Cade Pro Reef 600 S2

[shadyraro]

what do you feed/dose the hammers?

I’ve only had the hammers a week but I feed my fish mysis every 3 days and squirt the hammers with some too, they’re fully opening every day and seem to be happy.

Great scape for easy coral mounting. I look forward to watching it mature and full of life.

Thanks

 

[d2mini]

Alright, a fellow Cade 600 reefer!

Looking great man, love the scape.

 

[shadyraro]

Alright, a fellow Cade 600 reefer!

Looking great man, love the scape.

Hey thanks! I’ve been following your build and getting some inspiration, I’m loving these tanks!

 

[shadyraro]

Over the weekend I added a 2nd Nero 3 directly opposite the first one, then I synced them together using parent/child on the pulse modes. I’m pretty happy with the Nero’s and the flow they produce, adding the 2nd one definitely makes a big difference. Hopefully this weekend I’ll be adding some corals, maybe a goni, torch or frogspawn, along with some zoas. I’ll also be looking at SPS frags later on.

 

[VanJoe]

Over the weekend I added a 2nd Nero 3 directly opposite the first one, then I synced them together using parent/child on the pulse modes. I’m pretty happy with the Nero’s and the flow they produce, adding the 2nd one definitely makes a big difference. Hopefully this weekend I’ll be adding some corals, maybe a goni, torch or frogspawn, along with some zoas. I’ll also be looking at SPS frags later on.

How does the foxface do in a 600? Hope to start picking some fish be end of next month after mine arrives in a couple of weeks.

 

[shadyraro]

How does the foxface do in a 600? Hope to start picking some fish be end of next month after mine arrives in a couple of weeks.

He’s doing good he’s pretty friendly with the other fish, he’s not stressed at all being in a smaller tank and is a great algae grazer. If he gets too big for the tank I’ll remove him but for now he’s happy.

 

[shadyraro]

Tank update, I added a frogspawn, Duncan, Goni, some montis and a few acan frags last week. I also added a redline cleaner shrimp and he’s great, the fish love pulling up to him for a wash and clean. I also moved one of the Nero 3s to the back wall and left the other on the side, this has created some great random flow throughout the tank.

 

[shadyraro]

Today I added a RedSea ReefMat 500 roller, my bio load has increased and I was getting sick of changing socks daily. I drained the sump and started to remove the 2 baffles where the media baskets were. I had to do this because my skimmer is too big and both wouldn’t fit in the original sump area. Using a mod kit the 2 baffles were out in less than 10 mins, I was quite surprised how easy it was! I scraped all the excess silicone off then cut the main overflow pipe about 3” below the gate valve, then installed the pipe adaptor that comes with the kit. RedSea thought of everything! I installed the 500 and skimmer then cut the included flexi pipe to connect the roller to the adaptor, job done! It took about 2 hours and was a lot easier than I thought it would be. At the bottom of the roller is a small removable tray for media, so I put in a bag of carbon that was included in the kit. The ReefBeat app for the roller is fantastic, there’s so many features you can basically control the roller via your phone. On a side note I added a forest fire bta and gold torch last week, the bta has found his spot in the tank and settled in nicely.

 

[shadyraro]

A few things I’ve noticed since installing the ReefMat. First, the water clarity is amazing, I thought it was good beforehand but it is so crystal clear. Second, during lights on all of my corals have opened up massively, it’s like they've taken steroids overnight as they’re a lot bigger now than previously. Third, I had a small red cyano outbreak on the sand bed, I put it down to the high temps in the tank as when it would get above 27 degrees celcius, cyano would start appearing. Anyway overnight the cyano has literally disappeared, there’s no traces left on the sand bed at all and I was really surprised to see this. So far I’m averaging 32cm a day of mat, so at that rate I’ll get around 87 days out of a full roll so money well spent!

 

[shadyraro]

Update: My tank is doing good, there’s lots of growth happening with all my corals and the ReefMat is doing a great job. I’ve had it a week now and only used 3 metres so I’m pretty happy with that. Here’s a 3 month progress video and tank review I made of my tank.

