CAD Lights 28 gallon build

[Littorina]

Well, I finally bought my first saltwater tank!  Picked up my CAD 28 gallon tank and stand, and a used 120w Maxspec Razor LED at Aquamania this weekend, and then picked up enough supplies to start cycling!  Will attempt to aquascape in the next day or two, and hopefully have water in by the weekend!  I am very excited!   

    I'll post more pics as the build progresses!

[Got Fish?]

Water in it yet??

[Littorina]

NO David, no water yet.......

[NjOyRiD]

NO David, no water yet.......

[Herstead]

Don't worry mine sat empty for over a year before I got water in it! Don't listen to those trying to rush you!

- Jonathan

[Stussi613]

Mines been empty since August - but it won't be for long!

[Littorina]

I did some aquascaping tonight!!  Too tired to finish, 2 more pieces to put in.   The shape looks good!

[Greatwhite]

That light you bought pumps out A LOT of light...  You'll want to experiment and probably turn it down to about 75% at most.  I have 2 of those units on my 90G and run at 80% at mid-day.

Running it full power can irritate corals.

Also, be aware that the fans are programmed only to turn on when they are running at over 80%.  Under that magic number, they just use the heat sinks for radiant cooling.  I was afraid that mine were defective and was searching for a solution and came upon that tidbit of information.

[Littorina]

Hi Great White!

   Yep, I had been reading up on the Razor, and knew it was intense...some people were even running it at only 40% in the beginning.  I didn't realize I'd possibly be cranking them up to 75%!  Will have to play around for sure...might ask your advice from time to time on them then, since now I know you have them too!   

And the really efficient heat sink is another reason I was attracted to them.  Plus they're so slim and unobtrusive, and I really like the programmable feature.   

[Greatwhite]

Hi Great White!

   Yep, I had been reading up on the Razor, and knew it was intense...some people were even running it at only 40% in the beginning.  I didn't realize I'd possibly be cranking them up to 75%!  Will have to play around for sure...might ask your advice from time to time on them then, since now I know you have them too!   

And the really efficient heat sink is another reason I was attracted to them.  Plus they're so slim and unobtrusive, and I really like the programmable feature.   

They are very nice lights.  I was a little apprehensive about them because they didn't have all the color capabilities of other LEDs - but then I read that the red lights can damage coral.  I like the crisp white light with a hint of blue, personally.  I think I posted my lighting schedule somewhere, I'll find it and PM you.

[Littorina]

Here it is!!  No water yet, but rockwork is finished, and aragonite is in! 

My bed is ranging between 1.5" and 1.75" deep....that's ok, right?  I can put 2" in, if it's better.......thoughts?

[Littorina]

Here it is!  Water has been in about 24 hours now and has cleared pretty well (specific gravity 1.025, temp. approx 76-77, initial pH is around 8 or 8.1, but it's just a color test strip kit, so not overly accurate). 

I applied marine epoxy putty to my marco rock, and I have about a little over an inch of aragonite as the sand bed. 

Just have a Fluval sponge in the overflow compartment for now......I plan on going and buying 1-2 pieces of live rock to sit in the refugium to seed the cycle.  It would be great if I could put some cheato in the refugium also after cycling, and some copepods. Future plans!   

And eventually, I'll put the Tunze 9002 in the back sump too.  Will have to figure out what I'm going to do for chemical filtration....

I am very happy with this tank!  The shape and size is perfect - lots of room to aquascape, and still room in the sand bed. The tank build itself is really nice quality.  Silicone job is fantastic, sump is big enough for my newbie plans, and although it's not starfire glass like the other CAD's, the glass is still very nice.  The return pump is providing nice flow so far.....might not need a powerhead right away....

     I just HAD to turn the Razor on tonight to see the full effect!  It's dimmed quite a bit, but wow, still gorgeous!  The shimmer on my ceiling is so calming  :-) 

[Littorina]

Forgot to attach the picture in my excitement!  Whoops!

[az]

looks good.

[Littorina]

Thanks Az! I am very please with it.  Let's hope I can keep it healthy and happy! 

[Littorina]

     I have my first hitchhikers!!!!  I picked up a couple of small pieces of live rock yesterday to add to my refugium, to seed my tank and start cycling...about an hour and a half later, found 3 little Asternia starfish!  So cute to watch, although I was warned to keep an eye on them, as they can quickly overrun a tank!  They're the only thing living in my tank at the moment, so I think I'll keep them and enjoy!  :-)

[AdamN]

Looks good! .. Hitchhikers can be fun. As for your sand bed, its plenty, unless you have a specific critter you plan to add later that wants a deeper one. You would be pretty safe with 2" in that case. 

