Hydrored's 300 Glass Cages Build

Operator Wrasse

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Well the good news is both tanks will be on an ATO and AWC from the garage, so really it just comes down to dosing and monitoring if I went with separate tanks. I don't have any plans of shipping coral, I do sell frags on occasion but mostly turn some into the LFS when I buy food or salt. Really I try to keep this a hobby more than anything, I really want a frag tank more as a place to keep frags for a while until they go in the display or as an oh sh** tank.
If you have the time, then make the system separate. Just take your time cycling it or get really old, healthy live rock to help keep things stable. You'll have to check parameters often, especially Alk, to watch for fluctuations. It'll be much easier to nuke your frag tank if you're not staying on top of things. I might be jaded, though, because I don't have much time for the hobby right now.
 
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Eagle_Steve

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Very valid point, I’ll reach out to Joe today as I’d like to see if he could ship it at the same time. I’ve never owned a frag tank and I see some people like to tie them into their display and others keep them separate. I’m thinking more along the lines of separate but then I’m taking care of and monitoring 2 tanks….. a lot to think about

What height do you recommend @Operator Wrasse ? this will only be for sticks

Another question I have has anybody ever insta tanked a frag system using existing water and existing live rock in the sump or am I asking for trouble?
@LRT just did an insta cycle move and can probably assist you with questions about it and what he learned from it.
 

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@LRT just did an insta cycle move and can probably assist you with questions about it and what he learned from it.
Yessir just give me a holler.
Most crucial take aways-
Plan to treat tank like extension of mature stabile tank thats being taken down.
Check water params daily.
Be prepared and don't be surprised if your rock and coral hit new tank like it never missed a beat and starts using cal,mag and alk daily just like it was before the upgrade.
Make sure your watching Nitrates and Phosphates and they don't 0 out on you and be prepared to dose to keep levels in check.
Do all this it should be smooth sailing after first few weeks when things balance and dial out.
 
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Hydrored

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Yessir just give me a holler.
Most crucial take aways-
Plan to treat tank like extension of mature stabile tank thats being taken down.
Check water params daily.
Be prepared and don't be surprised if your rock and coral hit new tank like it never missed a beat and starts using cal,mag and alk daily just like it was before the upgrade.
Make sure your watching Nitrates and Phosphates and they don't 0 out on you and be prepared to dose to keep levels in check.
Do all this it should be smooth sailing after first few weeks when things balance and dial out.

I'll give you a holler before I transfer everything just to make sure I'm covering everything, I've done tank transfers in the past but was all LPS and a couple of sticks and never missed a beat. This time it's all sticks and one lonely LPS..... A lot more on the line
 
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Hydrored

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All the rock and light rail showed up today. Checked on the 210 as it’s been on autopilot, dirty glass and all with my travel schedule.

No filter at all quick snip-


 
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Half of my stand arrived today, other half will be here Monday some how.

I never heard back from Glass Cages so I placed an order for a custom PVC frag tank and custom PVC sump that all matches the sump I ordered for the 300 from Advanced Acrylics. I need to get a GNC Blue Ray M ordered along with another Framingtech stand for the frag tank.

Plan for tonight is to unbox all of the rock and get it in a 100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank to start cooking

2B1FF3C3-8D27-468B-BFED-F2F6204EF51A.jpeg
 

Joe Glass Cages

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Half of my stand arrived today, other half will be here Monday some how.

I never heard back from Glass Cages so I placed an order for a custom PVC frag tank and custom PVC sump that all matches the sump I ordered for the 300 from Advanced Acrylics. I need to get a GNC Blue Ray M ordered along with another Framingtech stand for the frag tank.

Plan for tonight is to unbox all of the rock and get it in a 100 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank to start cooking

2B1FF3C3-8D27-468B-BFED-F2F6204EF51A.jpeg
@Hydrored, never heard back from Glass Cages? Sorry to hear this. Please share more. We are typically very prompt to respond.
 
