Shadyraro's Cade 900 S2

[shadyraro]

Tank looks great. Always so lush!
So jealous of all the colours and movement you have in that haha.

Sorry to hear about the CBB, I still miss mine. The Aiptasia doesn't though... got a few healthy sized specimens starting to rear their ugly heads.

Also, lookit the foam on your skimmer! Goals!

Thanks mate!
Remember skimmer, set and forget lol

 

[DarkReefer]

Yeah you really need to have the notifications setup for this exact reason and it's pretty easy to do, that's why I was pretty happy it worked out

The CO2 scrubber has been doing good but it was trial and error at the start, I was told to change the media every 2 weeks so I did but I wasn't seeing the PH boost I was expecting. I also thought if I keep changing the media this often then it'll be a pretty expensive reactor as the media isn't cheap.

Anyway after letting it settle in for a couple weeks and changing the media less often (currently been 3 weeks) it's now getting my PH up to 8.33 during the day and down to 8.14 overnight which is awesome. The AF reactor sits on a small base fill of sponges which you fill with water to help the media last longer and this works, I probably top it up every fortnight.

So all in all it's doing a great job keeping my PH up, but as it's warming up now I am curious to hang the tubes from my skimmer outside the tank to see how it goes lol.

I'll definitely have to have a play with the app to make sure I start turning some stuff on. May even need to look into that mobius module (and/or a smart switch) as well to talk to the pump etc. at some point.

Oh okay, that seems pretty frequent to change the media. Does it have the colour changing media? Seems like it might be something that is kind of expensive to maintain in the long run if you have to change out media every 2-3 weeks. You're getting some decent results though. 8.3-8.1 is a good range.

Haha yeah the skimmer I usually do forget, but because I set it wrong initially my nitrates have spiked so I need to set it right and then forget again :P

 

[JonoH]

Update:

The Apex has been running for about 5 weeks now and I'm really happy with how it's all going.
It's taken a while to get used to the Apex fusion app and I'm still learning as there's definitely a lot to take in, but once you get your head around it and take your time it starts to make sense and becomes easier to use.

In saying that last week I replaced my vectra S2 return pump with the COR-15 return pump and although it seemed easy enough to setup, I still don't even know if I've even set it up correctly lol. The way the pump is setup in the app just confuses me and I'm still trying to understand the schedule, user error no doubt but I'll figure it out eventually. The COR came with a union in the box which I'm guessing is to connect to a flow meter, so I might look at getting one of those down the track.

Also on the weekend my aiptasia eating Copperband died
I'm not sure whether he was bullied as my mimic tang didn't like him from day one, or because they're very passive eaters and he was pretty slack at feeding time as the other fish were always were in turbo mode.
Anyway I'm pretty bummed as he was such a great looking fish and kept my tank aiptasia free.

I've also been running the Red Sea 4 part now for about 4 months and it's keeping my parameters in check.
The medium kit which I got was only supposed to only last 3 months but according to my doser I've got at least a couple more months left as I've been dosing less of it.
As the 4 part goes off one calcium test a week and my calcium is close to where I want it means I'm only dosing 4ml calcium, 8ml alk, 2ml of iodine and potassium and 2ml of iron and bio elements a day. Apparently you're supposed to split the doses to hourly or 2 hourly but if I did that then I'd be dosing 0.1 of Iodine an hour which is pointless. So I've just split them up to dose every 6 hours which means a bigger dose and it's working fine.

Current parameters:
Alk 9.5
Cal 450
Mag 1350
P04 0.08
N03 25
pH 8.2
Temp 24.8

Tank looking great!

I wish i was only dosing that much :-)!

Watch the blue with your softies - I had 2, and they both developed a taste for Trachys and Scoly's!

 

[shadyraro]

I'll definitely have to have a play with the app to make sure I start turning some stuff on. May even need to look into that mobius module (and/or a smart switch) as well to talk to the pump etc. at some point.

Oh okay, that seems pretty frequent to change the media. Does it have the colour changing media? Seems like it might be something that is kind of expensive to maintain in the long run if you have to change out media every 2-3 weeks. You're getting some decent results though. 8.3-8.1 is a good range.

Haha yeah the skimmer I usually do forget, but because I set it wrong initially my nitrates have spiked so I need to set it right and then forget again :P

Yeah the media is colour changing which is good but something I originally didn’t know, so at the start I would’ve been replacing good media because of the 2 week change.
Anyway the bottom third of media is going purple now so I’ll watch both the media and ph and see how long I can get out of it.

 

[shadyraro]

Tank looking great!

I wish i was only dosing that much :-)!

Watch the blue with your softies - I had 2, and they both developed a taste for Trachys and Scoly's!

Hmm I have noticed what looks like a bite mark on one of my scollys..