[Littorina]

Well, ammonia is pretty much zero, nitrite is 0.01ppm, nitrate is less than 5ppm.....diatoms are EVERYWHERE, so I added a fighting conch, an elegance coral, and a green mushroom.   I also added 2 percula clowns.   Will add more snails soon.  Stocking for fish is enough for now, will keep that part on the slow side, but I couldn't resist purchasing a few LPS's!  :-)   

[Littorina]

Here are my green mushrooms!  Color from my camera phone is aweful - they're a beautiful lime green in person.  :-)

[Stussi613]

Looking good!!

[bandit]

Looks great, nice scape. It's a little bit early for the elegance maybe, corals like clams, elegance, goniapora ect.. should not be added unless your tank has been up and running for 1yr with live rock, but yours looks healthy so keep us posted

[Greatwhite]

Yeah, keep a close eye on your parameters at the start here. Smaller tanks can crash very quickly, especially at the start...

[az]

Looks great, nice scape. It's a little bit early for the elegance maybe, corals like clams, elegance, goniapora ect.. should not be added unless your tank has been up and running for 1yr with live rock, but yours looks healthy so keep us posted

i was thinking the same little early for an elegance. 

[Greatwhite]

i was thinking the same little early for an elegance. 

I was told there was some "arm twisting" from a few people who I believe should know better than to add livestock/corals so early.  We can't really hold Vanessa responsible for this one if things go awry...  Hopefully all will be well, and it sounds like she's going to be taking things "slower" now anyway.

I know all about the excitement of starting a new tank, and *I* was the one wanting to rush out and get more fish.  I remember on day 7 or so of my first tank, rolling into Marinescape with a pocket full of cash, burning a hole...  And I intended to get some clowns, a tang, some anthias, and a bunch of coral.  The first question was "how old is the tank?" quickly followed by "oh, here's 2 hermit crabs and a snail.  Keep them alive for 2 weeks, and then we'll talk about the rest."  I was pretty upset that I couldn't add fish yet, but they were certainly looking out for my best interests.

[az]

I was told there was some "arm twisting" from a few people who I believe should know better than to add livestock/corals so early.  We can't really hold Vanessa responsible for this one if things go awry...  Hopefully all will be well, and it sounds like she's going to be taking things "slower" now anyway.

I know all about the excitement of starting a new tank, and *I* was the one wanting to rush out and get more fish.  I remember on day 7 or so of my first tank, rolling into Marinescape with a pocket full of cash, burning a hole...  And I intended to get some clowns, a tang, some anthias, and a bunch of coral.  The first question was "how old is the tank?" quickly followed by "oh, here's 2 hermit crabs and a snail.  Keep them alive for 2 weeks, and then we'll talk about the rest."  I was pretty upset that I couldn't add fish yet, but they were certainly looking out for my best interests.

so you are leaving the hobby? who else would update us on things and give us tips on 'house buy' 'move' 'weddings'  come on don't leave.....even though I do know you miss fishtails a lot since they closed.

[Greatwhite]

so you are leaving the hobby? who else would update us on things and give us tips on 'house buy' 'move' 'weddings'  come on don't leave.....even though I do know you miss fishtails a lot since they closed.

Everything's sold & gone... My office is cold, dry, and dull now.  I'm hanging around to live vicariously through this build.   It is actually inspiring me to start a smaller tank up to load it up with nice colorful corals rather than run a big tank that I can't afford to fill.

[Stussi613]

I was told there was some "arm twisting" from a few people who I believe should know better than to add livestock/corals so early.  We can't really hold Vanessa responsible for this one if things go awry... 

She seeded her rock with juicy live rock and she's been testing parameters every day, which is 10x more often than allot of "experienced" reefers do.  She wasn't arm twisted into buying anything, she asked about adding some corals and was told what she could start with...and when she asked about the elegance she was told with caution.   It's now 2x the size it was in the store and she's keeping a watchful eye on it, with the understanding that she can return it if it looks like it's starting to retract and go downhill.

I can't wait until the day I have enough experience to judge others decisions based on what I heard second hand from someone else...

[az]

She seeded her rock with juicy live rock and she's been testing parameters every day, which is 10x more often than allot of "experienced" reefers do.  She wasn't arm twisted into buying anything, she asked about adding some corals and was told what she could start with...and when she asked about the elegance she was told with caution.   It's now 2x the size it was in the store and she's keeping a watchful eye on it, with the understanding that she can return it if it looks like it's starting to retract and go downhill.

I can't wait until the day I have enough experience to judge others decisions based on what I heard second hand from someone else...

if she used live sand she could be ok, I find its sand that takes the longest to be ready.

[Greatwhite]

I can't wait until the day I have enough experience to judge others decisions based on what I heard second hand from someone else...