 

[VanJoe]

Update: My tank is doing good, there’s lots of growth happening with all my corals and the ReefMat is doing a great job. I’ve had it a week now and only used 3 metres so I’m pretty happy with that. Here’s a 3 month progress video and tank review I made of my tank.

That looks great.

Mine is getting delivered today. Hopefully it isn't a 400+ pound paperweight.

 

[shadyraro]

That looks great.

Mine is getting delivered today. Hopefully it isn't a 400+ pound paperweight.

That’s exciting! I bet you can’t wait to get it up and running, good luck with the build and keep us posted!

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

Earlier this week I added a Reef Factory pH meter so I can remotely monitor the levels, and I’m really happy with it so far. After calibrating it as per instructions, it gave a very accurate reading after comparing it with a digital pH pen and Hanna test. I have the Reef Factory Thermo View and that’s been great too, I’ve also been looking into their kh keeper plus and salinity guardian products to maybe add in the future. Recent coral additions are elegance, purple tip toxic green torch and blue hammer. All of my corals are doing really good, they're all opening up a lot during the day and their polyps are fully extending and swaying around nicely.
The ReefMat is doing a fantastic job, in the 20 days that I've had it I've used 6.7m averaging 34cm a day which at that rate I'm looking at getting 82 days out of a full roll! It just makes life so much easier. My parameters are where they should be testing weekly with hanna and salifert test kits, I'm not dosing anything at the moment but if things take a turn I'll look into getting a Reef Factory doser to keep track in the smart reef app. I do 10% weekly water changes mixing my own salt using Quantum mixed macro probiotic salt, I find this salt fantastic as It keeps all my trace elements on point. I do believe it's the main reason why my tank has been running so well, as when I did try NSW from 2 different LFS stores my KH was dropping down in the low 7's.
On a side note I've been thinking about upgrading to a Cade 900, I know my fish would appreciate the extra space in the tank and the extra room you get in the cabinet would also be great. The 600 and 900 sumps are exactly the same, so I'd probably swap them out as I've removed the baffle on mine, and the main overflow pipe too. Anyway if I see any great Cade deals come up for the right price, I might just be tempted.

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

Last week my tank had its first casualty, my frogspawn slowly faded away for some reason and I don’t know why. I religiously do a 10% water change every week and my parameters are all within acceptable ranges, so to have this happen is pretty disheartening. All my other corals are doing great and thriving, my fish are happy and looking healthy. I’ve added a few corals since my last post, 3 scoly’s, a 24k gold torch, a yellow Goni and a few zoa frags.
I also bought an Ecotech battery backup which is hooked up to my vectra S2 return pump.
Here’s a short video of my tank as of yesterday, happy reefing peeps.

Edit: Had to repost video

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[shadyraro]

Update:

It’s coming up to 5 months since I started this tank journey and I’m pretty happy with how everything is progressing. Im loving the Cade 600, but it’s probably no surprise that I want to upgrade. At this stage the Cade 900 would be ideal for our house, but I know I could squeeze in a 1200
Hopefully within the next couple months I should have a clearer idea of what we’re going to be getting, but one thing I know is it’ll have a white cabinet. Anyway, here’s a 5 month progress video. Happy reefing!

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

Today I came home to a surprise addition to my tank, my BTA split.! I’ve only had him a couple of months so I’m hoping it’s a happy split, he loves his food and the second one looks healthy so I’ll take it as a positive.

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

So after 86 days my ReefMat was finally due for it's first roll change, I'm pretty happy with how long I got out of the roll and it really does make life so much easier. Highly recommend!
Over the weekend I added a Reef Factory Salinity Guardian and it's fantastic, it's so accurate with the readings and I like how I can monitor and see the changes in salinity during the days. This is my 3rd piece of RF equipment and I'm really happy with the quality and accuracy that they bring, and the fact I can just open up the app and check everything.

