Cade S3 Series

[rt456]

Hoping the S3 sump might be a spare part you can get to upgrade the S2.

 

[Australian_Reef]

Australian pricing is floating around and there is a significant price increase (circa 30%) on these tanks, leads on the smaller increases on the 1200 and below as these have kept similar dimensions.

The larger tanks have gotten an extra 5cm width and the 2100 has been replaced by a 2200.

Cade have also dropped the plumbing video for the S3. Nothing yet on the peninsula’s.

 

[Australian_Reef]

A now some info in the peninsula. Seems they have swapped around the ATO, in this model at least.

 

[ObsessedReefr]

This is what I want to know. Was going to get a new S2 in the next few months most likely (well that or a waterbox).. but really want to see the S3 changes. The sump layout changes will be key.

I have an s2 and love it. I’d highly recommend Cade over waterbox

 

[Jmp998]

They are on Algaebarn website now with USA prices. They look nice, and have some significant upgrades. However the price is a little shocking. Price increase is probably justified with several years inflation and increased cost of materials/labor/shipping/etc, and in line with other premium manufacturers, but still OUCH.

I still love my Cade 1200 S2, only regret remains that I did not get the 1500.

 

[Otago]

Did they increase pricing in March for tariffs ? 20% across the board seems consistent with tariff pricing.

 

[Australian_Reef]

Just a bit! Tariffs and upgrades…
Upgrades are significant..but wow!!
Seems a blanket 2000 price increase in every currency. There are clear upgrades that will increase price but they haven’t really been specified by Cade as yet. Very few details still which I don’t understand.

 

[Australian_Reef]

Did they increase pricing in March for tariffs ? 20% across the board seems consistent with tariff pricing.

This is the first pricing released. No s3s are in retail atm.

 

[Otago]

This is the first pricing released. No s3s are in retail atm.

Yeah, I meant S3s are 20% higher than S2s so I'm not sure S3s are more expensive, in USA, than S2s once tariffs are taken into account. Perhaps there will be a 20% or 34% (still unclear what it will be) uplift once they are actually imported.

 

[Sequest]

Installed two S3's so far, a 3ft and a 6ft peninsula.

My honest opinion:
They are nice tanks.

Pros

• I do like the euro bracing, more so on the larger tanks. Its one solid piece of glass and looks classy with curved inner corners.
• The included power boards like with the S2 are still great
• Included poly carbonate lid drags the price up, but if your buying an expensive tank then having a nice lid is good, and the lid is good. Takes a lot of guess work out of having to contact third parties to have one made.
• Dual return outlets, especially on the larger tanks is really nice. Even on the 3ft i found myself loving them.
• The new outlets have the bendy hoses with random flow heads. The flow is no longer a tight stream like with the S2 but more random and less blasty.
• The extra mounting doors/trays in the dry area are useful.
• The plastic grates used in the overflows of the S2 are now just cut slits in the glass. This is much cleaner and should make cleaning coralline much easier. However you cant remove them to clean like with the S2.
• Plumbing was a breeze. Pre-plumbed tank meant plumbing was done in a few minutes by screwing in four pipes.
• The cut outs in the lid for light mounting are great! Both for arms as well as length ways for mounted bars that sit on the side of the tank. They thought this through.

Cons:

• On the 3ft standard tank, the ATO/overflow covers are clear poly carbonate. Clear. I can see algae becoming a problem in your ATO and overflow section. Coat of black paint might fix it, but this should not be clear in my opinion.
• Minor one but with the new dual outlets, the pipes for the second outlet cover 70% of the top of the ATO chamber. If you drop something in there... enjoy undoing the plumbing. I also used a level monitor in my ATO on the old S2 range, i don't think it would fit between the plumbing and glass in the S3, so it may be limiting if you plan to do that. Oh and when refilling the ATO beware of splash back.
• Minor: The poly carbonate lid sits proud of the top of the tank. Cosmetic issue, but noticeable.
• The Peninsula power boards are mounted on one side. This is not reversible and may be a problem for certain setups (If you look at the open end of the peninsula, the power boards are mounted on the right side, so access to that door is required if you want to use them).
• I hope this is just a once off. The 3ft system was in white. There is a piece of plastic between the two doors to block the light/view into the sump. The color of this piece of plastic does not match the color of the rest of the system. Its obvious, very obvious. Personally i would remove it and either spray paint it or just leave it off. I don't think the system should be shipped with such an off white color piece that just destroys the look.