Nothing was second hand... Still new with the tags.   (and I didn't name names intentionally)  Really, I am just pointing out that she's not "rushing into buying things" on her own and is proceeding with the advice of some people with experience.

It's not the parameters and "liveliness" of rock that is the concern when I've started tanks in the past.  I've started fresh, with a bag of aragonite and fresh live rock, then an upgrade from 55 to 90G, and then restarting a tank after a move.  All 3 times, about 2 weeks in - HUGE cyano outbreaks that were fatal to some corals I had in the upgrade and the move.  The first time, obviously - nothing was in there to kill (thanks to Marinescape's advice)

My advice to people starting new tanks is to run it until after the algae/cyano outbreak that most of us see is under control before adding coral. Mushrooms and polyps are "easy/beginner" corals, and are generally hardy.  Elegance needs a little more care and stability...

[Littorina]

     You guys are much kinder than another group I'm a member of!  Yes, I am getting nervous about the elegance now.  I knew it was a little more care than mushrooms and other softies, but I didn't realize it was THAT delicate when I bought it.  Newbie mistake for sure.......it's doing fantastic so far, and it has MORE than doubled in size this week, but I am going to see about the trace elements it needs, and look into feedings for it.....my mushrooms are huge and happy so far as well, as is my tiny little zooanthid......

But I am still so nervous about tank crashing, and as Stuart says, I am testing water parameters EVERY day, and did my first water change this past weekend.  So far, my ammonia has been almost undetectable (0-0.25ppm), and nitrite is very low also (0.05-0.1) and nitrates are hovering around 5ppm.  And that's with 2 little clowns in there, and 3 snails......

     I am currently trying to wrestle with my new skimmer (a Tunze 9002) to get the damn thing to fit into my attached sump, and I am also hoping to get some chaeto soon and put that in my sump also.......let's hope I'm doing something right?

Thanks for the comments guys, I appreciate them; the advice, as well as the cautions....

[Littorina]

I just want to defend my "advice mentors".....made me sick to my stomach to have them chided here in this thread.  They have been absolutely WONDERFUL to me in providing advice, and actually bent over backwards to help get me started in the hobby.  I am forever grateful to them!  I am an overly cautious person, and they have been great to give me the gentle nudging and encouragement to get started.  They weren't forcing livestock on me.  As Stuart said, I asked when I might begin to add corals, they said I could start slowly, and suggested or gave advice as to what I could try, and we chose specimens together........I am happy with what's in my tank now, and other than a few more clean up crew critters, I am not stocking anything else for a while until I am confident my tank will remain stable.

Thanks again guys.

[robt18]

Everyone has different opinions, especially when it comes to saltwater. You'll get lots of differing opinions and lots of people saying certain things have worked while them while other will say they didn't. When you put an elegance coral in your tank so early, someone who did the same thing and lost theirs a couple of weeks later is going to jump and warn you. Will yours die? We will see, but it sounds like it's happy for now. Pretty much everyone has had a negative experience in every situation; telling the horror stories is part of the healing process and that's why you end up hearing them all

[charlie]

Everyone has different opinions, especially when it comes to saltwater. You'll get lots of differing opinions and lots of people saying certain things have worked while them while other will say they didn't. When you put an elegance coral in your tank so early, someone who did the same thing and lost theirs a couple of weeks later is going to jump and warn you. Will yours die? We will see, but it sounds like it's happy for now. Pretty much everyone has had a negative experience in every situation; telling the horror stories is part of the healing process and that's why you end up hearing them all

[Littorina]

I don't mind "horror stories" and warnings, in fact, I encourage them!  I'd rather know ahead of time what to expect and be prepared, then have some unwelcomed surprises!  :-)   

I just feel horrible that some new friends got dragged into a blame fest,, when all they were trying to do was help me.  :-( 

[bandit]

Just keep an eye on it, let us know how it does. If it apears it's slipping I would trade for easier corals  .

Have your stated dosing? Once you start adding corals you should think about replacing your trace elements. A very good easy start to dosing would be to add biocal maybe equivalent  to one scoop a week so 1/3 or so every other day.

You need to if you haven't started yet test for calcium mag and alk on a weekly routine, and monitor your params to make sure they are not fluctuating.

IMO if you feel the need to still test for nitrite and ammonia, I wouldn't be adding any corals

[Littorina]

Thanks bandit!

No dosing yet, or weekly testing for Ca, Mg, etc.....just weekly water changes. I was told by a few that the salt I am using (Fritz?) is reallly good, so hopefully for now the trace elements are okay? 

I had heard about Biocal, and I'd like to use it! :-)   

I'm still testing for nitrite and ammonia because of all the warnings of early "tank crashing", and I'm paranoid!  ;-)      IF anything spikes, I'd know immediately and be able to do a huge water change.....Me being overly cautious and proactive....