Peninsula Tank: CADE vs Red Sea G2+

[argiBK]

I’m on the verge on pulling the trigger on my tank upgrade and had been dead set on the Cade 1500 Peninsula. Then, I saw that Red Sea had just updated their Peninsula lineup with the G2+ designs, which is now making me wonder if the Red Sea R-700 G2+ is worth considering.

A couple points I’m weighing:

• Biggest positive for the Red Sea is their top and bottom eurobracing whereas Cade offers no bracing
• The Cade is several hundred dollars cheaper
• Cade also has more depth at 30” vs 26” for the Red Sea (important for scaping in a peninsula)
• Cade also has good documentation/schematics on their sumps, though, plug and play for the Red Sea Rollermats is attractive (I’d wait for the Reef Factory rollermats if I go with Cade)
• Stand design on the Cade appears best-in-class, all aluminum + glass vs. aluminum + plywood on the Red Seas
• I slightly prefer plumbing on the Red Sea (whereas Cade seems over engineered, and I won’t need a chiller)

Has anyone pulled their own trigger on the updated Red Sea Peninsulas? Do you think the updated design is worth reconsidering Red Sea (i.e. what we know about RS failures and resulting customer support)?

Thanks all!

 

[blaxsun]

That's a tough one. The Red Sea includes the new ATO. Plus all the new Red Sea goodies like the DC skimmer and Sicce-made pumps (you can also run these in the Cade).

 

[argiBK]

That's a tough one. The Red Sea includes the new ATO. Plus all the new Red Sea goodies like the DC skimmer and Sicce-made pumps (you can also run these in the Cade).

Almost all my equipment is gathered. Plan is to eventually upgrade to a LifeReef skimmer (have an Maxpsect Jump right now) and run it part-time alongside a Santa Monica algae scrubber. Return pump is a Current USA 6011 (3170 GPH).

 

[blaxsun]

Almost all my equipment is gathered. Plan is to eventually upgrade to a LifeReef skimmer (have an Maxpsect Jump right now) and run it part-time alongside a Santa Monica algae scrubber. Return pump is a Current USA 6011 (3170 GPH).

If Cade was available here I'd have a Cade. But it's not, so I have a Red Sea.

 

[EliMelly]

I have a 350, the tank is great and all but Red Sea has the crappiest customer service I’ve ever seen. Something to take into account, I wish I knew about Cade beforehand.

 

[SpyC]

Issues with the og and g2 have, I would never consider a redsea tank.

What's up with the recent Red Sea Tank failures? 750XXL ? *UPDATE* Design Flaw CONFIRMED by Red Sea !!!

Planet Aquariums (maybe that's the one in Dallas you are talking about?) Glass Cages used to be not the best quality. But they are under new management as of a couple years ago, and people seem to be really happy with their tanks now. I agree. Rimless tanks are inherently flawed. Personally...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[argiBK]

Issues with the og and g2 have, I would never consider a redsea tank.

What's up with the recent Red Sea Tank failures? 750XXL ? *UPDATE* Design Flaw CONFIRMED by Red Sea !!!

Planet Aquariums (maybe that's the one in Dallas you are talking about?) Glass Cages used to be not the best quality. But they are under new management as of a couple years ago, and people seem to be really happy with their tanks now. I agree. Rimless tanks are inherently flawed. Personally...

www.reef2reef.com

Ah, so the G2s are still having seam issues, even with the additional bracing? Yikes!

 

[SpyC]

Ah, so the G2s are still having seam issues, even with the additional bracing? Yikes!

Yea so far not as many reports, but the fact they still have them on the new ones and they haven't been released for a long time is enough for me to say the issue is not fixed

 

[argiBK]

So… CADE it is!

Aside from Algae Barn, are there any other reputable Cade dealers in the US? I’ve been trying to get ahold of folks at Algae Barn the last couple days, but their CS team all appear to be on vacation.

 

[Snoopdog]

Before you pull the trigger on such a large purchase do a lot of research on Red Sea tank issues. Remember you may have a tank 10+ years and I think our goal here is to have a very mature tank and a lot can happen in those years. The last thing you want is a tank failure, so do plenty of research. I would join the Red Sea Facebook group and go back and look at some of the past post on failures, look at the models that have failed and see what the Red Sea response was. You may still think the risk of failure is slim and worth it, but at least spend some time looking.