Neutral thoughts:

• The dark tinted glass on the sump. On one hand it hides your shame. On another it makes it harder to see into the sump when doing maintenance. I think its going to be a highly personal opinion.
• In the 3ft they increased the size of the sump. In the S2 the sump used in the 3ft was the same as the 2ft and it felt small. The sump being bigger is nice. But that comes at the expense of the dry section. Its basically unusable for anything but the smallest of equipment. You likely would use it to hold power bricks and not much more.
• In the controller section (right side of the tank) are these black plastic shrouds, i assume to hold cables or something. They can be moved by undoing thumb screws and lifting the shroud to whatever height you want. They also pull outwards via hinges at the top. They are held in by doing up the two thumbscrews (only at the top of the shroud) that both holds the shroud at the height you want, and prevents the shroud from opening. Sadly though, a piece of acrylic was included that simply slips in on top of the shroud and its purpose is purely cosmetic to help hide cables. But there is zero latching or anything to hold it in. Cables would effortlessly push it out, which then prevented the door from staying closed. I had to remove them, it was just too frustrating.
• Very small one but beware, all valves were in an open state on the return plumbing. Yes i didnt check before turning on the pump, my fault.
• The 3ft has an manifold outlet in the dry section. I think this is almost useless (in the 3ft). There is zero room in that section to put anything, no UV, no reactor and certainly no chiller. You might be able to use it with a chiller mounted outside, but i thought it was just a bit funny to have included it, especially in its location as the tap was very hard to get your hand into due to lack of space (impossible if you put anything in the dry section).
• If you are going to use the included basket system, beware skimmer (physical) sizing! The 3ft would not fit an Octo 150S skimmer without taking one of the baskets out (the small side basket).
• The water level indicators in the rear are as useless as ever. Would prefer not to have them, they just grow algae or coralline over time.
• There are no filter socks. The S3 does not come with filter socks, nor filter sock holders. These tanks are designed to be used only with filter rollers. Cade will come out with their own roller at some point. But beware if buying that there is no provision for socks.
• One thing people need to consider when buying an against the wall Cade, either S2 or S3 is the ATO resevoir and what that means. Want to use the ATO, but also mount wave makers on the rear? Forget Vortechs, forget anything with a non sealed magnet (most wave makers). Would need to be a suction cup mounted wave maker. It also adds 100mm to the depth of the tank. If you dont want to use the ATO as an ATO then cool, add your magnets no problem. Except in the S3 the return piping makes putting the magnet in hard. Still forget about vortechs. So make sure you think about this hard. For me on larger tanks this is a no go, and as i dont use the included ATO section, its wasted, not useable space to me.

I have not seen a frag tank S3 yet. The frag tanks took a similar price jump over the S2 series, which means one or both: they come with a poly carbonate lid and or euro bracing.
I am not sure i want a frag tank with euro bracing. Likewise i don't know if a frag tank requires an expensive lid. If you plan to run a shallow reef, nice lid is fine. But if it's for a frag system, seems overkill and unnecessary cost. Hopefully a frag tank version of the S3 comes out with everything else minus the lid and euro bracing for a cheaper price. But maybe i am the weird one and everyone will love to have euro bracing and lid with their frag systems.

The new filter roller was shown and announced, but there is no ETA on its release. So if you are buying and S3 and specifically want to use the Cade roller, hold off for awhile until a release date is provided.

I am also a little perplexed. The tanks have sold, and been installed into customers houses already. Despite that the official Cade website still has no specifications or any mention for the Peninsula and Frag tanks? Come on.

Keeping the S2 range is an excellent idea as it allows Cade to have a "cheaper" tank that is still awesome. And you can buy the poly carbonate lids for the S2 if you want to in the future.


