Shadyraro's Cade 900 S2

[shadyraro]

Looks amazing mate, the progress is huge. I really envy this tank lol.
Sand looks spotless (in both pics!) colouring is beautiful and everything looks like it's thriving!

Have you had much issues with the nems running around stinging everything? Do you have to move corals or just let nature do it's thing?
Previously when I had nems they were awesome, until they started moving everywhere. I think I ended up having 2 blend themselves in the powerheads for some stupid reason also (despite having nem guard on the nero 3).

What salt are your using ?
I swear some of my nutrients remain low even after a waterchange and starting to consider changing to something else.
Do you use a preset for your radion or custom?

I also seem to be having a little trouble getting my skimmer to skim 'right'. I think for the first bit it worked well enough. These days it either skims too much suddenly and overflows or gets close, or doesn't skim at all/enough LOL

Thanks mate
You can thank my gobies for the clean sand, they’re machines at constantly turning over the sand.
The nems luckily haven’t left the rock they’re on, they must like it up there or something thankfully but I’m just glad they haven’t gone walk about yet lol.
I’m using Quantum’s mixed macro probiotic salt and have used it ever since I got back into the hobby, I think it’s pretty good even tho the specs are lower than what I currently have. I originally got it because I was looking into a mixed reef but since I’m liking the LPS/Softie setup, I’ve thought about using their LPS macro salt which is similar specs to what I currently have. But you know what they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it lol.
The radions are basically the ab+ setting with a slight tweak, I like the bluer look and have balanced it out to where I think it’s good with the schedule intensity set at 65%.
What skimmer do u have?

 

[DarkReefer]

Thanks mate
You can thank my gobies for the clean sand, they’re machines at constantly turning over the sand.
The nems luckily haven’t left the rock they’re on, they must like it up there or something thankfully but I’m just glad they haven’t gone walk about yet lol.
I’m using Quantum’s mixed macro probiotic salt and have used it ever since I got back into the hobby, I think it’s pretty good even tho the specs are lower than what I currently have. I originally got it because I was looking into a mixed reef but since I’m liking the LPS/Softie setup, I’ve thought about using their LPS macro salt which is similar specs to what I currently have. But you know what they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it lol.
The radions are basically the ab+ setting with a slight tweak, I like the bluer look and have balanced it out to where I think it’s good with the schedule intensity set at 65%.
What skimmer do u have?

Oh nice, I've got a blennie and I think I remember seeing somewhere that blennies and gobies can be a bit funny with each other? (not sure if fact, just going from vague memory). I've tried a couple of sand sifting gobies before and found they tended to just create big sand piles in one area and that was it.
Super lucky with the nems! They do like high spots so that's probably why.
Okay, so we're using the same salt then and sounds like similar lighting, although mine is probably ramped down to 40-50% for memory (would need to check to be sure), with the whites/reds and greens turned down.
I prefer a whiter look but just seem to have really bad algae (more than I already have) once it's turned up or running higher intensity.

Running a mantis skimmer, pump set to around 15 on the controller for memory and then tweak the air/water valve to open or close it to adjust the level.

What you've got going on with your tank is basically what I'd love to have going in mine, plenty of colour and clean looking.
Mine looks terrible by comparison!

 

[shadyraro]

Oh nice, I've got a blennie and I think I remember seeing somewhere that blennies and gobies can be a bit funny with each other? (not sure if fact, just going from vague memory). I've tried a couple of sand sifting gobies before and found they tended to just create big sand piles in one area and that was it.
Super lucky with the nems! They do like high spots so that's probably why.
Okay, so we're using the same salt then and sounds like similar lighting, although mine is probably ramped down to 40-50% for memory (would need to check to be sure), with the whites/reds and greens turned down.
I prefer a whiter look but just seem to have really bad algae (more than I already have) once it's turned up or running higher intensity.

Running a mantis skimmer, pump set to around 15 on the controller for memory and then tweak the air/water valve to open or close it to adjust the level.

What you've got going on with your tank is basically what I'd love to have going in mine, plenty of colour and clean looking.
Mine looks terrible by comparison!

