Isaac's Cadlight 70 Gallon Artisan II Build

Isaac Alves · Jan 28, 2017

FTS while I close the day. I had to rearrange stuff a bit too possibly open up flow - possibly more that I didn't like the layout. Changed GFO to BRS high capacity GFO. Also replaced carbon.

And finally dosed 50mls of WasteAway.

Isaac Alves · Jan 29, 2017

Nutramar Ova is available now. I've read so much in forums that people use to miss this stuff. I should try it for my mandarin.

Isaac Alves · Jan 29, 2017

I took a high speed video of my Goniopora. I wanted to see if it's actually grabbing food from the water column. All flow is off. Coral Frenzy is suspended and floating around.

Isaac Alves · Feb 19, 2017

Love that I wake every morning to a clean sandbed. Thanks to my Diamond Goby.

Mal11224 · Mar 8, 2017

isaacalves said:
Love that I wake every morning to a clean sandbed. Thanks to my Diamond Goby.

Hi Isaac... I just signed up to this forum. Recently purchased the Cad lights artisan II 70g and cycling it now. Just want to thank you for your thread and time producing it. It has helped me a great deal. Your tank is amazing. Very good work. Thanks again!

Isaac Alves · Mar 20, 2017

Mal11224 said:
Hi Isaac... I just signed up to this forum. Recently purchased the Cad lights artisan II 70g and cycling it now. Just want to thank you for your thread and time producing it. It has helped me a great deal. Your tank is amazing. Very good work. Thanks again!

Thank you Mal11224! It's been a wonderful experience.

Here's a full tank shot from yesterday. I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to keep this journal up to date.

You'll notice it's mostly a softy tank.

I've beaten the white slime bacteria. The Dr. Tim's pushed it back. Then moving to NOPOX has proved effective. The slime is eradicated.

My current sadness is the flower pot Coral I purchased a while ago has slowly declined. My theory, from observing, is my Yellow Eye Kole Tang nips a polyp every day when she zips by. I dose Red Sea Reef Energy A/B and NOPOX and this has proved effective at bringing my Monti Caps back as well feeding my Euphylias and Zoas. The Goni is slowly deteriorating. I do know it's the more difficult of the Gonis.

Mal11224 · Mar 20, 2017

Hi Isaac, your tank looks great. I finally cycled mine and added some fish to it. I'll be looking to add corals very soon. Want to be sure I can maintain the proper levels for the reef foundation. Thinking about a mixed reef system with mostly SPS type. I do want a few softies for the bottom. I understand that they grow quickly and can sting other corals if they are too close. I'll be using the refugium portion of the sump as well, which should help balance the Ph and keep the nitrates low. I have a few LFS near me where I will look for corals but some online sites are intriguing as well. They offer some nice packages. It's exciting to say the least. You may want to check your flow near some of your corals. May be affecting the goniopora. I know feeding them can be tough as well. They need the nutrients that we try so hard to remove from the tank.

Wish I had more experience to offer better advice.

Isaac Alves · Mar 23, 2017

Just discovered some purple sponges growing near my Zoa colony. Good sign?

ChrisQ0904 · Mar 23, 2017

I would say that sponge growth is a good dig.

Isaac Alves · Mar 25, 2017

‪Busy adding some needed electrical capacity to what is slowly inching into becoming... A marine #fishroom! [emoji225] ‬

Salty1962 · Mar 26, 2017

Tank really came out nice Isaac!

Peter Hand · Mar 26, 2017

isaacalves said:
Ok. Plumbed and fitted. Gasket leak test passed.

Now to hook this M1 up so I can test the plumbing.

Crossing fingers about my crude fix that I mentioned earlier.

Did you consider a manifold to hook up other equipment (reactors)? I can't wait to set my tank up

Peter Hand · Mar 26, 2017

isaacalves said:
Very happy that the Apex issues were resolved.

It's been working great.

Love the apex cabinet idea . But why did you paint the borders black ? Any reason

Isaac Alves · Mar 26, 2017

It's not black. I put a a wood veneer on the front and top so that I could stain and distress the front and top with a dark walnut finish. The pictures are darker than they actually are. Why did I do this?...

Two reasons:
1) To keep my wife happy I'm hiding as much of the secondary equipment as possible. And do it in plain site.

2) I didn't want the stand and tank to lose symmetry. So by breaking the color the stand still appears as was intended rather than have a parasitic growth attached to one side. So now there this brown cabinet on one side and a tall glass vase on the other... (my ATO).

Peter Hand · Mar 26, 2017

isaacalves said:
It's not black. I put a a wood veneer on the front and top so that I could stain and distress the front and top with a dark walnut finish. The pictures are darker than they actually are. Why did I do this?...

Two reasons:
1) To keep my wife happy I'm hiding as much of the secondary equipment as possible. And do it in plain site.

2) I didn't want the stand and tank to lose symmetry. So by breaking the color the stand still appears as was intended rather than have a parasitic growth attached to one side. So now there this brown cabinet on one side and a tall glass vase on the other... (my ATO).

Well you did a fantastic job ...

Isaac Alves · Mar 26, 2017

Peter Hand said:
Did you consider a manifold to hook up other equipment (reactors)? I can't wait to set my tank up

I did consider it. I even added a small .5" line from the return to power a reactor. But I realized that I want independent control of the reactor pump...and, I would need to reconfigure the check valve position.

So, currently, I have a cobalt pump pushing GFO and carbon reactors. I use the .5" return to just add extra flow and surface agitation in the fuge area. At some point, I want it to run to a small 5 gallon display refugium that will be mounted on the wall.

Isaac Alves · Mar 26, 2017

I use Coral Snow once or twice a month to really clear up the water and give the LPS a treat. I never use the full dose, only 1.5ml.

But I do love watching the misty appearance it gives the tank.

Peter Hand · Mar 27, 2017

isaacalves said:
I did consider it. I even added a small .5" line from the return to power a reactor. But I realized that I want independent control of the reactor pump...and, I would need to reconfigure the check valve position.

So, currently, I have a cobalt pump pushing GFO and carbon reactors. I use the .5" return to just add extra flow and surface agitation in the fuge area. At some point, I want it to run to a small 5 gallon display refugium that will be mounted on the wall.

I am going to try and make a complete manifold but I am not sure if it will work out