Isaac's Cadlight 70 Gallon Artisan II Build

[Isaac Alves]

I'm taking this slow so I'm going to be documenting my experience and build here. I'm still waiting on the delivery of the Cadlights Artisan II 70 Gallon, and the stand. But, Cadlight shipped out the ATO reservoir, filter sock holder and six 4" filter socks. So I just got those.

Well packaged.

The reservoir surprisingly does not have a lid...? I would think this would increase the reservoir's evap. Is this a problem? It is still nicely made. The glass seams are clean and all around a sharp looking reservoir.

I could imagine turning this into a really awesome modern freshwater planted bonzai mini tank.

Here's some pics.

Anyone know who could make me a fitted Acryllic lid?

And here's the Cadlights cast acryllic sock holder. Really sturdy quality. Polished edges.

I also went ahead and purchased 5 filter socks. One came with the filter holder. Based on research it seems like 6 is a good rotation setup.

Again, the quality appears nice. I don't know if Cadlight manufactures their socks. My guess is not.

This weekend I wil be "attempting" to build a saltwater mixing station...at least start.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Looking at possibly purchasing 100lbs of Marcorocks.com.

 

[Scubafrog]

Will be watching as I have been looking at the CAD Lights 50, 70, & 100 aquariums. Supposedly they will be offering these as build your own packages later this month (i.e. I can order just stand and tank).

Their ATO container reminds me a lot of the Red Sea Reefer ATO. It also does not have a lid.

 

[revhtree]

Following!

 

[Salty1962]

Nice start, I love my 70G!

 

[Isaac Alves]

@Scubafrog, interesting. I went with the Artisan II Pro. Reef System mainly as a comparable system to the Red Sea Reefer 170. Both seemed great but seemed I was getting more with Cadlight. They had a special that included their larger skimmer.

And, the stand at the pro level, is actual furniture grade build with wood and piano grade paint. Seemed to me like a better deal.

Here's a pic of the 70 gal from their Website.

I'm crossing fingers the shipping goes well.

 

[Isaac Alves]

@Salty1962 that's great to hear. I'm going to have questions for you, if you don't mind. I'll limit to one a day

What lighting did you go with for your 70 Gal? I've narrowed it down to LED. And from there I've narrowed it down to either AquaIllumination Hydra 52 HD or an Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro.

I'm not buying lights for some time.

My next phase is to get the saltwater station built.

 

[Salty1962]

@Salty1962 that's great to hear. I'm going to have questions for you, if you don't mind. I'll limit to one a day

What lighting did you go with for your 70 Gal? I've narrowed it down to LED. And from there I've narrowed it down to either AquaIllumination Hydra 52 HD or an Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro.

I'm not buying lights for some time.

My next phase is to get the saltwater station built.

I had a AquaticLife XS Series LEDs from previous tank and added an AquaticLife quad T5 with ATI 3x Blue+ and 1x Purple +. The T5s reduced the shadowing of the LEDs. Growth is great and color is very good. Takes a little while to get both lighting systems to work together but worth the effort.
If I had to do the LEDs over again, I'd go with the Ecotechs. Quality is great with Ecotechs and more controllable, IMO.
Ask any questions you have and I'll be happy with sharing my setup experience.
Here is an older pic @ 3mths after setup and messy sump.

 

[Isaac Alves]

@Salty1962 That sir, is a beautiful reef. Seriously beautiful.

For flow I think I see a single Gyre 130(?) and 2 Vortechs (similar powerhead)?

 

[Salty1962]

@Salty1962 That sir, is a beautiful reef. Seriously beautiful.

For flow I think I see a single Gyre 130(?) and 2 Vortechs (similar powerhead)?

Thank you for the complement. It looks allot different now with more colonies.
I have a XF130 pushing side to side and 2x Ecotechs MP10QDW back to front. My return pump is a DCT4000. so I have quite a bit of flow. Helps acros grow thicker branches and keeps the corals clean/oxygenated.

 

[Scubafrog]

I'm crossing fingers the shipping goes well.

Yep, shipping would worry me.

I have seen the 100 and 50 at my LFS and really like them. I do like the stand better than the Reefer stand that is MDF and has to be put together. Cad Lights had some bad reviews n the past but it seems like they are starting to improve their customer service. I like the idea of them offering the tank and stand separately in the future as I would like to purchase a different sump.

It will be a long time before I have a tank this nice as I'm still cutting my teeth on my first SW aquarium, a 29G Biocube. I have had it running since Sept. 2014.

Good luck on the build!

 

[Salty1962]

Mine came in packed very well, no issues. It just P***** me off I had to pay extra for them to remove it from the truck and put it in my garage. I didn't have anyone to help me move it to the garage. Mine came shrink wrapped as one piece, very heavy, especially the stand. Just be sure to check it out real good and immediately notify CL of any issues.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Honestly their customer service is poor. But they will get back to you if you email or call enough times. Their website is almost completely useless with order data. They don't seem to update it. But I'll see.

 

[Scubafrog]

Honestly their customer service is poor. But they will get back to you if you email or call enough times. Their website is almost completely useless with order data. They don't seem to update it. But I'll see.

They seem to be more responsive on Facebook. They have actually updated their page recently with photos and replied to comments.

Yes, I will agree the website could be better. That is why I was a little leery before but it appears like they are improving. Hopefully they can improve customer service and their media as the aquariums I saw at my LFS look pretty nice (Artisan series).

I have been debating between CAD Lights, Red Sea Reefer, and SC Aquariums.

 

[Isaac Alves]

I've picked up a used Pan World 100PX-X for my saltwater station. Attempting plans that will make water changes more efficient.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Closeup of the model info. For reference.

 

[Isaac Alves]

The BRS RO/DI system came in. The packing material used to keep these products safe is spectacular.

The dial ionization canisters came in a second package.

 

[Isaac Alves]

All i need now is to get a supply line to flush the RO section into a drinking water container to save the DI resins.

 

[Isaac Alves]

So i finally got my Artisan II 70 gallon delivered yesterday. Cadlights has been much more responsive in the last couple of weeks. Definitely a few hiccups. I'll list them out shortly. But overall the delivery process and scheduling with UPS was easy and packaging was well done.

Caveat: I could only unwrap the stand because its stacked ontop of the aquarium and too heavy to lift off. Cadlights, called me this morning to reassure me of a few things.

More to come...

 

[Isaac Alves]

I finally got time to unpack the crate and the boxes the @cadlight Artisan II 70 Gallon came in.

It's just setup to ensure I got all the pieces and nothing was cracked.

Experience so far with @cadlight:

• Customer Service is bad and good. When it's good it's very good. And this means that when they have your attention they will email, call, and really get your questions answered and orders processed.

• packaging is top notch. They really insured the stability of the delivery casing with not only styrofoam but with boards and air material.

• Oddly, they shipped the sump inside of the cabinet. Perhaps this the best way, but I needed to unscrew the middle support wood of the cabinet to take the sump out to unpack it (it was packed inside of its own packing system) and to allow two people to safely lift the cabinet and move it indoors.

• There are no directions of any kind included.