0 which worked well for me, so I am considering going with it again. I’ve also been looking at potentially going with a Varios. I’m very open to suggestions on other DC return pumps if you have any.

I’m using a Dalua Great White return. It is practically dead silent which was very important to me as the tank is in the living room. Downside is it doesn’t directly connect to Hydros. It’s a new tank so can’t comment on longevity of the Dalua, but no issues so far at least

 

[WhenKeepinItReefGoesWrong]

Update time! Since my last post everything has really been coming together. My tank was delivered and setup successfully. For those that don’t know, Cade tanks show up with the stand already assembled and sump installed. So setup is literally just unboxing and lifting the tank onto the stand. I was sent the incorrect plumbing kit, I believe what I received was the old version of the plumbing. Algaebarn sent the correct plumbing, and the actual plumbing from there was a breeze to install.



For lights I decided to go with a Reefbreeders Photon 50, with an Aquatic life 48” dimmable T5 hybrid fixture. The Photons aren’t actually compatible to mount on the new hybrid fixture, but I built a DIY floating canopy to support the two fixtures separately. I’m still tweaking the alignment of the canopy and 2 fixtures, but it’s pretty close to its final position.

I went with a Sicce SDC 9.0 and RO Regal 200INT again, since they worked so well on my last tank. One big change I made to my plan was I decided to go with 4 MP40s instead of Octopulse’s. I rewatched the BRS flow video where they show the flow patterns for each pump, and I just felt that to keep all the powerheads on the overflow side, the MP40s did the best job of penetrating while still getting wide enough flow.



The control panel on Cade’s is a really clean feature. I’ve still got quite a bit of cable management to do, but it is certainly coming along.

For my prior tanks I used Tampa Bay Saltwater live rock. I was very happy with it, except I found the shapes of the rocks weren’t the easiest to aquascape with. For this tank I am going to try KP aquatics live rock, and am in the process of ordering about 150 pounds to start with. I absolutely love live rock vs dry rock, and am excited to see what critters I get.



I’m hoping to get the tank filled this weekend and ready to go for delivery of the rock. Next update should have the tank going!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[CasperOe]

Can't wait to see what you do with it!! I love my Cade tank but I did decide to modify the sump and remove the cabinet part complete.

Thanks for bringing us along

 

[lubeck]

Looks like a fun build. Following along.