Kmwcane's Cade 1800 S2 Build

kmwcane

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Hello everyone! This thread will document the ongoing evolution of my new Cade 1800 S2 aquarium. I am a bit tardy in making this post as the aquarium has been setup since June 2021.

A little background on my journey in the aquarium hobby. I started my first reef tank (RedSea Reefer 250) in February of 2020. This was my first ever saltwater/reef tank after twenty plus years of keeping freshwater fish – mainly discus and Tanganyikan cichlids. I had my ups and downs with the Reefer 250 but I learned a great deal and that tank is in a very good spot (I will post some pics of it in this thread later). Of course, the Reefer 250 only served to whet my appetite for reef aquariums so I planned on getting a larger tank for some time. My wife and I just purchased a new home at the beginning of 2021 so after getting settled in I decided it was time to pull the trigger…

I looked at tons of different tank options but I decided on the Cade 1800 S2 (6 feet long, 171 gallon display,35 gallon sump); I really liked all of the features it provides and a nice deal with Algae Barn’s summer kickoff sale. The tank was delivered but I had to wait about a week before the moving company could come help me get the stand and tank into place. I placed it in my basement/man cave since my wife said I could only have one display tank in the house (a compromise since I do have a separate fish room – it is only freshwater tanks for now so I won’t go into much detail about it).
Cade delivered.jpg
Cade empty in basement.jpg


My current equipment list:

  • VarioS-6 Controllable DC return pump
  • 600 watt and 300 watt titanium heaters (using inkbird controller until I purchase an Apex)
  • (2) Red Sea Reef Wave 45 gyres
  • (2) Vortech MP 40 (I plan to purchase these at a later date prior to the addition of corals)
  • (3) Radion XR15 G5 Pro lights w/track bar mounting system (I plan on adding a 4th light prior to adding SPS corals)
  • Aquamaxx ConeS DRC-2 Controllable In-Sump Protein Skimmer
Future equipment to be added:

  • Apex and Trident
  • Dosing pumps (still deciding on what brand)
  • Refugium lighting
  • One additional XR15 G5 Pro
  • 4 Vortech MP40s
The next step was to create rock structures and I had a GREAT time doing this! I think everyone should craft their own unique aquascape at least once. I had tons of Marco rocks, some of which I chiseled into smaller pieces. My goal was to make irregular sized, 3D type structures with multiple areas for coral placement and hiding spots for fish. The hardest part about the whole process was making myself stop – I would build a structure and then tear it down because I thought it looked terrible! I finally settled on 4 main structures and then some surrounding smaller structures and single rock pieces.
rockscape dry.jpg


Next I filled the aquarium with saltwater – no leaks – and added the rocks.
cade with rocks and water.jpg
rocks side.jpg
rocks.jpg

more rocks.jpg
rocks side 2.jpg


With water added, it was now time to cycle the tank. I used the 4 month cycle method that I learned about from BRS videos so the first 2 months were dull – added Dr. Tim’s bacteria, gave the bacteria some fuel and looked at an empty tank with nothing but ambient light.

My first fish into the tank was a pair of da Vinci clownfish that I added just after the 3 month mark. After that, I added a few fish every couple of weeks until I reached my current stock list:

  • 2 da Vinci clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
  • 3 dispar anthias (Pseudanthias dispar)
  • 1 yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
  • 1 whitetail bristle tooth tang (Ctenochaetus flavicauda)
  • 2 watanabei angelfish (male and female)
  • 1 crescent tail fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus lunatus)
  • 1 orange back fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis)
  • 1 striped blenny (Meiacanthus grammistes)
  • 2 pyramid butterflyfish – still in QT (Hemitaurichthys polylepis)
Here is a short video of the fish in the tank:


I would still like to add one more tang, either an achilles or gem, a flasher wrasse and a yellow coris wrasse but I am still debating if and when to add these.

My plan is to have a mixed coral tank with softies, LPS and SPS. I know a mixed reef makes things more complicated but I switched to the Reef Moonshiner method on my Reefer 250 (a mixed reef tank) and it really has helped with my tank; my zoas, LPS and SPS have never looked better. Therefore, I plan on using the Moonshiner method on this tank so that it will mitigate any issues with running a mixed reef.

I’ll post updates as I receive more livestock and equipment. Thanks for reading and happy reefing!
 
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kmwcane

kmwcane

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I posted this in its own separate thread but I thought it would be appropriate to also post here to get some comments:

I would like to add a gem tang, a yellow coris wrasse and possibly a flasher wrasse but I do not want to overstock my tank. Thoughts?

FYI - the yellow tang already in my tank is about 1.75 to 2 inches currently.
 
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kmwcane

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Snapped a couple of photos at lunch.

First, my pair of pyramid butterfly fish with a photobomb by a dispar anthias and my crescent tail fairy wrasse peeking out from the rocks:

pyramid.jpg


M/F pair of watanabei angelfish with a couple of dispar anthias:

watanbei.jpg
 
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