Isaac's CADE 1500s2/ Peninsula Reef Build

[Isaac Alves]

are you waiting on a door and a jump net still

Algaebarn has shipped some some things this week. I was notified on Monday by their support rep. Although, I’m not exactly sure what was shipped.

I should reach out to clarify.

 

[Sumo Reef]

I wanted to show some of the QC issues on the stand. These have all been address by Algaebarn support and I’m happy. But just to show what to look out for:

Scuffs, scratches and nics:

This is probably the worst nic:

A lot of this is definitely from the doors coming off in shipment.


But also this bad assembly job…look at that screw ripping through both the aluminum frame and the pvc wall:

Very unfortunate. Thankfully all of this appears to be hidden from view?

Beautiful tank! I may consider CADE in a year or so based on this thread.

Looking forward to following your progress!

 

[Isaac Alves]

are you waiting on a door and a jump net still

Yes, a door and jump net. Thank you for reaching out. I truly appreciate it.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Skimmer for build...

Picked up an Ultra Reef UKD-200 Typhoon Protein Skimmer. I got a great deal from the team at @premiumaquatics

It fits like a glove in the Cade 1500 S2/p sump. I would need to simply remove the slide-out baffle that's already setup to be taken out. And it fits great with the Sicce DC pump.

I went with this skimmer for several reasons:

• I've been running a NYOS 160 on my 70 gallon for over 6-7 years. I have a love hate relationship with it because it's design and proprietary pump
  • I hate the NYOS cup removal mechanics. It's a pain and I never got used it or liked it even after 7 years
  • I hate the NYOS proprietary Viper pump. I can order every part for backup from Ecotech except the pump -- It's never in stock -- even before the pandemic.
• The Typhoon has a longer reaction chamber because the pump is external to the chamber -- I drip Phosphat-E into my NYOS and it really clogs up the impeller every ~4 months. I can't wait to only have to pop off the pump and not remove the skimmer.
• The Typhoon can be fully dismantled...I saw that every component comes apart and can be cleaned.
• The Typhoon is heavy -- like a macbook pro heavy. I did a test fit to see if my assumption for size was correct (luckily it was) and it doesn't move when you pull the cup off or put it on.
• The DC Sicce PSK SDC 2600 is controllable, wifi access, and its got a temp sensor -- best of all is that it's a pump that I can swap out quickly since these pumps are readily available --theoretically i can put any similar sized pump on it.
• Based on materials and build quality I'm again hoping to run this thing for 10 years+

 

[Isaac Alves]

Mechanical Filtration

I’m going to try the ReefMat 1200 from RedSea. Picked this up from Aquacave. Reviews seem positive and I do like the idea of the app integration. I’ll need to cut the cascading sock section out from the Cade sump which I think shouldn’t be too hard. I am hoping to retain the main glass wall between the skimmer section and the sock area, but we’ll see. I got the RedSea sump mod tools. I’ll document the process.

—-
First, I want to install these LED lights for the interior of the sump – basically work lights. Experience with my 70 gallon tank it's nice to have a brightly lit work space. These seem like they’ll cover most of the tank perimeter:

 

[Isaac Alves]

Sump work-lights installed.

3M tape on the back.

Just need to make a small hole to run the power line and mount the on/fade button.

Got something done after work at least.

 

[blaxsun]

Thanks for the detailed writeup on the delivery of your Cade. I don't think even Waterbox ships their tanks like this, and at this point I think I'm going to have to continue to give Red Sea top marks for how they package and ship their tanks. While you do have to assemble the stand - at least it doesn't come double-stacked.

Even though you indicated the Cade didn't fall off the truck, I honestly don't know how it didn't topple over. I watched the video twice - each time fully expecting it to topple off the lift!

 

[Isaac Alves]

Removing the cascading sock filter baffles.