Beware. These new tanks are deceptively heavy. Two people lifting the 3ft was doable, just. But make sure you have some muscle on you.
Four people for the 1800 peninsula was borderline and there was a lot of nervous looks getting that up.
Installed plenty of S2's but that euro brace add a bit.

Would I buy an S3 over the S2?
Here in Australia the cost is about $1000 more over the S2 on the smaller models and goes up from there. It cost me over $1000 for a poly carbonate lid for the 7ft, so i do see where this cost is coming from. And the euro brace is not just a few pieces of glass, its one large piece laser cut down. Not cheap. I think i would buy an S3 over the S2, especially the peninsula model. If you want big, the new 2200 peninsula looks like it would be amazing as it maintains that 800 wide format and is i think the longest peninsula in the market.

 

[Australian_Reef]

The euro bracing is really nice and well made, clearly alot of design has gone into it ….
Unfortunately they didn’t leave a gap big enough to run anything but thin cables from wavemakers (on the peninsula, not sure about standard). Nero wavmakers, having the controller attached to the pump do not fit and need an ugly routing of cables through the poly lid. Normal 12v cables will fit, but vortech is going to be your best option. The gap is finger wide and the weir cover has cable sized cut outs. A big problem or a non issue depending on your set up. Just thought I’d mention it as it was definitely a surprise to me!

 

[shadyraro]

Installed two S3's so far, a 3ft and a 6ft peninsula.

My honest opinion:
They are nice tanks.

Pros

• I do like the euro bracing, more so on the larger tanks. Its one solid piece of glass and looks classy with curved inner corners.
• The included power boards like with the S2 are still great
• Included poly carbonate lid drags the price up, but if your buying an expensive tank then having a nice lid is good, and the lid is good. Takes a lot of guess work out of having to contact third parties to have one made.
• Dual return outlets, especially on the larger tanks is really nice. Even on the 3ft i found myself loving them.
• The new outlets have the bendy hoses with random flow heads. The flow is no longer a tight stream like with the S2 but more random and less blasty.
• The extra mounting doors/trays in the dry area are useful.
• The plastic grates used in the overflows of the S2 are now just cut slits in the glass. This is much cleaner and should make cleaning coralline much easier. However you cant remove them to clean like with the S2.
• Plumbing was a breeze. Pre-plumbed tank meant plumbing was done in a few minutes by screwing in four pipes.
• The cut outs in the lid for light mounting are great! Both for arms as well as length ways for mounted bars that sit on the side of the tank. They thought this through.

Cons:

• On the 3ft standard tank, the ATO/overflow covers are clear poly carbonate. Clear. I can see algae becoming a problem in your ATO and overflow section. Coat of black paint might fix it, but this should not be clear in my opinion.
• Minor one but with the new dual outlets, the pipes for the second outlet cover 70% of the top of the ATO chamber. If you drop something in there... enjoy undoing the plumbing. I also used a level monitor in my ATO on the old S2 range, i don't think it would fit between the plumbing and glass in the S3, so it may be limiting if you plan to do that. Oh and when refilling the ATO beware of splash back.
• Minor: The poly carbonate lid sits proud of the top of the tank. Cosmetic issue, but noticeable.
• The Peninsula power boards are mounted on one side. This is not reversible and may be a problem for certain setups (If you look at the open end of the peninsula, the power boards are mounted on the right side, so access to that door is required if you want to use them).
• I hope this is just a once off. The 3ft system was in white. There is a piece of plastic between the two doors to block the light/view into the sump. The color of this piece of plastic does not match the color of the rest of the system. Its obvious, very obvious. Personally i would remove it and either spray paint it or just leave it off. I don't think the system should be shipped with such an off white color piece that just destroys the look.

