Zan's CADE REEF 600 S2 Build

[zanthian]

I am a first time reefer getting started with a CADE REEF 600 S2. I have had previous fresh water tanks and wanted to try my hand at a mixed reef tank.

Started my research on Red Sea AIO tanks, but then I came across the CADE systems. I liked the aluminum and glass stand, built in ATO, and pre done plumbing.
The @AlgaeBarn black friday sale where it included the rocks, salt, fiji pink sand, fritz turbo cycle, and fritz dosing elements pushed me over the edge to order. It was a bit of a long wait ~ a month to get the tank from ordering, but the tank seems well worth the wait. AlgaeBarn also has a great staff that has been very helpful when I have called in for questions.

Equipment	Key Data	Comments
Tank: CADE REEF 600 S2	57 Gallons display, 13 gallon sump, 3.4 gallon Auto Top Off	Beautiful and well built tank and stand. The tank comes with metric plumbing, but there are options on the market to convert from metric to standard.
Skimmer: Reef Octo Regal 150SSS	Footprint: 9" x 7.5" , Recommended Sump Water Depth: 7-8.5in	This was easy to assemble and I selected for compact size. I am happy it included a float valve to cut off the skimmer in case of over flow.
Return Pump: Sicce Syncra SDC 7.0	800 - 1900 gph ALERTS for: 1. Blocked rotor 2. Dry running 3. Loss of signal	I like the smart alerts being built in since I am not running a controller. It also has a temperature sensor built in for a system double check.
Light: ReeFi® LED Uno	180W max power, 9 Color Spectrums with 9 individual channels, 72 LED diodes in 6×6 array, using 12 larger 4in1 LEDs	I researched this light and it is the best cost per watt. It looks like it will have amazing flexibility in tuning and providing great colors. Dana Riddle's Testing Thread
Powerheads: 2 x Nero 3 Powerhead	Specifications: Max Flow: 2000 GPH Max Glass Thickness: 1/2" Dimensions (wetside): 1.54" x 2.25" Power Consumption: (variable) 20W @ 120VAC max	Learned about these from the Reef Builders youtube channel. I look forward to programming random flow synchronized between the pumps with just my phone.
Testing: Hanna Reef Professional v2	HI772 Marine Alkalinity Checker (dKH) HI758 Marine Calcium Checker Checker HI774 Marine Ultra Low Range Phosphate Checker HI98319 Salinity/Temperature Meter	I went with the Hanna checkers thinking that reading results would be easier with them and encourage more testing.
Heater: Finnex HMH 300 Watt heater	• Out of Water Sensor Protection Audio Alert • Over Heating Audio Alert • 1/10th Degree Temperature Calibration	I liked the addition of the audio alerts if there are issues around out of water or over heating.

Tank arrived yesterday. Here are some initial setup pics. The crates were very well made and everything arrived safely.

 

[zanthian]

Fish I am considering:

• Pair of Ocellaris Clownfish
• Orchid Dottyback
• Striped Blenny or Lawnmower Blenny
• Yellow Watchman Goby or Orange Stripe Prawn Goby + Pistol shrimp
• Gramma Basslet
• Azure Damselfish

Would love feedback or ideas for any other cool fish I should be considering for my tank.

 

[zanthian]

Coral I am considering:

• Mountain Dew Toadstool Coral
• Mango Clove Polyps
• Purple snakeskin torch
• Ultra Duncanopsammia
• Tangerine Ricordea Mushroom
• Rainbow Montipora
• Bimini Pink Zoanthids
• Purple Candalabra Gorgonian

I am totally new to coral, please let me know if anything on this list will not get along or any tips for general placement ( high/low/sand)

 

[zanthian]

Getting some of the equipment installed.
There is a bit of extra power cord length in the built in shelf. I ordered some 1 ft. 3 prong power cords to try and shorten some of the power brick power cables.


The left door is great for access and setup:

Loving the built in power center for a clean setup.

 

[zanthian]

Initial scape design, not final yet. It has a 4 way tunnel underneath the rocks. It will probably change as I get it into the tank with sand a water. It is fun playing lego with the rocks though. I am using the bottom of the glass shipping crate to temp layout in the garage.

 

[zanthian]

The shorter 1 ft. cords arrived today.

First picture is a comparison of the stock cords vs the new 1ft. cords.


The second pic is of the CADE 600 S2 shelf with the new cords installed.

 

[zanthian]

A couple of test shots of the rocks in the tank

 

[zanthian]

Tank got wet over the weekend and I added my Fritz Turbostart 900:

 

[zanthian]

Ordering a Wide Bar Black Gladiator Ocellaris and a DaVinci Clownfish, should arrive the first week of Jan.

 

[MmeAssoc]

Excited to watch this build! I'm tossing up between this tank and the 900, can't wait to see the fish in your 600

 

[zanthian]

Pre-ordered an Orchid Dottyback and a Royal Gramma Basslet from TSM Aquatics. They should be available 1/20/21 to ship.

 

[zanthian]

Ordering a Wide Bar Black Gladiator Ocellaris and a DaVinci Clownfish, should arrive the first week of Jan.

So the first place did not receive the fish I ordered. I ended up trying out Discover Aquatics Shop and found a nice pair of Ocellaris Clownfish. I picked them up today, acclimated them and added them to the tank

Here is a video of my new additions:

 

[Amandajb]

The shorter 1 ft. cords arrived today.

First picture is a comparison of the stock cords vs the new 1ft. cords.


The second pic is of the CADE 600 S2 shelf with the new cords installed.

I need this!! Where did you find?

 

[Amandajb]

Tank got wet over the weekend and I added my Fritz Turbostart 900:

Looks Great!!!

 

[zanthian]

I need this!! Where did you find?

I ordered from amazon, just search "computer power cord 1 ft" . It definitely helps in the small shelf.

 

[Amandajb]

Do you mind if I ask when you feed, how you handle flow with your Sicce pump and if u do anything with adjusting the intake valve if you reduce flow?

 

[zanthian]

Do you mind if I ask when you feed, how you handle flow with your Sicce pump and if u do anything with adjusting the intake valve if you reduce flow?

I have my flow pointed diagonally across the tank. So far my two clown fish are like little puppies and they come right up to the top of the tank in the lower flow near the edge of the glass. I have been feeding them the bulk reef supply pellet food. No adjustments to flow yet. As I get more stock I may have to adjust that later.

 

[zanthian]

My three quarantined fish will ship today for arrival tomorrow. Very excited! I chose TSM aquatics since they quarantine the fish.
Royal Gramma Basslet https://tsmaquatics.com/collections/basslets/products/royal-gramma-basslet-gramma-loreto
Orchid Dottyback https://tsmaquatics.com/products/ora-orchid-dottyback?_pos=1&_sid=a35b401d8&_ss=r
Yellow watchman goby https://tsmaquatics.com/collections...tocentrus-cinctus?_pos=1&_sid=ba1965895&_ss=r

 

[Poseidon's snail]

nice!!!

 

[zanthian]

Fish made it in alive today. The only one that looks questionable is the Royal Gramma. It was floating on its side in the bag. I followed the instructions from TSM, "The fish will be arriving at roughly 35ppt/1.026SG. It's likely that given your overnight lows, the shipment will arrive in the upper 60's/low 70's. If that is the case, you'll want to raise their temp as slowly as possible. I would mix up a few gallons of saltwater and let it come to room temperature (to be adjusted with a heater if needed). If the fish arrive below room temperature, allow them to come to room temp, and then move them into the clean saltwater. From there you can take your time acclimating the rest of the way to system temp."