CADE REEF 600 S2 Build Thread

[trevorhiller]

Tank update:

My flame hawk made it through 32 days of copper and two rounds of general cure and was introduced into the tank yesterday. He’s doing well so far, he really seems to like the tank and all the rock structures. He’s always darting in and out of the rocks and finding new perches to sit on.

Unfortunately, my yellow watchman goby somehow jumped through my screen net top tonight. I couldn’t find him and thought he might have gone down the overflow again and then found him lying on the carpet next to the tank.

This tank is really testing my patience. I’ve been trying to increase my fish load for quite some time and have had horrible luck.

I’ve lost two Tomini tangs so far (one DOA, one died after 11 days and two watchman gobies now. Again, one DOA and this one that jumped.

I’ve got my QT being sterilized right now and my local Petco has some Banggai cardinals in stock, so I’m planning on going to get one or two of them tomorrow or the next day…

Im waiting on the second replacement Tomini tang to be done with QT and shipped to me. I really need that one to live—for my own personal sanity…

Im still battling some hair algae, but I’ve got it knocked way back. My original chaeto died out, but I have some more on order. I’m going to try to add it back to the algae reactor and dose some Fergon to see if that helps. I’d like to have some chaeto to increase the pods for a mandarin or maybe a wrasse (although, I don’t think I have enough substrate for a wrasse at this point so I would need to add some extra reborn to the tank).

At this point, I just want a few more fish and honestly don’t even care what they are… just healthy survivors would be great.

 

[trevorhiller]

I went to Petco today today buy a Banggai cardinal fish and ended up getting one for only $16. It was in a tank of 3 of them and was bullying another cardinal fish, so I feel like I scored a deal and saved another fish. He's currently in QT for a few days to get him eating well before I begin copper power. I also impulse bought a long spine urchin and sea hare while I was there.

I thought the urchin would be cool with the Banggai and I love my other two urchins--very productive CUC members. The Sea Hare was just too cool and I've never seen one before in real life so I had to get him after spending 30 minutes staring at him and researching on my iPhone.

I was planning on doing some manual hair algae removal today, but instead I'm going to see what it's capable of. It's already going to town on the GHA and I notice a patch gone already.

A few tank photos to update the thread including my newest Flame Hawkfish.

 

[trevorhiller]

Tank Update Video (~10 Months Old)

Re: Fish
Friday I received my 3rd Tomini Tang from Dr. Reef. This one seems to be doing much better than the first two. He’s got a small (what I believe to be) scratch on his right side and is a little skinny, but 3 meals a day should fix that right up! The Flame Hawkfish I got from Petco and QT’ed is doing well and he’s quite the character!

I really like these two fish they seem to be sociable for how new they are and now my clowns seem more interested in me as well seeing the new guys come out for food. It’s cool to see the clownfish behavior change with dditional fish inhabitants.

Nuisance Algae
My hair algae problem is doing better with manual removal and peroxide/toothbrush scrubbing, however, I’m expected a small resurgence since I’m feeding extra heavy for a few weeks. I’m confident I’ll be able to fix it though

Re: Dosing/Parameters
I’ve been dosing Kalkwasser to raise my pH and a tiny bit of All For Reef and I’m starting to see some growth on all of my frags. My parameters are relatively stable as you can see from graph attached.

Re: Equipment
Regarding equipment, I swapped out my kessil + reef Brite combo for a XR15G6 because the shimmer was giving me a lot of eye strain while watching the tank. I have it mounted on the kessil arm for now, but I might try to get a 8020 T Slot mount made and potentially add a second Radion down the road. I contemplated getting the XR30, but I thought two XR15s would be more versatile down the road if ever get a wider tank. I’m definitely hooked on this hobby and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

I’ve ordered some Tropic Eden Morocca rock from premium aquatics to try in the tank. The white Marco rock is frustrating me because it’s not really growing any coralline like I expected. Potentially from my urchins, but I really don’t think so because I never see them putting any sort of dent in the coralline on my ocean live rock.

Despite the system being about 10 months old (3 months in this tank), I haven’t seen any coralline on the glass or plastic in the tank or in the sump. There are only a few spots on the Marco rocks, but it’s VERY slow growing despite my relatively stable parameters. I’m going to try to slowly swap out some of the Marco Rock pieces for the Tropic Eden rock to give the tank a bit more of an established, purple rock look. I’m excited to see what I can do to the aquascape with this rock.

