Lyscer's Cadlight 68gallon Versa Build

[Tahoe61]

Great looking set up!

 

[Nathan Froehner]

That looks awesome man! Im definatly going Cadlights. Im stuck between the 68g Versa and the 70 g Artisan. Did you fix your overflow issue? Did the Versa come withe everything needed for pluming? Are you happy with the stand? Sorry for all the questions, this tank is just got me real excited.

 

[lyscer]

I was super torn over the versa vs the artisan. In the end I found that every tank I liked the looks of had a corner overflow and since the versa has a corner overflow that is what I went with.

The stand is okay. Definitely not as nice as what you would get with the artisan but it still holds the tank up.

It did come with all plumbing parts. I absolutely love the sump, tank and stand though. I did resolve the overflow issue by cutting a few of the overflow teeth out.

I will post a full tank shot later. But I have 2 gyre xf 130 pumps on the back wall which are set at 40% and they move water like crazy. To make up for any possible dead spots that people claim when having a corner overflow. I try to suspend as many particles for as long of a time so they have a better chance of making it into the overflow.

As a word of caution with your cadlight tank. Be gentle with it. I have heard nothing but horror stories about their customer service when it is needed.

 

[Nathan Froehner]

How about that ATI fixture? I'm thinking of switching to that from my kessil LEDs

 

[lyscer]

I love it. I have been getting some awesome growth on my sps. It isn't as bright as my old metal halides and not as hot but I can switch colors around much easier.

 

[Nathan Froehner]

Ps I've never ordered from cadlight but I have had lots of e mail messages. They were very prompt to reply

 

[lyscer]

As a quick update. All of my fish got hit with some funky parasite and killed all of them off but 1 back in Sept. I have had my tank sitting Fallow since then. I waited 75 days for any possible ich parasites to die off and have been treating my remaining fish for ich using chlormine treatments. I then put a large amount of SPS into my system which I then reset the timer on my 75 day ich period so as not to contaminate the tank again since it was already fallow. I am planning on adding my lonely fish back in the week of Christmas. The next fish after that will be a yellow wrasse because I have had a planaria flatworm outbreak as well and FWE hasn't seemed to kill all of the little buggers even at 3x the dosage so I am hoping that a natural preditor will eat them. It definitely has not been a smooth ride, but it is entertaining

 

[lyscer]

Sorry, double post

 

[lyscer]

So I finally hit the end of my fallow period and moved my hippo tang into DT again. He seems to enjoy the space. I picked up a couple of new fish and they are going to be in QT for the next 30 days.

 

[lyscer]

And here is a full tank shot from today.

 

[spspirate]

Very nice!!

 

[Salty1962]

Nice tank and setup. I have the 70G Artisan II and I love it. Keep posting updates.

 

[lyscer]

Wanted to post a new tank shot with everything in up to this point.

I am seeing a TON of aptasia popping up. Yea - another battle.

 

[revhtree]

Looks good!

 

[lyscer]

Candy cane pistol shrimp and feather duster make a great team. Who would have thought.

 

[ecureefer]

Did you ever make the overflow drain contraption to reduce bubbling and salt creep? Im trying to build something along the lines of a drip tray that i can stuff with filter floss and throw away once dirty to get away from cleaning filter socks.

 

[lyscer]

I made a durso overflow with pvc parts that go down to the sump and into a filter sock that I made using instructions I found on the forum. I have 30 filter socks that I made (yes the wife gave me funny looks when she came home and I was sitting at her sewing machine) but they were easy. I swap them out twice a week. I quickly rinse it and then toss it in a 5 gallon bucket in the garage and only have to wash them every couple months which is nice. I know people on here just throw them away though. If you want I can take some pictures of what I have if it would help.

 

[ecureefer]

Thanks! I thought about making some as well but I'm a little lazy and rather just throw away filter floss haha. Tank looks great and i hope you get your sps problem figured out. Sps can be finicky as crap i had almost every piece die a few years back in my old tank out the blue and still dont know what caused it other than maybe a bacterial infection.

 

[lyscer]

 

[lyscer]

I have been contemplating building a floating canopy to hold the light but just haven't had time lately. Most my effort has gone into trying to figure out my RO/DI unit or Sps or fish problems. Haha. Gotta love this hobby. Never a shortage of issues.