I have a lawnmower blenny that’s been in the tank since day 1, he gets on with the gobies and they even swap homes sometimes lol.
My red/green lights are at 20%, white at 60% and everything else 100%, seems to work and the only green algae I have is on the back wall but none anywhere else.
Same skimmer but mines set on 20, I find I get better bubbles on full and I just slowly adjust the valve to get the water level at the bottom of the cup.
Your tank is a very nice setup, nothing in this hobby happens quickly unfortunately lol but we get there eventually. I’ve even been thinking of upgrading to a 1200 and I remember jokingly telling my gf that I would be going up 1 foot a year until I got to a 6 footer lol.
See what happens

 

[DarkReefer]

I have a lawnmower blenny that’s been in the tank since day 1, he gets on with the gobies and they even swap homes sometimes lol.
My red/green lights are at 20%, white at 60% and everything else 100%, seems to work and the only green algae I have is on the back wall but none anywhere else.
Same skimmer but mines set on 20, I find I get better bubbles on full and I just slowly adjust the valve to get the water level at the bottom of the cup.
Your tank is a very nice setup, nothing in this hobby happens quickly unfortunately lol but we get there eventually. I’ve even been thinking of upgrading to a 1200 and I remember jokingly telling my gf that I would be going up 1 foot a year until I got to a 6 footer lol.
See what happens

Oh that's cool to hear, perhaps I might have to try adding some gobies. There's plenty of room in the tank so maybe they can help. I probably need to get the ich under control first though *sigh* even though adding more fish might spike it again lol. Still seems to be hanging onto Dory, the purple seems mostly clear and fox hasn't really had too much of an issue (other fish seem unaffected).

I'll have to double check where individual settings are at, your white is a lot higher than I think mine is at (for memory mine is more 20-30% so quite blue). I checked last night and my overall intensity set to 45%. Do you think your chaeto would be helping keep DT algae at bay also?
I've got my old AI HD32 I could set up in the sump and have been thinking I want to run some chaeto but because my nitrates are fairly low anyway I didn't want to bottom them out or anything.

Hmmm okay, maybe I'll have a play with it on the weekend and crank it up a bit to see if it helps. I turned it down again the other day as it was filling a cup every couple of days which seemed excessive (wasn't thick either, very watery)

Yeah I know, it's been up for about 7 months now and the difference to mine and yours seems almost night and day so I'm just trying to work out where I'm going wrong and what I could improve so I appreciate you responding to all my questions!
Haha, if you're going to do that you may as well just just straight into the 6 lol.

 

[shadyraro]

Oh that's cool to hear, perhaps I might have to try adding some gobies. There's plenty of room in the tank so maybe they can help. I probably need to get the ich under control first though *sigh* even though adding more fish might spike it again lol. Still seems to be hanging onto Dory, the purple seems mostly clear and fox hasn't really had too much of an issue (other fish seem unaffected).

I'll have to double check where individual settings are at, your white is a lot higher than I think mine is at (for memory mine is more 20-30% so quite blue). I checked last night and my overall intensity set to 45%. Do you think your chaeto would be helping keep DT algae at bay also?
I've got my old AI HD32 I could set up in the sump and have been thinking I want to run some chaeto but because my nitrates are fairly low anyway I didn't want to bottom them out or anything.

Hmmm okay, maybe I'll have a play with it on the weekend and crank it up a bit to see if it helps. I turned it down again the other day as it was filling a cup every couple of days which seemed excessive (wasn't thick either, very watery)

Yeah I know, it's been up for about 7 months now and the difference to mine and yours seems almost night and day so I'm just trying to work out where I'm going wrong and what I could improve so I appreciate you responding to all my questions!
Haha, if you're going to do that you may as well just just straight into the 6 lol.

Do u have a red line cleaner shrimp? I’m sure my blue tang got ich last year, it had spots all over it and was always rubbing itself against rocks. My cleaner was constantly on him and I couldn’t figure out why until I noticed the blue tangs spots slowly disappearing over a couple weeks. It could've been a coincidence but I swear those cleaners are an awesome invert and all my fish get regular check up’s from him lol.
I'm not sure about the chaeto and algae, I do have some green turf algae on the back wall which the tangs and blenny constantly pick at but nothing anywhere else.
My skimmer cup fills less than an inch of skimmate a week, you may need to adjust it a bit to get a dryer skim as every couple days is pretty excessive.

I'd love a 6 foot peninsula tbh but the only problem is we're on floorboards and I think you know what that means lol, unless we moved house were it's on a slab then I'd be happy.
Happy to help dude I'm still learning stuff every day too lol, but I've found just letting the tank do it's thing seems to work as all I'm currently adding to the tank is food. No supps just cheato, I was actually going to ask if you had set up a refugium in the sump as I think it would be pretty beneficial for you.
Do you dose pods at all?