On to the video!

 

[d2mini]

I love the way those hawkfish perch on the rocks. Great choice.

 

[trevorhiller]

System Update

It's been 11 months since I started my Waterbox Peninsula that ultimately became the CADE 600. The tank is doing well and has really come into stability despite my constant tinkering. I try to make adjustments slowly, but I'm constantly refining my equipment to figure out what works best and how I want to run my reef. When you plan a tank, you make all these plans about how things are going to run, but ultimately the system decides the course and what will and won't work.

I am all in on this hobby and really love it, it's stressful at times but I love a good challenge and keeps me busy in a good way. My family might think otherwise, but tough!

Equipment:
I removed the Ultra Reef Chaeto reactor, it works well, but I wanted more room for the chaetomorpha to grow and it was kind of pain to empty because of where my RODI canister reactor is. Therefore, I took out the media baskets from my sump and added a Tunze Eco Chic light to make a mini refugium. I really liked how sleek the reactor is, but it is very nice being able to see the chaeto daily and check in on the growth without pulling the reactor out of my very tight sump.

I switched out the Kessil a360x + ReefBrites for the XR15 G6 to cut down on some of the shimmer. I decided to order a PAR meter to see what kind of numbers I was getting so I ordered a Apogee MQ-510. Boy was that a mistake! My PAR numbers were horrible and I think this is part of the reason my corals are very slow growing. I'm getting 130-165 max at the very top of my aquascape. The bulk of the tank is around 90-110. Cube tanks are definitely a challenge because of the height...My next tank will definitely be more of a lagoon style tank (wider than taller). I'm thinking 48 x 24 x 18ish would be amazing, but these are the lessons you learn through experience. I decided to sell off some old lights and go all in for the PAR. I have a XR30 G6 coming tomorrow with ReefBrite supplemental strips. I am going to keep the XR15 G6 for a frag tank. This was an expensive lesson in reef tank lighting--always go bigger than you think you need.

Fish:
I finally got my Tomini tang! He's starting to gain some weight and is coloring up nicely. He is unfortunately experiencing some bullying from the Flame Hawk fish who despite being a little fat, darts around the tank like he owns the place. The Tomini has some nipped fins and I am still working on this problem. He seems unaffected by the aggression and looks healthy otherwise, but it's frustrating to see his fins torn up. I'm hoping once he gains some size and more fish are in the tank, the Flame Hawkfish will back off. If need be, I plan to pull the Hawkfish out for a week or two and reintroduce to hopefully help the cause but right now I am monitoring.

My Banggai cardinal has finished copper power treatment in QT and got his first treatment of general cure. One more general cure treatment this weekend and he'll be ready to go into the tank. I think I am going to use an acclimation box on him because I am slightly worried about the Flame Hawk bullying him too. My two clownfish are doing great and chilling in the corner per usual!

I don't have any ideas on next fish. I've thought about a Mandarin, but I only would want a captive bread one and they come so darn small I'm afraid he would get blown around my tank and end up down the overflow. I've also considered a wrasse as a pest management plan, but I only have about 1/2 to 1" of Reborn substrate so I would probably need one that is ok in a bare bottom tank. I've also heard these don't like copper, so I wouldn't want to try QT myself. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post and let me know!

Corals:
I have added some more corals from Top Shelf Aquatics. Here is my list so far of what I have
-Green Slimer
-"Green Slimer" Variant (unknown)
-Red Montipora
-Rainbow Montipora
-GARF Bonsai
-Milka Stylophora
-Hollywood Stunner Chalice
-Oregon Tort
- Fox Flame
-Lemon Twist Palythoas
-Pink Branching Cyphastrea
-Rainbow Pectinia
-Cloudberry Chalice
-Bubblegum Digitata
-Mint Pavona
-Watermelon Psammacora
-Orange Setosa
-WWC Yellow Tips
-ORA Red Planet
-Blue Riccordea
-Duncan
-Scrambled Eggs Zoanthids
-Pink Zoanthids
-Green Pocillopora
-Candy Cane
-Green Montipora Digitata
-Gorgonian
-Bizarro Cyphastrea
-Jack-O-Lantern Leptoseris

WOW! The tank seems so empty, but after writing them all down perhaps I need to slow down lol I might be in trouble once I get my PAR up to standard and the growth takes off.