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@Hydrored, never heard back from Glass Cages? Sorry to hear this. Please share more. We are typically very prompt to respond.
Hi Joe, I called and left a VM yesterday morning around 8 am, said it was Silus on the VM?

Honestly I was in a hurry to get it going as I wanted to order the stand and sump ASAP. So really it’s only been 2 business days, no issue at all with me
 
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Doesn’t look like a lot of rock but that’s a 100 gallon tote with 3 large Aquaroche structures. Filled it up with salt water and threw a heater and a couple pumps. May be too much….
D58DFF8E-65E4-4353-B134-B80BA98F0FEB.jpeg
 

Joe Glass Cages

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Hi Joe, I called and left a VM yesterday morning around 8 am, said it was Silus on the VM?

Honestly I was in a hurry to get it going as I wanted to order the stand and sump ASAP. So really it’s only been 2 business days, no issue at all with me
thanks for the clarity @Hydrored. found your voicemail from prior to us opening. Sorry about that! We will continue to grow and strive to better what we do. Thanks!
 
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thanks for the clarity @Hydrored. found your voicemail from prior to us opening. Sorry about that! We will continue to grow and strive to better what we do. Thanks!
No sorry needed @Joe Glass Cages ! I’m moving fast these days between travel and trying to get as much as possible lined out for the new tank. Can’t wait to see my Glass Cages arrive!
 
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Picked up a Cade 600S tank today as I need a temp setup for frags for a few months, so far NOT impressed. Very expensive tank has many basic user issues, like making it impossible to be able to center mount your light. Glass doors sound great until you realize you have nowhere to mount dosing heads or put your dosing containers. Silicone is uneven on all corners. Panel for mounting controller items is far too shallow and will not fit a controller power strip. Why put such a large sump when you have no room to do anything is beyond me.

@AlgaeBarn feedback needs to go to Cade to not include metal clamps, they need to provide plastic clamps. Also I’m curious on why they would put a glass divider right where you would center mount a light?

Overall for what is supposed to be a saltwater frag tank @2500.00 I’m extremely disappointed. I guess they don’t expect people to run dosing heads or a controller.

I will be selling this tank for a loss but I guess I expected more from Cade
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t5Nitro

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I like the extra customization on the AA sump you're getting in. Any recommendations on chamber sizes for a stand 48" long?

My stands interior will measure: Interior Dimensions: 44.25” x 32.37”

I was looking at AA's 54" kit which reads:
54" Total Length - Sump (36"x21"x15") Fuge (12"x21"x20") and ATO (6"x21"x20"). Skimmer footprint - 15x19.25 and the return section is 7.5x19.25. This sump will have 2 - 7" recessed sock holders with 2 - 3/4" Holes for the drain section. Holes can be customized.

I don't need the ATO chamber at all, which brings me to 48" long with the fuge and sump. Not sure it really matters which section to clip an inch off of. I like adding the additional dosing lines. I will certainly ask for that.

Any additional insight you might have in sump design for these dimensions? All I can see using down there is the basic stuff including skimmer, heaters, dosing lines, return pump x1 with ability to have 2, UV pump. My current skimmer is the LifeReef SVS2-24, which is immensly oversized on my current 75. Footprint from his site shows 8x12". Seems like I could save some space in the skimmer section. I know that I want plenty of coverage for spillover in the skimmer section though in case I want to let the skimmer overflow intentionally, or unintentionally so that it can spill back into the sump in case of emergency.
 
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Hydrored

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I am planning on 1/2" or 3/4" plywood. Some have said to use marine grade/severe weather. I plan to paint with an outdoor paint and seal it no matter which way I go. I will likely use 1/2" for the downstairs and 3/4" on top. I am going to grab some kind of foam for the top as well.

You will likely get yours before I get mine so I will be wathing to see what you go with ;)

Here is what I went with for the top-
½” x 33” x 84” UHMW
Floor of stand for sump-
½” x 33” x 84” HDPE

I couldn’t bring myself to go with plywood, I got the idea from another member on here who also did a aluminum stand. I wish I could remember their names to give them credit
 
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Hydrored

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Thanks to @t5Nitro I ordered 2 Spectrapure g7 ultra precise ATO’s, one for the main tank and one for the frag tank.

