Isaac's Cadlight 70 Gallon Artisan II Build

[Isaac Alves]

I'm already seeing major coloration changes in my Chaeto with this Kessil H80 Flora.

 

[Mal11224]

I'm already seeing major coloration changes in my Chaeto with this Kessil A80 Flora.

Hey Isaac. Glad to see you are still going strong. I got the H80 after going to reefapalooza and hearing Brian from BRS talk about it. It is a good light. Did not think that I needed the H380.. it grows chaeto pretty well. Also has a small footprint.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Hey Isaac. Glad to see you are still going strong. I got the H80 after going to reefapalooza and hearing Brian from BRS talk about it. It is a good light. Did not think that I needed the H380.. it grows chaeto pretty well. Also has a small footprint.

Thanks! Definitely still going strong. Regarding the light size, I have such a small space to grow a refugium that this light is more than adequate. I'm also running it 24/7 for right now. I will test on Saturday to see where my parameters are at, but PH seems to have stabilized throughout the night and day.

 

[Mal11224]

I started running mine 24/7 and went to about 16 hours and noticed a more stable ph level. Used to range from 8.1 to 8.28 and now it's about 8.18 to 8.3. I turn it off as my lights ramp up and back on as they ramp down. This hobby is great.. I feel like I'm always trying different things to see what works and what doesn't. Always learning.

 

[Mal11224]

Full take shot for January 17, 2018. I've changed my filtration methods a bit for 2018.

Changes :

· removed filter socks
· carbon dosing NoPox for 2 months now, may switch to DIY NOPOX.
· upgraded my refugium light to a Kessil A80
· refugium is on 24/7 now
· 20% water change once every 6 weeks - ph, temp and salinity matched to dt.

Hey Isaac. I've contemplated removing my filter socks more times than I can remember. How has it worked for you? Is your water still clear? How are your nutrients? Do you use GAC?
Thanks!

 

[Isaac Alves]

I learned a couple of important reef aquarist lessons this week, at least specific to my reef tank. The first one is sort of odd. I hope to watch my APEX trend data over the next couple of weeks.

Here's what happened:

I cleaned out my refugium area when installing a new Kessil H80 Flora light. I also added all of the Chaeto I had in my garage system. A few days pass and I don't see nighttime pH benefits... At least none that registered on the APEX. So I decided to remove most of the Chaeto and leave a small ball. This caused the Chaeto to start tumbling. Since then my pH has slowly gone up and appears stable at night. Now, it's only been three days... But seriously odd.

The changes:
· new light, obviously better, set the kessil to the "grow" setting
· trimmed Chaeto may have stimulated new growth
· tumbling may be causing more light coverage
· I've been running the new light 24/7 since installing it

[emoji848]

 

[Isaac Alves]

Upgrading my lighting situation. Went ahead and picked up an @AquaticLife 36" T5 Retrofit hybrid fixture. Along with two Radion G4 XR15 Pros. I'll move my AI FiftyTwo HD to the shoal tank.


Framed the fixture so i can more easily build a frame for this ugly thing (not suited for a formal room)...and hang it above the 70 gallon reef.

This thing is cheaply manufactured. But costs a lot less than me taking time to make this metal frame.

One of the Radion mounts doesn't even have machined groves in it.[emoji849]


One side:

Other side:

 

[sonubhai]

Alright I got one of these too, waiting to see how you hang it need some ideas

 

[Isaac Alves]

Alright I got one of these too, waiting to see how you hang it need some ideas

Yeah... Not sure quite yet. Definitely do not want to see this thing. I'm thinking of doing a thin wood frame and wrapping it with birch wood, and stain it to match my APEX box.

I think by adding a wood support on either side of the frame I can just rest this fixture inside the frame. I'll add hanging hardware to the wood frame and attach the whole thing to a couple of heavy duty iron hooks.

Anyways, just thoughts... Not sure.

 

[Mal11224]

You will like the light. Adding T5 lighting to my tank was probably one of the best improvements I've done to my tank. Had a 2 bulb light and got the 36" hybrid to go with my AP700.

 

[Isaac Alves]

You will like the light. Adding T5 lighting to my tank was probably one of the best improvements I've done to my tank. Had a 2 bulb light and got the 36" hybrid to go with my AP700.

Couple of questions:

How high off the water is your fixture?

What schedule ate your running the lights?

[emoji846]

 

[Mal11224]

Couple of questions:

How high off the water is your fixture?

What schedule ate your running the lights?

[emoji846]

My lights are about 12" off the surface. I raised them up from 10". I run the T5 for 6 hours, 11am - 5pm. LEDs are on from 9am - 9pm.

 

[Isaac Alves]

So I built a wood skirt to hide the AquaticLife hybrid fixture.

I'm an amateur at wood working and I don't have the proper tools, but this turned out ok.

Basic idea is that the fixture just rests on the side shelves within the frame.

I attached some wood anchors into hooks and used the hanging kit that came with the AquaticLife fixture.

I cut a hole for wires and made a shelf for the Radion bricks...

I never get my joints tight so a little stainable wood bondo did touch-up

Let sit and dry...

Will need to stain.

Crossing fingers this works....

 

[icedgxe]

That looks great! I built a wooden canopy to hide my lights as well. I’m so glad I did!

 

[sonubhai]

Looks great, when it's dry some pics of the unit on it too would be great.

 

[Clayton Jessup]

The cover for the light looks really good !

 

[Isaac Alves]

Here's the "Skirt" with the AquaticLife 36" fixture inside it...

 

[Isaac Alves]

Just scanned for studs.... Almost centered. Man... [emoji51]

 

[Isaac Alves]

Just dropped in some xenia into my salty mollie tank. I don't mind if it grows crazy here.

 

[Dan I]

Looking good, can't wait for the Aquatic Life fixtures. I have to wait until they make the wider brackets.