 

[skey44]

I thought I was the boundary pusher for tangs in around here! Well done, beautiful reef. Sorry about the CBB!

 

[DarkReefer]

I thought I was the boundary pusher for tangs in around here! Well done, beautiful reef. Sorry about the CBB!

LOL I had one in a 2ft cube tank for a year or so (got it when it was a tiny baby so not so bad). Upgraded to something much more suitable now though.

 

[shadyraro]

I thought I was the boundary pusher for tangs in around here! Well done, beautiful reef. Sorry about the CBB!

Haha thanks!
Oops, but they were so cute and little tho so maybe I should stop feeding them

 

[generic user name]

Where did you end up putting the radion arms on the back of the tank? I'd like to have them spread a little further apart than you have yours if possible. Assuming you had to either ditch the lid or modify it to fit the mounts?

 

[shadyraro]

Where did you end up putting the radion arms on the back of the tank? I'd like to have them spread a little further apart than you have yours if possible. Assuming you had to either ditch the lid or modify it to fit the mounts?

They’re attached to the back glass, unfortunately due to the weir and ato sections you’re pretty limited to where you can put them.
The only way to spread the lights how you want is by mounting the arms on the sides with an RMS rail joining them.

 

[Sinkers]

@shadyraro Hey mate, just got a cade 600. Was just wondering if you prefer the bio blocks or spheres better as I seen you have both? Would you recommend just filling all those media baskets with the spheres? Possibly leave one for carbon maybe? Any advice in setting up my sump would be appreciated. I've never had a sump

 

[shadyraro]

@shadyraro Hey mate, just got a cade 600. Was just wondering if you prefer the bio blocks or spheres better as I seen you have both? Would you recommend just filling all those media baskets with the spheres? Possibly leave one for carbon maybe? Any advice in setting up my sump would be appreciated. I've never had a sump

Hey mate,
I personally prefer the bio spheres as you get more surface area out of them, there's around 130 spheres in there so it's a decent amount for a small sump. I left the 4 bio blocks in there as I originally had those before installing the spheres but I didn't think they had enough surface area for beneficial bacteria.
Before I got the sphere holders I just loaded up the 3 baskets, it worked fine but I preferred the look of the holders so I removed the baskets.
Also you can put some carbon in a bag and just hang it in a high flow area, I used to do this before I got the small reactor.

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

I recently returned home from an overseas family holiday and it was great getting no notifications about the tank at all, I knew my Apex would let me know if there were any issues and thankfully there were none.
This was one of the main reasons I bought an Apex, to monitor, control and run the tank on auto pilot when I'm not at home and in my opinion it's worth every cent. I only checked the app and fish cam once while away and other then that I basically forgot about the tank which was great lol.
Once back home everything looked good and I only had to give the glass a good clean and top up the RO, all the corals and fish were good so I was pretty happy about that.

My Cor-15 pump has been annoying me as it randomly slows down for no reason which causes my display water level to drop by a good 30mm, I looked it up and quite a few people have had the same issue and Neptune just ends up replacing them. I'm not too happy about this so I'm going and see if I can replace it with a Vectra M2 which is what I originally was looking to get, at least I'll be able to use the battery backup on it which is a bonus.

I'm also thinking of adding a 23" liquid level sensor in the RO reservoir so I can monitor the water level inside, I currently have no idea where the water level is without looking inside the reservoir even tho I know roughly how long it lasts when full but it can change on any given day. If I'm away for longer periods then I can use the LLS in conjunction with an external ATO to top up the reservoir so I'll always no where the RO level is at, well that's my theory anyway lol.

And with the new Cade 1200 tank I'm looking at I'm still undecided on getting an S2 or S3, there's a big price difference between the 2 and apart from no stock at all for either model I'm just not sure which way to go.
My LFS should have a S3 display setup soon so I'll check it out then but for now I'm just happy plodding along with my 900.

 

[krayzie]

Hey Shady!
hope you had a great holiday!
this is why i want to get an apex as well, i just wish they sold the energy bars in australia with the apex.
apart from the automation, i would love to shut off the return if there is a leak detected.

how are you liking the inbuilt RO reservoir ? are you hand filling or have some smarter way to do it?

i wish the see through window was more meaningful like it had litres printed on the side. i guess the LLS will solve that.

as you know i have the S3, i like it mainly for the brace as piece of mind and a few other upgrades to it from the s2.

 

[shadyraro]

Hey Shady!
hope you had a great holiday!
this is why i want to get an apex as well, i just wish they sold the energy bars in australia with the apex.
apart from the automation, i would love to shut off the return if there is a leak detected.

how are you liking the inbuilt RO reservoir ? are you hand filling or have some smarter way to do it?

i wish the see through window was more meaningful like it had litres printed on the side. i guess the LLS will solve that.

as you know i have the S3, i like it mainly for the brace as piece of mind and a few other upgrades to it from the s2.