Dosing:
I am still dosing Kalkwasser, I've paused the All For Reef dosing in favor of maximizing my Kalkwasser dosing for the pH boost. Once I max out of my evaporation I'll add the All For Reef again.

Since adding the Tomini tang, I haven't had to add Nitrates or Phosphate very much. Nitrates are usually 5-10 and Phosphates 0.06-0.1. The increased feeding has really helped and I am pleased with this. I am essentially feeding two cubes of alternating Mysis/Brine/Fish Eggs/Copepods a day a long with a tiny 1/8 tsp of TDO Chromaboost pellets and some Seaweed flakes. It's a lot of food, but my nutrients are great and I am hoping the fish will realize there is more than enough food to go around and stop bullying each other.

I also am dosing live phytoplankton (Nanno) daily and I am still culturing Tig pods and dosing to the tank every once in a while when I think about it. I don't know if this is helping or not, but I feel like it has to be good for the system, plus it's a fun little side hobby and I've been able to share my phyto with another Reef2Reefer to help him get a culture going.

Problems/Nuisances:
My hair algae battle is going much better. I have been aggressively doing manual removal and scrubbing rocks and substrate outside the tank with 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. I still have some tiny patches show up every once in a while, but nothing like before.

I've noticed some small anemones on some of the ocean live rock. One is a ball tip anemone that I left in place, but the others are probably some form of Aiptasia. They don't look like the Aiptasia I've had in the past or like what most people post but I nuke them with Sodium Hydroxide solution and a hypodermic syringe when they pop up. So far I've only killed maybe 4 of them? They seem to be slower growing which is great.

I'll try to add a video tour of the tank very soon, but as for right now the lights are out.

 

[lubeck]

Nice update. Have you gotten the xr30 yet? Curious to see the pars. Be careful not to fry the corals. I have a G530 blue on my 32 gal and love it. I’ve maxed out at 400 par at 77% intensity on the AB+.

 

[trevorhiller]

Nice update. Have you gotten the xr30 yet? Curious to see the pars. Be careful not to fry the corals. I have a G530 blue on my 32 gal and love it. I’ve maxed out at 400 par at 77% intensity on the AB+.

Not yet, I think it’s going to be right in range where I want but the new par meter will help with acclimating to higher light. With the G6, it seems as though they don’t have as much punch through deeper water and I have 12” above my acro frags so I don’t think I’ll get anything too crazy, but we shall see. I’ll post some numbers once i get it setup.

 

[trevorhiller]

The XR30 and ReefBite lights arrived late today. I figured I would start with just the XR30 and see what kind of numbers I would get before opening the ReefBrites. MAJOR difference from the XR15, definitely more than double the light. If I set the light to 100% with two white channels at 35% and the red & green at 25% I'm hitting 300+ PAR on the sandbed and around 400 PAR at the top of my rockscape 12" above the sandbed.

The lights are off for tonight, but I need to figure out at starting point tomorrow. I debating about a 60%-70% intensity target over an extended acclimation period. I just need to figure out over what period of time to do that over... time to do a little reading.

I don't think I am going to need the ReefBrites anytime soon. They would certainly offer more spread but this light has a large enough panel and plenty of power for my 24" cube. I think I would certainly fry some coral hooking that up at this point.

 

[lubeck]

lets see some pics. I would start at 60% with acclimation. They are strong lights.

 

[trevorhiller]

Ok, as promised here are some photos of the new refugium in the sump, a PAR map with the new XR30 G6 and a video tank tour. As always, I'm no videographer-but you get the idea.

For those interested-the light settings are: UV 100%, Violet 100%, Blue 100%, Royal 100%, Green 20%, Red 20%, Warm White 35%, Cool White 35%. One picture is at 60% Intensity, the other at 100% Intensity. The XR30 G6 should be able to hit SPS PAR values all over in a 24" cube, sandbed to top.

 

[trevorhiller]

Also, here are some photos of how I managed to mount the Radion on the Kessil mount. The RMS mount wouldn't fit the CADE perfectly centered on my tank because of the built in ATO chamber on the back (there is a dividing wall to seperate the overflow and the ATO chamber). So I drilled the Radion mount and used some screws, nuts and rubber washers to mount the Radion to the Kessil arm.

 

[d2mini]

Tank is looking good!

