My CADE PR2-1500 PLUS CADE Frag 900 build *WITH BASEMENT SUMP*

[chuckfu5]

Hello and welcome to my journey on upgrading my current SCA 135 cube to the CADE 150 with CADE 900 frag system.

The aquariums will be located in my office on the main level of the house with the sump for both systems ran to our unfinished basement. Plumbing and wiring for Neptune APEX will be ran through the walls down to the basement.

Here is a list of equipment:

1. CADE Reef 1500 S2
2. CADE Frag 900 S2
3. Neptune Sky's
4. Kessil A360x
5. Neptune COR 20
6. Neptune COR 15
7. ReefMat 1200 Fleece Roller Filter - Red Sea
8. Quantum 300 Protein Skimmer - Nyos
9. Neptune A3 Pro controller with Trident
10. KM-150 Magnetic Kalkwasser mixing reactor - IceCap
11. A.R.I.D. N24 Macroalgae Reactor - Pax Bellum
12. C02 Scrubber - IceCap
13. ATK V2 Auto Top Off - Neptune Systems

I'm sure there is more that I am forgetting and will add to this list.

This will be a SPS dominant tank with some softies and LPS.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Can't wait to see the progress of it!!!

 

[chuckfu5]

Update 2/27/23

Spent Saturday and Sunday running the plumbing for both systems. They are tied together and running from the same basement sump.

Drains are complete / returns / manifold still need to be ran.

I also ran a dedicated 20amp circuit for the basement sump and the equipment.

 

[chuckfu5]

Todays update!

Working on aquascape and getting the systems filled with water! Will be starting the cycle soon.

 

[907_Reefer]

Looking good, in for updates! Cade 1500 is likely my next upgrade..

 

[chuckfu5]

Looking good, in for updates! Cade 1500 is likely my next upgrade..

I'll try to give daily updates from here on out.

 

[chuckfu5]

Today's update:

Manifold was torn apart and repaired. No more leaks!

I started to setup the Avast Marine Ozone reactor only to find out it was damaged during shipping. They are sending out another unit today, great customer service @AVAST Marine !

Began cycling the system with Dr Tim's fishless cycle. Read .8ppm ammonia yesterday so dosed the number of drops and we are at 1.8ppm today. No dosing of ammonia required.

Frag racks installed, courtesy of @LunaReef and they look fantastic!

I also ordered a bunch of push fittings. I'm going to run my Pax Bellum, GFO/Carbon reactor and Ozone reactor with push fittings and RO tubing. I think this will give me a cleaner install and make maintenance much easier.

Pictures to come........need to clean some wires up!

 

[chuckfu5]

Update with some photos!

1. Main display - still need to add two other Neptune Sky's. This will happen when the current system is shut down.
2. Frag system - wire management / stands for frag racks
3. Shot of display and frag system together.
4. Shot of my office with both systems plus our 50 gallon planted freshwater system.
5. Fish room in the basement ( pardon the mess )
6. Water change area.
7. Sump / work area.
8. Overall shot of plumbing / sump area.

Still to do:

1. Wire management once everything is installed.
2. Install check valve for frag system.
3. Install Pax bellum.
4. Install Calcium Reactor.
5. Install Avast Marine Ozone Reactor ( had a small leak ).
6. Install two Neptune Sky's over main display.
7. Install GFO / Carbon reactor.


I'm sure there is more that needs to be done but we are so close to being finished.

 

[907_Reefer]

Looking good, super clean setup!

Baby gates to the fish room:

 

[chuckfu5]

Other than cleaning, organizing and programming I think it’s complete.

 

[Kalibur2]

Any updates?

 

[chuckfu5]

Any updates?

System is complete and cycling.

Cycled using Dr Tim's One and Only and his ammonium. We started the cycle back in early March and we are still testing .2 ammonia daily and 1 nitrites.

Currently the system has some tester frags in the frag system and a pair of mocha storms, all are doing well.

I also had to separate the return of the UV from the main return line and take it back to the sump. Installing a APEX 2" flow meter showed that there wasn't enough flow to overcome the pressure of the water going to the display. I also installed a flow meter on the calcium reactor, algae reactor and ozone reactor.

I installed a PH probe in the Ice Cap kalkwasser reactor so I could see when the solution fell out of max saturation and add more Kalk. Seems to be working well, having to add more kalk powder every 3-4 days to maintain 12.3 ph.

 

[chuckfu5]

Tank is stocked and old system down.

Pics to come in a couple of days.

 

[chuckfu5]

I'll get some full tank shots but everything is doing great....no losses of any coral or fish since the change and I've added a powder blue, powder brown, two blotchy anthias and three sunburst anthias. Knock on wood but so far so good!

I did have a leak on my Pax Bellum where it looks like the glued fitting from the factory started leaking. It has been sent back to them for repair. Current testing shows phosphates at .02 and Nitrates at 13. Not sure if I will run the pax bellum when I get it back or not as I don't think it's currently needed.

I also had a failure on the Mutiny ozone reactor where the pump failed. I've got ozone plumbed directly into the skimmer for now while I wait for the pump to return.

Only major issue I'm dealing with is the frag system has a pretty bad green hair algae outbreak since I have no fish in there to work on the algae. Working on that now.....Only fish in that system is a breeding pair of bangai cardnials with 20 babies and a storm trooper clown.

So far I've been very happy with this system but still trying to dial some things in.

I struggled with low PH and but now I've lowered the flow of the calcium reactor and lowered the PH in the reactor to 6.2 and I'm able to maintain a ph of 8.2 consistently throughout the day with the recirculating c02 scrubber and the dosing of kalkwaser at night.