 

[Trixter227]

Ah, so the G2s are still having seam issues, even with the additional bracing? Yikes!

I like to qawk at the diffrance in glass thickness manufacturers use for similar aquariums. IM uses 3/4 AND euro top braceing on the 112gallon. Some even use 1/2 with no brace...

 

[Northern Flicker]

I don’t think I would worry as much about the G2s, although it will take a couple years to know for sure.

I still prefer the Cade but both give you a great canvas.

 

[Homestarmy]

I have a 350, the tank is great and all but Red Sea has the crappiest customer service I’ve ever seen. Something to take into account, I wish I knew about Cade beforehand.

You have the Peninsula 350 as opposed to the Reefer 350? I just ordered mine last week, but I’m curious - is your tank wider than the cabinet? The RS online documentation makes it look like the tank is about an inch and a half wider than the cabinet.

 

[argiBK]

Happy update on my end as I’m sitting pretty with my CADE. It’s been a good month of setup and fine-tuning the system (still in progress), but absolutely no regrets!

 

[argiBK]

You have the Peninsula 350 as opposed to the Reefer 350? I just ordered mine last week, but I’m curious - is your tank wider than the cabinet? The RS online documentation makes it look like the tank is about an inch and a half wider than the cabinet.

I believe this is how Red Sea designs their tanks/stands in order to make the doors appear flush against the bottom of the tank. Saw a fellow reefer’s Reefer-S G2+ (with the stand frame in full metal) and remember he had the overhang.

I believe their peninsula cabinets use the exact same cabinets as the non-peninsulas, but the sump is only accessible from one side, vs. two on the CADE peninsulas. So there is still overhang on the one side.

The top and bottom eurobracing was quite nice, and almost made me reconsider.

 

[boogie79]

Happy update on my end as I’m sitting pretty with my CADE. It’s been a good month of setup and fine-tuning the system (still in progress), but absolutely no regrets!

Looks beautiful! How was the delivery process and how long did it take to put together?

 

[argiBK]

Looks beautiful! How was the delivery process and how long did it take to put together?

Thanks much, it’s a WIP. Really excited to see how it looks in a year when it’s (hopefully) filled in a bit!

Delivery was multi-pronged, as I didn’t want to take the drop ship at my apartment complex, which has an extremely busy loading area. So I hired a reef maintenance company to take delivery and install at my home.

AlgaeBarn, after a minor communications hiccup, was excellent at keeping everyone involved updated across the delivery process, from introducing the drop shipper to the installer, and I was completely aware of everything going on leading up to installation day. From there, it was just getting the tank into the apartment, which took longer than expected due to multiple trips, really amazed that we were able to get the tank in place with just 2 guys (+me).

After install, I spent a good couple days contemplating modifications to the sump and stand — was going to drill into a ATO to set up a frag/holding section, and replumb in order to have my ATO reservoir (a 35 gal Tamco water tank) live in the chiller compartment.

I ended up abandoning all of that after I realized 1) the ATO tank I had ordered was going to be too big, 2) I needed extra dry space within the sump’s ATO to house my skimmate locker and dosing containers, 3) I didn’t trust myself enough to get plumbing the most critical part of water transfer in the system right / wanted to protect the warranty.

Putting together all the (unmodified plumbing) only took 30 mins. It’s literally as plug and play as you can get.

I ordered a smaller Tamco reservoir, and keep my RODI filter in the same compartment. But really need to get it together on organizing cords in that small space!

Since then, only mod I did to the sump was to remove the glass/baffles holding the filter socks to install a roller (went with the AquaMaxx). I might yet remove the final glass baffle between the filter roller and skimmer compartment to combine it all and give ultimate flexibilty for filtering in what will be the first/main chamber (Might upgrade to a Red Sea or ReefFactory roller if I can figure out how to buy one here). I also plan to drill some overflow outlets from the dry/ATO compartment into the filter chamber to eliminate the chance of flooding, should my skim mate locker fail.

Lastly, also plumbed a Santa Monica Rain 2 into one of the reactor outlets.

Changes are incoming today too. Switching out my MP40s for Nero7s, and finally getting dosing up and running.

 

[boogie79]

Thanks much, it’s a WIP. Really excited to see how it looks in a year when it’s (hopefully) filled in a bit!

Delivery was multi-pronged, as I didn’t want to take the drop ship at my apartment complex, which has an extremely busy loading area. So I hired a reef maintenance company to take delivery and install at my home.