Question... I'm still getting mine setup but wondering what your preferred method is of filling the ATO section? I'm thinking maybe a bucket with a small pump and tubing??? Trying to get up there and pour water in seems like a mess waiting to happen. lol

And how long does your ATO typically last between refills?

Don't know if you've seen my build thread, but remember our conversation about the size of the shelf? I modified it to fit the GHL equipment better. Modified Cade Shelf

 

[trevorhiller]

Tank is looking good!

Question... I'm still getting mine setup but wondering what your preferred method is of filling the ATO section? I'm thinking maybe a bucket with a small pump and tubing??? Trying to get up there and pour water in seems like a mess waiting to happen. lol

And how long does your ATO typically last between refills?

Don't know if you've seen my build thread, but remember our conversation about the size of the shelf? I modified it to fit the GHL equipment better. Modified Cade Shelf

So I bought a 10 gallon white brute trash can. I use this for my Kalkwasser with a Ecotech Versa Pump. This reduces the demand in the gravity ATO Reservior to maybe a liter a day. That I just fill by hand using jugs.

If you can store a similar bin near the tank (mine is behind it as my tank is in the corner) you can precisely dose Kalkwasser easily.

 

[d2mini]

So I bought a 10 gallon white brute trash can. I use this for my Kalkwasser with a Ecotech Versa Pump. This reduces the demand in the gravity ATO Reservior to maybe a liter a day. That I just fill by hand using jugs.

If you can store a similar bin near the tank (mine is behind it as my tank is in the corner) you can precisely dose Kalkwasser easily.

Cool, thanks. Guess I'll have to see how it goes and how long it lasts.
I'm not a fan of Kalk. I'm setting up 3 bottles inside the electronics area (door still closes) and dosing ESV Bionic for alk/cal/mag and then Reef Moonshiners by hand for the rest.

 

[trevorhiller]

Cool, thanks. Guess I'll have to see how it goes and how long it lasts.
I'm not a fan of Kalk. I'm setting up 3 bottles inside the electronics area (door still closes) and dosing ESV Bionic for alk/cal/mag and then Reef Moonshiners by hand for the rest.

You could do the same without the kalk. Although I’m a big fan, how come you don’t like it? Did you have a bad experience?

 

[d2mini]

You could do the same without the kalk. Although I’m a big fan, how come you don’t like it? Did you have a bad experience?

Yeah, I have a closet right next to the tank if I ever decide to put a larger container and run a single water line to the tank.

I just found everything about Kalk to be a pain. Mixing it, getting consistency out of it, having the sludge at the bottom. And then it eventually ends up not being enough and I have to supplement with something else. At least on my bigger tanks.
For smaller tanks I'd rather just buy or mix up some two part, and on larger tanks I prefer a calcium reactor.

 

[trevorhiller]

I gotcha. I always just dump in too much to meet max dissolution rates. The precipitate on the bottom doesn’t bother me. I just dose the clear liquid. For me I haven’t exceeded the max evaporation rate yet but I’m planning to supplement with all for reef once I do. Two dosing pumps and I get pH boosting benefits plus mag and trace elements.

I don’t think calcium reactors are very practical for those concerned with elevating pH. They are expensive and equipment intensive.

 

[d2mini]

Hey man, got another question for you.
What's your return pump rated at? I'm using a Fluval SP4 rated at 1800gph. WIth head height its more around 1200. I have a babbling brook into the ATO section. LOL. I'm wondering if its too much flow?

And the water level in the sump is sitting at 9-3/4".

Thanks!

 

[trevorhiller]

Hey man, got another question for you.
What's your return pump rated at? I'm using a Fluval SP4 rated at 1800gph. WIth head height its more around 1200. I have a babbling brook into the ATO section. LOL. I'm wondering if its too much flow?

And the water level in the sump is sitting at 9-3/4".

Thanks!

I think I just saw your post on Facebook lol. I would turn down your flow pump, but it looks like it’s not a DC pump?

I’m using the sicce sdc 6.0 @75%

 

[d2mini]

I think I just saw your post on Facebook lol. I would turn down your flow pump, but it looks like it’s not a DC pump?

I’m using the sicce sdc 6.0 @75%

Great thanks! Ya, its an AC pump. I had it in storage so figured I'd try to use it but I think it's just way too much. It's like 15x turnover. lol