 

[DarkReefer]

Do u have a red line cleaner shrimp? I’m sure my blue tang got ich last year, it had spots all over it and was always rubbing itself against rocks. My cleaner was constantly on him and I couldn’t figure out why until I noticed the blue tangs spots slowly disappearing over a couple weeks. It could've been a coincidence but I swear those cleaners are an awesome invert and all my fish get regular check up’s from him lol.
I'm not sure about the chaeto and algae, I do have some green turf algae on the back wall which the tangs and blenny constantly pick at but nothing anywhere else.
My skimmer cup fills less than an inch of skimmate a week, you may need to adjust it a bit to get a dryer skim as every couple days is pretty excessive.

I'd love a 6 foot peninsula tbh but the only problem is we're on floorboards and I think you know what that means lol, unless we moved house were it's on a slab then I'd be happy.
Happy to help dude I'm still learning stuff every day too lol, but I've found just letting the tank do it's thing seems to work as all I'm currently adding to the tank is food. No supps just cheato, I was actually going to ask if you had set up a refugium in the sump as I think it would be pretty beneficial for you.
Do you dose pods at all?

No, but I've wanted one for ages it's just the price scares me away (that and I worry my flame hawkfish might try and make it dinner - although if I got a decent sized one I should be ok). Got a cleaner wrasse but I wonder if the cleaner shrimp would do better, sounds so cool though having the fish come up for a clean LOL
Yeah I know a decent skimmate when I see it and currently it's just not it, so will work on it some more!

Haha I know all too well what that means...I'm pretty sure my visits to my physio currently are a result of having to strengthen the floor or from carrying the tank (or both!) haha.

See I'm dosing alk, calcium & heaps of mag (like 150ml or so a day) trying to get my levels sorted because they have been continuously on the lower end. Considering the lack of corals in there and most of them being softies, I expect that the GHA is probably sucking it up or something.
Might have to try and set it up and see how that plays out for me. You run a chaeto reactor don't you rather than using the spot in the sump ?
Don't dose any pods, no, you think that'd help any?

 

[shadyraro]

No, but I've wanted one for ages it's just the price scares me away (that and I worry my flame hawkfish might try and make it dinner - although if I got a decent sized one I should be ok). Got a cleaner wrasse but I wonder if the cleaner shrimp would do better, sounds so cool though having the fish come up for a clean LOL
Yeah I know a decent skimmate when I see it and currently it's just not it, so will work on it some more!

Haha I know all too well what that means...I'm pretty sure my visits to my physio currently are a result of having to strengthen the floor or from carrying the tank (or both!) haha.

See I'm dosing alk, calcium & heaps of mag (like 150ml or so a day) trying to get my levels sorted because they have been continuously on the lower end. Considering the lack of corals in there and most of them being softies, I expect that the GHA is probably sucking it up or something.
Might have to try and set it up and see how that plays out for me. You run a chaeto reactor don't you rather than using the spot in the sump ?
Don't dose any pods, no, you think that'd help any?

Yeah red lines are a lot more expensive now then when I got one but they do a good job cleaning the fish..
Funny you should say that re physio as I put my back out a couple weeks ago lol, it also doesn't help when the house is higher than the garage

That's a lot of dosing considering when I was dosing it was like 2 or 3ml a day of each, maybe because your tank is double the size of mine has something to do with it. I run an external algae reactor as I don't really have a spot in the sump as it's too small, but I know some people have modded the 900 sump to fit a fuge but it's just too tight.
A mate of mine has a Cade 1200 and he throws a tennis ball size of chaeto in the sumps fuge and it grows like crazy, he got a cheap fuge light off market place and it works great.

I also dose 500ml of copepods every fortnight mainly for my mandarin as it's really beneficial fish food, they like to eat algae and detritus as well and I also squirt some phyto into the DT every other day.

 

[DarkReefer]

Yeah red lines are a lot more expensive now then when I got one but they do a good job cleaning the fish..
Funny you should say that re physio as I put my back out a couple weeks ago lol, it also doesn't help when the house is higher than the garage

That's a lot of dosing considering when I was dosing it was like 2 or 3ml a day of each, maybe because your tank is double the size of mine has something to do with it. I run an external algae reactor as I don't really have a spot in the sump as it's too small, but I know some people have modded the 900 sump to fit a fuge but it's just too tight.
A mate of mine has a Cade 1200 and he throws a tennis ball size of chaeto in the sumps fuge and it grows like crazy, he got a cheap fuge light off market place and it works great.