I did pick up the Red Sea Sump Modification Kit. I do wish they included two of the long razor holders so you didn’t need to keep switching between the two types of blades

The sock acrylic attachments come out easily with a little jiggle…

I took about an hour to get two large baffles and two

I need to remove this main baffle:

Mission complete…

Now to cleanup silicone and see if the Red Sea ReefMat 1200 fits in this space, as I think it should.

 

[Isaac Alves]

The ReefMat 1200 fits…barely fits actually, or, one could say it fits to a tee if it wasn’t for the large right side port cap.

I was able to hang it on the baffle before the next chamber.

What I need to do next is see if the skimmer is an awkward fit when I need to change fleece rolls.

 

[Isaac Alves]

ULTRAREEF Typhoon UKD-200 fits good with the Red Sea ReefMat. These two chambers are fully utilized.

And this is with the Fleece carriage down for roll changes.

…now to put all this away and start thinking about drilling into that ATO reservoir…

…and getting my lights setup/ mounted somehow…with help from @Reefer Reboot

 

[Isaac Alves]

I spent the rest of the 4th of July weekend looking for information about the glass in the Cade sump being tempered -- specifically the thicker glass separating the main sump from the ATO reservoir chamber. I posted in the DIY forum thread to see if I get some info from others: Link to that thread is here.

No clear answer yet but good information shared by others about how to check if glass is tempered.

 

[Isaac Alves]

I did get a shipping notification this morning from @AlgaeBarn that the missing Cade parts have shipped. Whoohooo!

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

This is a very helpful thread as I’m debating between a Waterbox and Cade for my next tank. I have been very pleased with the Waterbox I currently have. It’s good to get feedback regarding Cade.

 

[oldmonk]

Nice thread and build.

Am waiting to get home from sea and set up my Cade S21500. All the hardware/equipment is ready. Things just getting delayed .

Hoping July end to start a thread

Thanks.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Nylon Hose Clamps for Cade 1500 S2 /p plumbing:

Internal return hoses need 1 1/4” to replace those stainless steel

The main return and connection to ReefMat can use 1 3/8” :

 

[SunnyX]

Skimmer for build...

Picked up an Ultra Reef UKD-200 Typhoon Protein Skimmer. I got a great deal from the team at @premiumaquatics

It fits like a glove in the Cade 1500 S2/p sump. I would need to simply remove the slide-out baffle that's already setup to be taken out. And it fits great with the Sicce DC pump.

I went with this skimmer for several reasons:

• I've been running a NYOS 160 on my 70 gallon for over 6-7 years. I have a love hate relationship with it because it's design and proprietary pump
  • I hate the NYOS cup removal mechanics. It's a pain and I never got used it or liked it even after 7 years
  • I hate the NYOS proprietary Viper pump. I can order every part for backup from Ecotech except the pump -- It's never in stock -- even before the pandemic.
• The Typhoon has a longer reaction chamber because the pump is external to the chamber -- I drip Phosphat-E into my NYOS and it really clogs up the impeller every ~4 months. I can't wait to only have to pop off the pump and not remove the skimmer.
• The Typhoon can be fully dismantled...I saw that every component comes apart and can be cleaned.
• The Typhoon is heavy -- like a macbook pro heavy. I did a test fit to see if my assumption for size was correct (luckily it was) and it doesn't move when you pull the cup off or put it on.
• The DC Sicce PSK SDC 2600 is controllable, wifi access, and its got a temp sensor -- best of all is that it's a pump that I can swap out quickly since these pumps are readily available --theoretically i can put any similar sized pump on it.
• Based on materials and build quality I'm again hoping to run this thing for 10 years+

I have the smaller version of this skimmer, UKS-200 running on about 180gl total volume and the skimmer is amazing. The craftsmenship is great and it skims like a champ. I also like that it’s quiet and easy to clean. I skim wet and will have a full cup of skimmate every three days.

You will love this skimmer. It’s very surprising that more reefers do not have this skimmer. Good luck with the build!

-Sonny

 

[Isaac Alves]

Reached out to Cade USA on their Facebook group and verified that the glass separating the skimmer section and the reservoir is NOT tempered.