I followed @Billldg advice and bought the quad pack ecotech versa’s that will handle AWC for both tanks.

I’m in the process of replacing all of the Apex equipment also, more to come on this.

I reached out to Glass Cages for a shipping update on Monday, waiting for the shipping quote and was given a rough estimate of 2 weeks.

In about 2 weeks time things will really start picking up once the electrician can get in and will be running 3 dedicated 20 amp circuits and I’ll run the networking, 2 exterior air lines, and 8 1/4” rodi lines for the ATO and AWC
 
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Hydrored

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I like the extra customization on the AA sump you're getting in. Any recommendations on chamber sizes for a stand 48" long?

My stands interior will measure: Interior Dimensions: 44.25” x 32.37”

I was looking at AA's 54" kit which reads:
54" Total Length - Sump (36"x21"x15") Fuge (12"x21"x20") and ATO (6"x21"x20"). Skimmer footprint - 15x19.25 and the return section is 7.5x19.25. This sump will have 2 - 7" recessed sock holders with 2 - 3/4" Holes for the drain section. Holes can be customized.

I don't need the ATO chamber at all, which brings me to 48" long with the fuge and sump. Not sure it really matters which section to clip an inch off of. I like adding the additional dosing lines. I will certainly ask for that.

Any additional insight you might have in sump design for these dimensions? All I can see using down there is the basic stuff including skimmer, heaters, dosing lines, return pump x1 with ability to have 2, UV pump. My current skimmer is the LifeReef SVS2-24, which is immensly oversized on my current 75. Footprint from his site shows 8x12". Seems like I could save some space in the skimmer section. I know that I want plenty of coverage for spillover in the skimmer section though in case I want to let the skimmer overflow intentionally, or unintentionally so that it can spill back into the sump in case of emergency.

Im not very good at giving advice on this as my request was pretty simple-

1. has to fit two large return pumps side by side as I’ll only run a reef tank with 2

2. I swear the skimmer section is never big enough, especially when running a skimmer with a large pump on the side of it (so as large as possible)

3. I don’t like running fuges personally, well I believe they are beneficial I chose to run an oversized skimmer and don’t want to deal with the mess. I travel a ton and nutrients bottom out quick on me, learned that the hard way a year ago

4. I like the reaction chamber area for dosing, I run an mp10 in mine now with media. I find it keeps the pumps much cleaner and overall less maintenance when not dosing in the return pumps.

5. I’m odd because I like filter socks, I use disposable ones if I’m traveling for an extended time as the person who checks and feeds the tank is easy for her to swap, I did not have great luck with the Clarisea. So 4” filter socks were a must for me and they always seems to be available.

so in summary I went with the largest sump I could fit with equipment and met those 5 needs. Sorry I can’t give more insight on the dimensions other than I made sure it fit the gear I’m going with
 

mattgsa

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Im not very good at giving advice on this as my request was pretty simple-

1. has to fit two large return pumps side by side as I’ll only run a reef tank with 2

2. I swear the skimmer section is never big enough, especially when running a skimmer with a large pump on the side of it (so as large as possible)

3. I don’t like running fuges personally, well I believe they are beneficial I chose to run an oversized skimmer and don’t want to deal with the mess. I travel a ton and nutrients bottom out quick on me, learned that the hard way a year ago

4. I like the reaction chamber area for dosing, I run an mp10 in mine now with media. I find it keeps the pumps much cleaner and overall less maintenance when not dosing in the return pumps.

5. I’m odd because I like filter socks, I use disposable ones if I’m traveling for an extended time as the person who checks and feeds the tank is easy for her to swap, I did not have great luck with the Clarisea. So 4” filter socks were a must for me and they always seems to be available.

so in summary I went with the largest sump I could fit with equipment and met those 5 needs. Sorry I can’t give more insight on the dimensions other than I made sure it fit the gear I’m going with
Where do you get disposable filter socks, do they come in 7 inch?
 

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