AlgaeBarn, after a minor communications hiccup, was excellent at keeping everyone involved updated across the delivery process, from introducing the drop shipper to the installer, and I was completely aware of everything going on leading up to installation day. From there, it was just getting the tank into the apartment, which took longer than expected due to multiple trips, really amazed that we were able to get the tank in place with just 2 guys (+me).

After install, I spent a good couple days contemplating modifications to the sump and stand — was going to drill into a ATO to set up a frag/holding section, and replumb in order to have my ATO reservoir (a 35 gal Tamco water tank) live in the chiller compartment.

I ended up abandoning all of that after I realized 1) the ATO tank I had ordered was going to be too big, 2) I needed extra dry space within the sump’s ATO to house my skimmate locker and dosing containers, 3) I didn’t trust myself enough to get plumbing the most critical part of water transfer in the system right / wanted to protect the warranty.

Putting together all the (unmodified plumbing) only took 30 mins. It’s literally as plug and play as you can get.

I ordered a smaller Tamco reservoir, and keep my RODI filter in the same compartment. But really need to get it together on organizing cords in that small space!

Since then, only mod I did to the sump was to remove the glass/baffles holding the filter socks to install a roller (went with the AquaMaxx). I might yet remove the final glass baffle between the filter roller and skimmer compartment to combine it all and give ultimate flexibilty for filtering in what will be the first/main chamber (Might upgrade to a Red Sea or ReefFactory roller if I can figure out how to buy one here). I also plan to drill some overflow outlets from the dry/ATO compartment into the filter chamber to eliminate the chance of flooding, should my skim mate locker fail.

Lastly, also plumbed a Santa Monica Rain 2 into one of the reactor outlets.

Changes are incoming today too. Switching out my MP40s for Nero7s, and finally getting dosing up and running.

Wow, I may have to go that same route in hiring a company because I don't have a garage or the manpower to lift the tank and stand up stairs. I've spoken to two LFS managers and they both were trying to steer me into getting a RS but I'm not touching those with a 10ft pole. Their excuse was they've never setup a Cade Aquarium before so I'm doing more research, but if it's as easy as you say I may try it myself.

Why are you switching out your MP40s?

Cade is having a summer sale now so I need to get on the ball or wait for another sale.

 

[argiBK]

Wow, I may have to go that same route in hiring a company because I don't have a garage or the manpower to lift the tank and stand up stairs. I've spoken to two LFS managers and they both were trying to steer me into getting a RS but I'm not touching those with a 10ft pole. Their excuse was they've never setup a Cade Aquarium before so I'm doing more research, but if it's as easy as you say I may try it myself.

Why are you switching out your MP40s?

Cade is having a summer sale now so I need to get on the ball or wait for another sale.

Check out the installation videos on YouTube, Gallery Aquatica has a couple installs. It’s as simple as it can get!

I switched out the MP40s for a couple reasons. Primarily because they just didn’t have a broad enough cone of flow. My Gigantea anemones are at the far end of the tank, and even at 90-100%, I wasn’t seeing enough movement to keep them happy. Also positioned on either side of the overflow weir, there was a dead zone in the back center of the tank.

Second, the Nero’s are just so easy to program via the app. Unless I invested in a Hydros or Neptune (which I may do down the road) or Mobius (the reviews are terrible), MP40 programmability was seriously lacking.

I had both Nero’s up and running, and scheduled/tuned within 30 minutes. And there’s much more turbulence in the previous dead spots now.

 

[boogie79]

Check out the installation videos on YouTube, Gallery Aquatica has a couple installs. It’s as simple as it can get!

I switched out the MP40s for a couple reasons. Primarily because they just didn’t have a broad enough cone of flow. My Gigantea anemones are at the far end of the tank, and even at 90-100%, I wasn’t seeing enough movement to keep them happy. Also positioned on either side of the overflow weir, there was a dead zone in the back center of the tank.

Second, the Nero’s are just so easy to program via the app. Unless I invested in a Hydros or Neptune (which I may do down the road) or Mobius (the reviews are terrible), MP40 programmability was seriously lacking.

I had both Nero’s up and running, and scheduled/tuned within 30 minutes. And there’s much more turbulence in the previous dead spots now.

yeah, I'm probably overthinking it because I haven't done it before. Did you glue them in or just screwed them tight?

Ok. All I ever hear about is Ecotech, EcoTech, EcoTech so I was curious.