But will void the warranty.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Drilling the Cade 1500 s2/P ATO to Refugium conversion.


Why?
I don’t want the ATO reservoir in the sump. It’s not ideal in that it’s not enclosed and will require me to open the sump doors and awkwardly pour water into that area. I rather use my current ATO 15 Gallon barrel that I have on my current tank.

As stated earlier I confirmed with Cade USA that this glass between the ATO reservoir and the rest of the sump is NOT tempered. I'm using a JoyTube 1.25” Female PVC Bulkhead, which required a 2.5 inch glass hole cutter:

Setup to drill into glass:

1. Taped area of the hole on both sides of glass.
2. Towel on ATO side
3. Find something that I can rest the drill on so that I have some leverage to gently grind the glass

Second…realized I need to remove the center carbide tip. It’s spring loaded but forces me to push on the drill toward the cut. I don’t like this so it can be easily removed from the chuck with an allen screw holding it in place.

Get my daughter to squeeze water over the bit as I drill.

About 30 minutes in we break through.

Luckily the cut was fairly clean on the exit side. I read somewhere that putting tape on both sides of the cut will help reduce the glass shatter. Even better would have been to make a template and drill a third of the way on one side, then switch and drill from the other side — cleanest cut – but my drill didn’t fit on the ATO side.

Clean up glass dust.

Slide in the Bulkhead.

So if I want to use it as a reservoir then I suppose I can…

I was going to drill two holes but I chickened out and will make one work as an overflow with a 1.25” strainer on the fuge side and an elbow and down-pipe on the sump side.

 

[Isaac Alves]

Plumbing the Cade

Overall the plumbing is good. It comes already glued up, only leaving you with the task of attaching unions and the threaded joints [Actually the manifold and chiller connectors do need to be glued—I’m sure this was so you could glue in your own 1/2” connectors.]

Expectedly, it’s not imperial but metric. I do wish there were more secure mounting options for the pipes because it seems to simply rely on the rigidity of the plumbing to hold everything in place – I just wish there was more support for the pipes.

In any case, I messed up. Seems the return plumbing takes a heck of a lot more room than I expected and now I’m worried the ReefMat 1200 might NOT fit.

Here’s a quick walk through of the plumbing from Cade for the CADE Reef S2/P setup:


Here’s my walk through (with pictures):


First the big internal stand pipes:

Some sticker gunk on one of them. Easy enough to clean with alcohol.

The bottom of the stand pipes have the gasket already threaded:

Slipping in the overflow drains is simple enough. The trick to attaching the pre-glued overflow pipes for both main - with gate valve - and secondary is to slip the pipes through the center pvc wall before actually screwing the unions.

The return assembly:

The returns need to be taken apart. Make sure the gaskets are present on both ends of the return union connection:

Also, don’t use the stainless steel hose clamps because other Cade builders have stated that these will rust within a few months. Use Nylon clamps as noted earlier in this thread with correct sizes.

The top portion also needs to be taken apart.

Quick note: I had to face the nylon clamps grips to be facing away from the return pipes…otherwise it didn’t allow me to position the pipe into the cutaway in the glass.

Like this:

Inside the overflow box:

The returns are now locked in place:

On the outside of the overflow box make sure there is a gasket on the inside and the outside before tightening the flow assembly. And the gasket flares towards each other – or towards the overflow box.

And I forgot I needed to PVC glue these manifolds up:

The three for the main sump and the one for the chiller.

Using Oatey Fusion Single Step clear has been my go to for several years. I’ve never had issues with it:

I don’t like how wobbly these drain pipes are….

...or that the main manifold is hanging by a single tension grip:

Worst part…
I think this drain assembly and gate valve are set too far in to allow the ReefMat 1200 to fit.

Next step is to break out the ReefMat 1200 and try to fit it in and see what to do next...

 

[Dabcrusher]

just to let you know if you would rather have imperial instead of metric on the manifolds if you have any old 1/2 in true union ball valves laying around the connector fits right inside the collar for the metric ones that come on the cade