Hey there and thanks.!

The energy bars are coming to Australia in Nov/Dec apparently but you can always buy the sentry power strips which also connects to apex and does the same thing. I love the automation and not having to worry about the tank when I'm not home, it's just piece of mind to be honest.
The RO reservoir is one thing I love about the Cades, I'm currently filling it by hand using a 9L watering can which is pretty quick and easy to do. The windows do seem meaningless and I honestly don't think I've ever used them to check the water level, that's why I think the LLS would be perfect in there.

Your tank does look good especially in white, I get what you mean about the euro brace and not only that but there's quite a few other good upgrades that make the S3 stand out for sure.
But in all honesty the S2 is a pretty good tank also that's why I'm unsure on which way to go.

 

[shadyraro]

I also forgot to mention the air scrubber is doing great, I haven't changed the media in 9 weeks and only half the media has changed colour so it seems the longer I leave it the better the PH lol. Currently the PH hits a high of 8.45 and a low of 8.21 which is awesome, I have checked those figures with a hanna PH and spin touch machine so I'm pretty stoked.

Also the aqua forest scrubbers come with a separate base full of sponges which you're supposed to top up with water to keep it moist, however I've noticed that when I do top up the water the PH drops around 0.15 which I find interesting. It stays this way for a few days then starts to rise again and I'm not quite sure what the science is behind this but maybe next time I won't top it up and see how it goes.

FYI I top up the water about every 2 weeks.

 

[DarkReefer]

I also forgot to mention the air scrubber is doing great, I haven't changed the media in 9 weeks and only half the media has changed colour so it seems the longer I leave it the better the PH lol. Currently the PH hits a high of 8.45 and a low of 8.21 which is awesome, I have checked those figures with a hanna PH and spin touch machine so I'm pretty stoked.

Also the aqua forest scrubbers come with a separate base full of sponges which you're supposed to top up with water to keep it moist, however I've noticed that when I do top up the water the PH drops around 0.15 which I find interesting. It stays this way for a few days then starts to rise again and I'm not quite sure what the science is behind this but maybe next time I won't top it up and see how it goes.

FYI I top up the water about every 2 weeks.

Good to hear your scrubber is still doing well. I've actually not been seeing a great impact from my scrubber in the past month or so, not sure why but I seem to hover between 7.8 ish to 8.05 now.
I've changed out the media once it got about 3/4 colour changed (kept the previous 1/4 that looked unused) and refreshed the rest but the levels seemed to drop away slightly. Might have to swap out the entirety next time but unfortunately it's not really exciting me haha.

Wish I was getting your kinds of levels, that would be awesome!

 

[shadyraro]

Good to hear your scrubber is still doing well. I've actually not been seeing a great impact from my scrubber in the past month or so, not sure why but I seem to hover between 7.8 ish to 8.05 now.
I've changed out the media once it got about 3/4 colour changed (kept the previous 1/4 that looked unused) and refreshed the rest but the levels seemed to drop away slightly. Might have to swap out the entirety next time but unfortunately it's not really exciting me haha.

Wish I was getting your kinds of levels, that would be awesome!

Hmm how have you got your scrubber setup with the hose and how much do you put in? Do you also top up the water in the base at all?
Last weekend I changed out all the media after 11 or so weeks and it's dropped down to 7.9 overnight and 8.1 during the day, it does take a while to bed in with fresh media so I'll see how this batch goes.

 

[DarkReefer]

Hmm how have you got your scrubber setup with the hose and how much do you put in? Do you also top up the water in the base at all?
Last weekend I changed out all the media after 11 or so weeks and it's dropped down to 7.9 overnight and 8.1 during the day, it does take a while to bed in with fresh media so I'll see how this batch goes.

Hose is probably around a 1-1.5m long I would estimate. The scrubber sits next to my tank on the floor.
I've been filling it about 3/4 full of media. I topped up the water in the base when I did the change. I did check it this morning and noticed it had almost completely dried out so I've topped it up again with some RO (think I may have used tap before but idk), but even after it was completely wet after the last change it just didn't seem to be performing particularly great.

 

[shadyraro]

Hose is probably around a 1-1.5m long I would estimate. The scrubber sits next to my tank on the floor.
I've been filling it about 3/4 full of media. I topped up the water in the base when I did the change. I did check it this morning and noticed it had almost completely dried out so I've topped it up again with some RO (think I may have used tap before but idk), but even after it was completely wet after the last change it just didn't seem to be performing particularly great.

That's quite a long hose but I don't know if it's an issue, do you have 2 air intakes on the skimmer silencer like mine does? And if you do, do you have a hose from each intake going to your scrubber? I use tap water for the base it doesn't really matter what you use.