I also dose 500ml of copepods every fortnight mainly for my mandarin as it's really beneficial fish food, they like to eat algae and detritus as well and I also squirt some phyto into the DT every other day.

Yeah I think the ones I've seen around have been like $250. I saw one on sale I think once for around $150 but I didn't buy it at the time. Haha yeah, my place is the same garage is a couple feet lower than the house... On the up side, one day if I really want/need to I can probably plumb some stuff externally into the garage easily enough as the wall the tank is on backs onto it! I tried to put off the physio for months, but last month just got sick of the pain and ended up finally going. Thankfully nearly sorted.

Yeah the alk/cal isn't so bad and probably in that 1-3ml range but the mag takes so much for it to move anywhere. Looking at some info online etc, sounds like chaeto might be the way to go. Will try and go out this weekend to grab some if I can find it. Sounds like people use it to outcompete DT algae as well as dropping nutrients down etc. Might even look at the gobies/cleaner shrimp whilst we're there.

My tank could definitely benefit from some pods I think. Especially in the sump, there's a heap of detritus in there I need to clean out etc.

 

[shadyraro]

Yeah I think the ones I've seen around have been like $250. I saw one on sale I think once for around $150 but I didn't buy it at the time. Haha yeah, my place is the same garage is a couple feet lower than the house... On the up side, one day if I really want/need to I can probably plumb some stuff externally into the garage easily enough as the wall the tank is on backs onto it! I tried to put off the physio for months, but last month just got sick of the pain and ended up finally going. Thankfully nearly sorted.

Yeah the alk/cal isn't so bad and probably in that 1-3ml range but the mag takes so much for it to move anywhere. Looking at some info online etc, sounds like chaeto might be the way to go. Will try and go out this weekend to grab some if I can find it. Sounds like people use it to outcompete DT algae as well as dropping nutrients down etc. Might even look at the gobies/cleaner shrimp whilst we're there.

My tank could definitely benefit from some pods I think. Especially in the sump, there's a heap of detritus in there I need to clean out etc.

I reckon chaeto is the way to go, some people can’t grow it for some reason but those that can have great success.
I was pretty sceptical when I got the pax but since being online it’s growing chaeto no problem and I’m now convinced it’s a big reason the tank is going smoothly.

What are you using to test parameters?

 

[DarkReefer]

I reckon chaeto is the way to go, some people can’t grow it for some reason but those that can have great success.
I was pretty sceptical when I got the pax but since being online it’s growing chaeto no problem and I’m now convinced it’s a big reason the tank is going smoothly.

What are you using to test parameters?

Yeah I think I'm gonna try grab some this weekend and get something up and running. Sounds like it could be very beneficial if it does take off.

I use Hanna for Nitrate/Alk & phosphate and salifert for mag, calc & pH.

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

I did my fortnigtly maintenance on the weekend and got a reminder from the Reef Factory app that my pump, skimmer and ReefMat were due for their 6 monthly clean.
I pulled them one by one to clean and they were all pretty dirty, especially the skimmer. After cleaning the skimmer and turning it back on, the PH surprisingly started rising and eventually ended up sitting 0.1 higher than before the clean.
I'm guessing the dirtiness was contributing to a buildup of excess CO2 reducing the oxygenation of the water, so make sure you clean your skimmers!

Before clean



After clean



I had also been planning on swapping out my XR15 RMS tank mounts for the longer XR30 mounts as the arms did not reach the center of the DT due to being mounted on the rear glass panel. Cade tanks have the ATO reservoir and overflow behind the DT and I didn't want to mount my lights from the side of the tank as I like the open top look.
After failing to find just the rails I ended up buying a 30" RMS rail and cutting it in half, this worked a treat and the lights are now centered which has also brought more overall light to the front of the tank.



I also added a blue maxima clam as I've always wanted a clam but wanted to wait until the tank was well established and stable, I'm not sure if I'll leave it on the sand bed or move it up onto a rock but it seems happy enough where it is for now so I'll just monitor it.

 

[DarkReefer]

Looking good mate, jealous of how clean your sump/equipment is haha.
Clam looks awesome too, something I've always wanted to try myself but my failure rate with most things reef related is too high currently so I'll definitely have to wait till I've got a better handle on things!

