Cade S3f-600 no-compromise nano tank

[magikarptrainer]

Hello, build thread for a Cade S3f-600

This will be my 3rd tank.
First tank was an all-in-one Aquaone 40cm cube nano tank from 2011-2013. I then moved onto a Cade 1200 first gen which I kept until 2021. So I have had a bit of time away from the hobby. But I recently purchased a new house and had room for a study/home office, and I'm back

I considered all kinds of tanks but decided I want a no compromises nano. I know it's popular 'wisdom' to always go as big as you can afford or fit. But after keeping a nano and a >100 gallon I don't think that advice works for me.

• Maintenance is so much more pleasant on a small tank.
• Of all the livestock I've kept over 10 years in the hobby my favorites have been yellow clown goby, tiger blenny, hermit crabs and strombus snails.
• In a big tank these smaller inverts and fish get kind of lost. I want a small tank which celebrates some of these amazing animals.
• Staying small allows me to go all in on tech without stressing about cost. Might be one of the most expensive builds per gallon on this site lol, but still cheaper than the majority of 4ft+ builds.
• There was 2 rooms with potential to become a home office, the one I prefer was on the 2nd floor, so I'd hesitate to go too big.

While I've been waiting for the tank to deliver I have been over-thinking everything. I mean everything lol as well as building out some of the equipment. I had my first play with extruded aluminum to build a light hanger which was good fun. I built that shape so it can be disa-ssembled and removed after the tank is in place if I choose. Finally, converted an IKEA Besta into an equipment cabinet as the cade600 doesn't have a lot of cabinet room which has only just fit, I will add 2 versa and some small chambers in the right corner.

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

Following along, good luck with your build!

 

[Gman83]

Good luck, excited to see it develop

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Best of luck! Can't wait to see how your tank progresses

 

[kitti-fish]

Will this be on a second floor?

 

[magikarptrainer]

Will this be on a second floor?

Yeah it will.


No real updates because delivery was delayed a few weeks.
I finished my dry side, everything is far tighter than i'd like (specifically all the cables I have jammed in those ducts), changing equipment will be a pain. But it looks good.

For the lighting I am trying to flood the space like T5s. I overkilled, but am happy as this massive fixture is about the same wattage and cost as a single radeon pro. The hanging kit from AI isn't great but the clips are good. I will likely join them direct to some extruded aluminum rather than use the setup here.

Cardboard is the footprint of the tank

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Yeah it will.


No real updates because delivery was delayed a few weeks.
I finished my dry side, everything is far tighter than i'd like (specifically all the cables I have jammed in those ducts), changing equipment will be a pain. But it looks good.

For the lighting I am trying to flood the space like T5s. I overkilled, but am happy as this massive fixture is about the same wattage and cost as a single radeon pro. The hanging kit from AI isn't great but the clips are good. I will likely join them direct to some extruded aluminum rather than use the setup here.

Cardboard is the footprint of the tank

I'm loving how you have everything organized like that! Looks great!

 

[magikarptrainer]

Thanks, Gumbies. It is difficult to get all the equipment you would expect in a large system into a nano tank. Took some planning to squeeze it all in as small an IKEA cabinet I could.

I wasn't happy with the light stand I made earlier so I rebuilt it better.

I didn't realize how much play extruded aluminium joints have, and so it wouldn't make the perfect firm right angles I would need to make that design work. Also the 2020 was probably a bit small for how many heavy lights I am putting on it, and finally the hanging style would have made it difficult to move when I wanted to work on the tank.

Here's the new design which I can easily fold. I am so much happier with how this turned out.

I didn't say earlier but I have

Grow
Glow
Grow
Glow
Grow

I would have liked to stick a freshwater in the middle to give full spectrum. But it only comes in white body and would have looked a bit weird. And it's a shame AI don't do the freshwater fish light in any size but 12 inch, I think either of those would make good combinations to get fuller spectrum.