I also added a small aqua medic gen2 media reactor which a friend of mine gave me for free, he never used it so I thought I would give it a try and put some activated carbon in it. It's very slim line with a small footprint and comes with a tiny 200 L/H pump attached and a hanging bracket, and once the unit is hung in your sump you simply slide the inner tube out to replace the media. Then just dial in the flow and it's good to go! I've got to say it was very easy to setup and I'm really impressed with how good this little reactor is.

Finally I noticed my 2 anemone's were starting to lose their bubble tips and looking more like spaghetti, so I talked to my LFS about them and he said they're probably hungry. I bought some anemone pellets and fed them 2 pellets each, then 1 pellet every other day and now they're looking a lot fatter and their bubble tips are returning.
Apart from that all my corals and fish are doing fine even tho my phosphate and nitrate levels are on the higher end, the tank is stable so if my weekly water changes and less pellet feeding doesn't work, I'll look at running some gfo.

Happy reefing!

 

[shadyraro]

Update:

I recently added the Reef Factory doser x3 as my alk had dropped quite low. I started dosing 5ml of Quantum’s Easy Z alk daily, and after a week the levels have risen back up to where I want them at 8dkh. I’ve adjusted the dose now to keep the alk stable and I’ll be monitoring it.
I was also manually dosing Quantum’s Bio Enhance aminos daily but I’ve since added it to the doser, I also have Quantum’s Easy E calcium on hand if needed. I also found some slim aluminium water containers at my local supermarket to use for dosing, these fit inside the control panel perfectly as it is quite tight. The doser is really good and easy to use, and once dialled in it just does it thing.
I also added the Reef Factory Thermo Control and I can honestly say I should’ve added this unit earlier. My temp was always fluctuating even tho my heaters were calibrated and set to the desired temp, but it would never stay at a constant temp and the heaters would sometimes randomly turn on when the temp was above the set temp.
But ever since adding the thermo control my temp has been completely stable, it controls my heaters perfectly to switch on and off, rather than the heaters using it’s thermostats which was too unreliable.
And like all of the Reef Factory equipment I currently have, I just love the convenience of being able to check and adjust anything remotely using my phone or computer and I highly recommend their equipment!
On a side note one of my torches has started to bleach, I’m not sure what’s going on there as all my other corals are thriving so at the moment I’m just monitoring it.
Also my Foxface has started to outgrow this tank, I’ll have to move him on soon which is a pity because he’s a great algae grazer.
My parameters are ok apart from nitrates which are a bit on the high side, nothing to really worry about but I’ll just keep an eye on things and go from there.

Happy reefing!

 

[LukeyB]

So I did some long awaited cable management today and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Firstly I attached six 4” hook velcro adhesive strips to the control board, I want everything to be able to be easily removable and adjustable. This stuff sticks so good that I had a bit of work to do when I needed to adjust one.

Then I installed a plastic cable management tray, all the controllers and the bricks. Everything has pile velcro adhesive attached to the backs so I can easily attach them anywhere on the board.

Next I removed the inside metal power board cover as it was annoying me, the cabinet was tight enough but now there is more room. I put a strip of Velcro on the wall to be able to attach the excess cables to. If I add a doser in the future I’ll reassess reinstalling the cover.

I bundled up the excess cables with Velcro strips and attached them to the wall. Now everything is neat and tidy and even tho it took a few hours to do, I’m pretty happy with the final result.

That's a fantastic idea with the wide velcro strips and the cable conduit. I'm just setting up my new Cade 600 and I'm going to do exactly the same. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[shadyraro]

That's a fantastic idea with the wide velcro strips and the cable conduit. I'm just setting up my new Cade 600 and I'm going to do exactly the same. Thanks for the inspiration!

Hey thanks and I’m glad I could help! The Velcro really is great and strong, it makes it easy to move or adjust things without the hassle of unsticking double sided tape. And the conduit makes things a lot neater also. Good luck with your build!