 

[shadyraro]

Looking good mate, jealous of how clean your sump/equipment is haha.
Clam looks awesome too, something I've always wanted to try myself but my failure rate with most things reef related is too high currently so I'll definitely have to wait till I've got a better handle on things!

Hey thanks mate!
I have the algae reactors output hose going back into the sump, so the water movement is probably keeping the sump looking deceptively clean lol.
Yeah I’m loving the clam, I’ve never had one before so let’s hope I do the right thing and keep it happy lol.

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

I made another update video of my tank on YouTube, feel free to check it out

 

[DarkReefer]

Update:

I made another update video of my tank on YouTube, feel free to check it out

This looks awesome mate. Great video/info. Looks nice and bright in there and the lighting looks dialed for bringing out the colours of everything.

This is reef tank goals right here. Love the automation, love the read outs you get on your ipad and how all the information is just there. The nems look amazing too (I miss having those in my tank).

Need to get my butt into gear to sort mine out!
With your fish additions, do you do any QT at all or just buy from specific shops or get them to do it?

 

[shadyraro]

Thanks mate appreciate it
I try to get everything in the videos without repeated myself or stuttering lol, I’m no Sam Parker when it comes to making videos haha..
I don’t have a QT tank at all so if I am looking to get a fish then I get them from a specific shop where I know they’re looked after and healthy.

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

I added a gold frogspawn and another gold torch over the weekend, both have settled in nicely and hopefully there’s no issues down the track.
Some of my scollys have started to recede a bit on the edges, I’m not sure why they’re doing it but I’m keeping a close eye on them all.
All the other corals and fish are doing ok and the tank is otherwise cruising along nicely.

 

[shadyraro]

Forgot to mention, before I did a water change on the weekend I cleaned all of the back glass using an extendable razor algae scraper. So much gunk came off and the tank was a mess, I siphoned a lot of it out and my Reefmat was doing overtime but it eventually cleared up a few hours later.
I prefer a clean looking back wall and do it every 6 months, but next time I might have to do a bigger water change so I can siphon more of the dirty water out.

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

I ended up moving 7 anemones from the “anemone rock” and put them into a acrylic isolation box.
They were multiplying too fast and had started to take over the rock, and they even ventured down it and were stinging my hammers on the ledge below.
I left 6 anemones on the rock for my clowns as they were hosting them, hopefully they’re not too annoyed that I took a few of their jumping castles away.
My LFS said they’d take them and give me a store credit, and to think I started off with just one anemone 14 months ago to having 13 now.

 

[Port City Reefer]

Update:

My tank has been running for nearly 10 months now and when I look back at the startup pics in August last year to now, it’s definitely come a long way.

Aug 2023


June 2024


For me keeping it simple has been why I think this tank has run so smoothly, I've had plenty of minor issues trust me but nothing really major touch wood. The corals and fish are all doing great and my last anemone count was 12, to think there was just 1 of them 14 months ago in my old 600!
I think it's time to move a few of them on before they start taking over the tank.

The algae reactor is doing a great job growing plenty of chaeto and exporting nutrients which keeps my nitrates around 10, and phosphates around 0.15.
Every fortnight I harvest the chaeto, change activated carbon and do a 10% water change. This seems to work well and seems to be enough to replenish the trace elements as I haven’t dosed any alk (9), cal (480) or mag (1500) in nearly 3 weeks!
My salinity sits stable at 1.026, PH ranges from 8.1 to 8.3 and temp is a constant 25c. We’re coming into winter here and I’d been planning to swap my Eheim 150 for another Eheim 250, finally did it so now there’s 2 250’s running.

The ReefMat is doing a great job keeping the tank clean and water crystal clear, I’m still only on my 2nd roll in 6 months which is great and my first roll I got 104 days out of so I'm pretty happy with that.
I also realised I never posted a pic of when I hard plumbed the ReefMat so here’s a pic of how it looks, pretty simple really just pvc with a reducer, a couple unions and a bit of flexi hose at the end.



All the Reef Factory equipment is going good, the KH Keeper and PO4 Smart tester both test once a day and the results are always stable and accurate. Every now and then I'll cross check with hanna and salifert and they're always on point, as long as you keep the gear calibrated you won't have any issues.
Apart from that I’m pretty happy with how the tanks going, although I do need to rescape a few rocks as my 2 gobies like building sand castles and are really ticking off my gonis lol.
Anyway I’ll be making another update video soon so watch this space!

Question: what size pipe / elbows and unions did you ? Thanks in advance?