Ch3tt's Cadlights Artisan 50 Cube

Ch3tt · Apr 17, 2013

Well I guess i'll give myself a quick introduction. My name is Brett, 30 year old commercial insurance agent from Salt Lake City Utah. Married, no kids yet but my 2 black labs are filling that void for the time being. I have been in the hobby for a few years now and am completely addicted. This is my first build thread here so i'm really excited to get this going. My first real tank in the hobby was a Red Sea Max 250 (pictured below), it was a fun tank and i learned a lot with that tank. However, about 8 or so months ago i tore it down and sold it all. I've been spending a lot of my time with my clown fish breeding projects (pictured below) and maintaining my dad's 225 gallon tank (pictured below) at his home. Here are a few pictures of my old tank, dads tank and breeder setup.

My RSM 250

MY Dad's 225
225 gallon reef - YouTube

My Breeder Setup

Alright, enough of that, now on to the build!

Current Build: The plan for this tank is a SPS dominant tank with a minimalist aquascape. I definitely don't claim to be an expert in reef keeping so any advise would be much appreciated! I didn't want to go super big with this tank and have always loved cube tanks. My LFS brought in some of the Cadlights Artisan Cubes and i fell in love. I love the look of them and the quality in my opinion is top notch. I love that the glass is Starfire also! Here are a few pics of the tank after i put it together!

The tank and stand are pretty self explanatory. It does have a dursoe drain system which i'm really happy about.

Ch3tt · Apr 17, 2013

Equipment list:

Stock Cadlights sump
Stock return pump
Upgraded Cadlights Skimmer
Radion LED
Vortec MP-10
8 Watt Aqua UV
Apex Controller
Dosing Pumps
Ecoxotic 12" White stunner refugium light
BRS dual chamber media reactor

revhtree · Apr 17, 2013

Cool welcome back! Can't wait to see it take shape!

Munch · Apr 30, 2013

Artisan II? Thoughts on the quality? I think their stands are less to be desired, but love the looks of the tanks. Considering a 100 gallon Artisan II myself...

Ch3tt · May 1, 2013

Yes it's the artisan II. I am actually pretty impressed with the stand compared to other stands I've put together. Still waiting for new carpet to be be put in before I can start setting this up.

Chemchef · May 19, 2013

I have this setup. I would not "upgrade" the return pump. It is a solid well built pump and as quiet as any eheim. Maybe more so. Jmo

Ch3tt · May 30, 2013

Chemchef, i actually agree. After some more research and some testing i actually really like the stock pump, definitely going to hang onto it! Thanks for the heads up!

Ch3tt · Jun 19, 2013

Well here is a quick update. Things have been super crazy lately and I haven't had a lot of time to work on the tank. However on monday i was finally able to get the tank wet! I decided to go with Tropic Eden sand and i am VERY happy with it. It is super bright white, clean, and heavy so it doesn't get blown around. Threw a small piece of live rock to get the cycle going. I still need to decide what i want to do with the aquascaping and find some nice live rock. I have an apex on its way, i'm very excited to get everything organized and installed in the stand, its a bit of a mess right now. Anyway, thats its it for now. More to come soon!