Neutral thoughts:

• The dark tinted glass on the sump. On one hand it hides your shame. On another it makes it harder to see into the sump when doing maintenance. I think its going to be a highly personal opinion.
• In the 3ft they increased the size of the sump. In the S2 the sump used in the 3ft was the same as the 2ft and it felt small. The sump being bigger is nice. But that comes at the expense of the dry section. Its basically unusable for anything but the smallest of equipment. You likely would use it to hold power bricks and not much more.
• In the controller section (right side of the tank) are these black plastic shrouds, i assume to hold cables or something. They can be moved by undoing thumb screws and lifting the shroud to whatever height you want. They also pull outwards via hinges at the top. They are held in by doing up the two thumbscrews (only at the top of the shroud) that both holds the shroud at the height you want, and prevents the shroud from opening. Sadly though, a piece of acrylic was included that simply slips in on top of the shroud and its purpose is purely cosmetic to help hide cables. But there is zero latching or anything to hold it in. Cables would effortlessly push it out, which then prevented the door from staying closed. I had to remove them, it was just too frustrating.
• Very small one but beware, all valves were in an open state on the return plumbing. Yes i didnt check before turning on the pump, my fault.
• The 3ft has an manifold outlet in the dry section. I think this is almost useless (in the 3ft). There is zero room in that section to put anything, no UV, no reactor and certainly no chiller. You might be able to use it with a chiller mounted outside, but i thought it was just a bit funny to have included it, especially in its location as the tap was very hard to get your hand into due to lack of space (impossible if you put anything in the dry section).
• If you are going to use the included basket system, beware skimmer (physical) sizing! The 3ft would not fit an Octo 150S skimmer without taking one of the baskets out (the small side basket).
• The water level indicators in the rear are as useless as ever. Would prefer not to have them, they just grow algae or coralline over time.
• There are no filter socks. The S3 does not come with filter socks, nor filter sock holders. These tanks are designed to be used only with filter rollers. Cade will come out with their own roller at some point. But beware if buying that there is no provision for socks.
• One thing people need to consider when buying an against the wall Cade, either S2 or S3 is the ATO resevoir and what that means. Want to use the ATO, but also mount wave makers on the rear? Forget Vortechs, forget anything with a non sealed magnet (most wave makers). Would need to be a suction cup mounted wave maker. It also adds 100mm to the depth of the tank. If you dont want to use the ATO as an ATO then cool, add your magnets no problem. Except in the S3 the return piping makes putting the magnet in hard. Still forget about vortechs. So make sure you think about this hard. For me on larger tanks this is a no go, and as i dont use the included ATO section, its wasted, not useable space to me.

I have not seen a frag tank S3 yet. The frag tanks took a similar price jump over the S2 series, which means one or both: they come with a poly carbonate lid and or euro bracing.
I am not sure i want a frag tank with euro bracing. Likewise i don't know if a frag tank requires an expensive lid. If you plan to run a shallow reef, nice lid is fine. But if it's for a frag system, seems overkill and unnecessary cost. Hopefully a frag tank version of the S3 comes out with everything else minus the lid and euro bracing for a cheaper price. But maybe i am the weird one and everyone will love to have euro bracing and lid with their frag systems.

The new filter roller was shown and announced, but there is no ETA on its release. So if you are buying and S3 and specifically want to use the Cade roller, hold off for awhile until a release date is provided.

I am also a little perplexed. The tanks have sold, and been installed into customers houses already. Despite that the official Cade website still has no specifications or any mention for the Peninsula and Frag tanks? Come on.

Keeping the S2 range is an excellent idea as it allows Cade to have a "cheaper" tank that is still awesome. And you can buy the poly carbonate lids for the S2 if you want to in the future.


Beware. These new tanks are deceptively heavy. Two people lifting the 3ft was doable, just. But make sure you have some muscle on you.
Four people for the 1800 peninsula was borderline and there was a lot of nervous looks getting that up.
Installed plenty of S2's but that euro brace add a bit.

Would I buy an S3 over the S2?
Here in Australia the cost is about $1000 more over the S2 on the smaller models and goes up from there. It cost me over $1000 for a poly carbonate lid for the 7ft, so i do see where this cost is coming from. And the euro brace is not just a few pieces of glass, its one large piece laser cut down. Not cheap. I think i would buy an S3 over the S2, especially the peninsula model. If you want big, the new 2200 peninsula looks like it would be amazing as it maintains that 800 wide format and is i think the longest peninsula in the market.

