Jestersix

Patricks 50 gal. cube

finalphaze987

Supporting Member
As many of you know from previous post the 180 gal tank took a turn for the worst in my absence. Well, with every death comes new life...So i've decided on the CAD lights 50 gallon cube purchased from Atlantis aquarium.
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Its not an Elos, but for the price, i can't complain. 3 starphire viewing sides and the dimensions had me sold.

The CAD lights stand and sump combo seemed so small to me coming from a 180 gal. and the fact that there was no room for reactors or even a larger sump had me searching for new options. I finally decided to have the stand custom built by Max @ Aquarium Showroom. His standbuilder Chris does some of the best woodwork IMO and even though it set me back budget wise on this project, the quality justifys it all. What stands out to me is that when it was first built the final dimentions wern't as planned due to a misunderstanding. Max offered to build a custom sump to accomodate it, but after finding out about how much i wanted to fit under there, he was more than willing to eat the loss and build a whole new one to the correct specs and even offered to hold my coral in his tanks while doing so.
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Im trying to utilize as much equipment from the old tank as i can to keep from burning another hole in my wallet, so im using the bubblemaster 250, Geo calcium Rx, Midwest nitrate Rx, and various small stuff.
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zepplock said:
Very nice. I have cadlights tank and I love it.
What lights will you use?

Thanks Zep. What size bulkhead did you use for the return? The only size i found that fits the hole its 1/2''. i picked up a 3/4 but its too large to fit through the hole drilled. AFA lighting, i got a pretty good deal on the CAD lights one, but after seeing all these new LED fixtures out, kinda regret now doing my homework before buying. I've been eyeing the Ecoxotic and Maxspec fixtures. I waiting to see who's going to become the UD distributor and what type of warranty will be offered for the Maxspec. That will probably be the tie breaker between the two.
 
tuberider said:
Back in the game!!!!!!!

patchin said:
Glad you're back up and running.

I couldnt stay away for long. All those times i said to myself "if i could do it all over again i would do *blank* instead. Well, now's my chance :D

Nice to see some of the OG's jumping in the thread
 
xcaret said:
Nice looking skimmer !!
Love those ATI they look so clean

Thanks. The thing skims like a beast. it might be overkill for such a small tank, but id hate to see it go to waste. The only gripe i have with it is restarting the pumps. The thread wheels are pretty touchy, which is why im thinking of changing out to the pinwheels.
 
finalphaze987 said:
zepplock said:
Very nice. I have cadlights tank and I love it.
What lights will you use?

Thanks Zep. What size bulkhead did you use for the return? The only size i found that fits the hole its 1/2''. i picked up a 3/4 but its too large to fit through the hole drilled. AFA lighting, i got a pretty good deal on the CAD lights one, but after seeing all these new LED fixtures out, kinda regret now doing my homework before buying. I've been eyeing the Ecoxotic and Maxspec fixtures. I waiting to see who's going to become the UD distributor and what type of warranty will be offered for the Maxspec. That will probably be the tie breaker between the two.

The drain is 1" and return is 1/2". I'm using a 350gph pump on my tank. I think it is sufficient and definitely cuts down the noise from the drain (no noise at all in fact). I got mine used so I had all plumbing fitted and given to me.

I didn't like the cadlight MH/T5 fixture. It was producing ok lights, will work for 90% of corals but it was too noisy for my taste.
I also really REALLY wanted to try LEDs so I have a Maxspect 160w now and it rocks!
 
i installed the light tree and fired up the lights.....the output is decent but your right about the noise...it'll due for now untill i do somemore reading up on LEDs. Mikes build looks promising, but im not sure if i have the time and skill to pull it off...

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drdoolittle said:
Very nice and clean set up Patrick. Can't wait to see the rest. The light set up is very clean. Hit me up this week, will hook up.
definitely bro....thanks for the check valve BTW... it fits perfectly with the piping. Hows tuesday for you? The rest of the weeks looking booked up for me..
 
Finally got things plummed. I almost forgot how much working with PVC glue inside a stand sucked. I decided to go with SCH 80 plumbing because i have a whole bunch just laying around and I like the grey look over the white. It does have a smaller ID but im not really bothered by it since the majority of the flow in the tank will be provided by 2 MP-40's

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Well its finally up and running...it went through a small cycle due to some die off and reusing sand, but it seemed to settle pretty quick. I did lose a couple pieces during the whole process, but overall i would say it was smooth transition. Here are a few updated shots:

FTS
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A couple new additions...The red bubble has a nice green base and mouth, but keeps it buried. The war coral almost didnt make it through the move, but is doing fine now.
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My clowns hosting in a duncan...even though there's an anemone in the tank they refuse to leave
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A bad shot of the Rics
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Thanks for all the kind words....


eldiablosrt8 said:
looks good man...... sump look simple but i love simple

Yea, i wanted to keep this build as simple as possible....The main filtration for the tank would be the skimmer so all i really needed was a sump big enough for the BM...
 
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