Great detailed review thanks!
This gives myself and others a more in depth look into the S3's and what we can expect, it has valid pros and cons to take into account if we're looking to go down the S3 path.
I'm still sitting on the fence whether to get the S2 or S3 1200, both have pros and cons and until I see an S3 in person is probably when I'll make up my mind.

The euro bracing is really nice and well made, clearly alot of design has gone into it ….
Unfortunately they didn’t leave a gap big enough to run anything but thin cables from wavemakers (on the peninsula, not sure about standard). Nero wavmakers, having the controller attached to the pump do not fit and need an ugly routing of cables through the poly lid. Normal 12v cables will fit, but vortech is going to be your best option. The gap is finger wide and the weir cover has cable sized cut outs. A big problem or a non issue depending on your set up. Just thought I’d mention it as it was definitely a surprise to me!

That's not very good at all, you'd think by looking at the side gap that you'd get a nero controller thru there.
This is the one issue I've always thought about with euro bracing, if there's no cut outs where you want them then it just makes things a lot harder compared to non euro bracing.

 

[Australian_Reef]

That's not very good at all, you'd think by looking at the side gap that you'd get a nero controller thru there.
This is the one issue I've always thought about with euro bracing, if there's no cut outs where you want them then it just makes things a lot harder compared to non euro bracing.

Unfortunately not. Bit of an oversight given how popular the pumps are. But I suppose it’s impossible to cover all brands and all eventuality’s.

 

[shadyraro]

Unfortunately not. Bit of an oversight given how popular the pumps are. But I suppose it’s impossible to cover all brands and all eventuality’s.

Bugger, for some reason I thought the peninsula overflow grill was removable.
You could try splitting the controller case at the join, I just looked at mine and it seems easy enough.

 

[tsimlw]

Hi, can anyone confirm that the S3 tanks will not come with filter socks/holders as reported above? Am considering S3 peninsula. Find it hard to believe that they will force everyone to go onto roller mats though.

 

[Australian_Reef]

Yes 100% no filter sock holders… a major reason I bought one. Hate the things.

You can buy a seperate sock holder and still use socks in that space but it doesn’t come with them.

Hi, can anyone confirm that the S3 tanks will not come with filter socks/holders as reported above? Am considering S3 peninsula. Find it hard to believe that they will force everyone to go onto roller mats though.

 

[tsimlw]

Yes 100% no filter sock holders… a major reason I bought one. Hate the things.

You can buy a seperate sock holder and still use socks in that space but it doesn’t come with them.

Thanks for the clarification

 

[NCsalt]

I had my heart set on a Cade Peninsula 1500 S2. The basement remodel has gone much longer than it was supposed to and i couldn’t order one because of all construction equipment and materials in garage even had them not put in heated floor elements in footprint of 1500. The S2s went up 25 percent when S3s were put on Algae Barn website. I thought dang Australia got a 25 percent tariff? I did some research and read that the tariff’s were originally 10 percent and still were after negotiations. Then I read furniture cabinetry was subject to 25 percent so i assumed that as where that number came from. At well over $8k the S3 isn’t even a want for me at that price point and I’m not paying close to 7k for the older product that was 5.5k a month ago. Sucks but Cade is out for me.

 

[Australian_Reef]

I had my heart set on a Cade Peninsula 1500 S2. The basement remodel has gone much longer than it was supposed to and i couldn’t order one because of all construction equipment and materials in garage even had them not put in heated floor elements in footprint of 1500. The S2s went up 25 percent when S3s were put on Algae Barn website. I thought dang Australia got a 25 percent tariff? I did some research and read that the tariff’s were originally 10 percent and still were after negotiations. Then I read furniture cabinetry was subject to 25 percent so i assumed that as where that number came from. At well over $8k the S3 isn’t even a want for me at that price point and I’m not paying close to 7k for the older product that was 5.5k a month ago. Sucks but Cade is out for me.

They are made in China so I don’t know what tariffs are charged on entry into the US, whether Chinese or Australian rates. But prices have gone up in all markets tariffs or not. Inflation, improvements, just all adds up. Alot of US companies have increased prices internationally to offset tariff impacts on the US market too. The $ in everyone’s pocket si just worth so much less now. Paying now for past excess. Not great for the hobby.