CadLights Artisan II 100g build

[BoSalman]

Hello Everyone,

I was very busy catching bits and pieces for this build. Stayed away from SW for quiet a while but had a good deal on this tank (new) from and old stock laying around my LFS.

The tank is the Artisan II 100g rimless tank. Comes with a stand and an empty 33gal sump.

I have read alot of issues with plumbing and i did face most of them with this tank. But it was worth it to work on this, and i did hard plumb this tank and still working on it until i decide if i wanted to keep this sump or change it.

In the Tank:
- 120 lbs of rocks (80lbs Caribsea LifeRock, 40lbs base rock).

- 100 lbs Fiji Livesand.

Equipment i got so far:
- Bubble Magus Curve 7.

- Return Pump (ZKSJ 5000). Will replace it soon with spectra M1 or S1, recommendations?

- Currently Running Ecotech Marine MP10QD (waiting for the MP40QDs to arrive).

- Skimz Bio-Palet reactor (offline currently).

- Eheim 150w heater (1 offline, 1 running).

- Kessil AP700 light.

- Custom 10.5 Gal ATO reservoir.

- Tunze Full Spectrum Light (refugium).

Items am waiting for to arrive:

- Neptune Apex with probes.
- Tunze Osmolator ATO.

The tank just finished cycling two days ago, started to see spots of algae here and there and waiting for it to stabilize before adding any livestock.

Will start slowly to understand how the system reacts on different parameters before going crazy on stocking.

Skimmer was just started yesterday and it'z still overflowing, waiting for the ATO to arrive to make it easier to stabilize.

Will be updating the thread as the build moves forward so stay tuned

 

[Jason Jordan]

Looks like off to a good start

 

[BoSalman]

Big updates,

So the system has been running now for two months (knock on wood) without any problems so far!

Tank has cycled and i waited two weeks just to make sure that it wasn't fooling around with me. Double checked with ammonia and couldn't be happier when all those readings went to zero!

I made a ~25% water change two days ago, waited to see everything was stable again. Skimmer is finally bedded and is working good (no skimmate so far, but going there) and it did calm down after continuous overflowing.

I started to run Rowa-Carbon a little bit to clarify the water and see how that goes. I also plan to run my Bio-Pellet reactor tomorrow with slow/little amounts and build it up from there.

Having just enough algae, i introduced a few CUC today, mainly turbo snails with different sizes (8 total), one happy hermit crab (being catious with those), and one fire shrimp.

Planning on adding one cleaner shrimp later maybe this weekend.

My APEX arrived along with the ecotech marine vortechs. I will get those hooked up tomorrow and i will start desiging my cabinet to fit and house the controller/electrical stuff with the dosing pump.

I got the Bubble magus BM-T01 dosing pumps, it is currently off line and will use it later on.

I have also relocated my single MP10QD to the left side back glass (toppish left corner) and plan to install the MP40QD on the right side glass.

Enough text.. photos on next reply.

 

[BoSalman]

Forgot about my ATO reservoir, it is in and running. Had to raise the outlet to prevent back siphoning. Will install a T-connection onto a PVC pipe to prevent that from happening.

I have the Tunze Osmolator on order from sewatec, but since it was shipped on mail post it took forever to arrive. Went with a decent ATO with multi sensors for now until i recieve the Tunze along with the other parts on order.

Thanks, and if any suggestions/comments please do!

 

[BoSalman]

A new update.

I just finished installing APEX controller with the vortech mp40qd. Boy that's a giant compared to the poor mp10qd i had working by itself!

I currently wired my apex onto the next chair (also my hi-tech mounting holders (clamps) for the pumps) temporarely and i will be designing a cabinet in few days to get this mounted correctly and neatly.

I also placed an order on a ClearView lid to go with the tank to avoid carpet surfers later down the road.

Here're some pictures as well as a screenshot from the apex dash (didn't hook the monitor on yet).

 

[BoSalman]

On a side note,

The MP40QD is quiet loud for my taste. However, it's only been running for less than 1 hour so i will play with it and let it settle in a bit before judging anything.

Am currently running it throught apex with their suggested modes, i will adjust from there slowley and adjust more once live stock gets moved in later.


Any suggestions for running two vortechs (screenshots of your program possibley) would help alot!

I will also install/run the bio-pellet reactor in an hour or so and get it started as well ;Bookworm

 

[Brent Behringer]

Tank is looking great! Following your build for sure! I just swung by Cadlights in Rancho Cucamonga, this am to look at this specific tank. Seems like the tank and glass quality is pretty solid. Wondering how you are liking the tank, sump and stand quality? I am a little leery, with the stand, as I couln'd really see it first hand. I am also considering a red sea reefer 425 xl.

 

[Brent Behringer]

What Auto top off system and reservoir did you go with?

 

[BoSalman]

Tank is looking great! Following your build for sure! I just swung by Cadlights in Rancho Cucamonga, this am to look at this specific tank. Seems like the tank and glass quality is pretty solid. Wondering how you are liking the tank, sump and stand quality? I am a little leery, with the stand, as I couln'd really see it first hand. I am also considering a red sea reefer 425 xl.

Am glad you liked my setup. I also wanted to have a RedSea reefer but i couldn't find any availability here. To be honest, i didn't have an option BUT i really LOVE this tank.

The quality is flawless and the stand is excellent (some may say otherwise).

But the only trouble many had with cadlights were the plumbing, which i had some trouble with, but once i figured it out it went just perfect.


My top off now is a WaveReef Smart ATO. I plan to use it until it goes out and will replace it with Tunze Osmolator which i just recieved few days ago. Tank is just a custom made glass tank to fit my free space under the cabinet, 20 x 40 x 45 (cm) dimensions with a glass cover lid.

 

[BoSalman]

So i have some updates. After two months of continuous adjustments and headaches, i finally decided yesterday to throw away the Bubble Magus Curve 7 skimmer i had.

For some reason i just couldn't get that skimmer to work with my system. I replaced it with a JNS ConeS Q-3 skimmer (JNS = AquaMaxx). Boy i should have done that long ago!

The skimmer started to pull out junk as soon as i plugged it!! Love this unit so far. It's running now for 10 hours and i can't believe that i finally got a skimmer that does what it should!

The picture is 2 minutes after i plugged it in! And i will post an update in a week or so to check if the skimmer will still amaze me!

Also, i have a pair (hopefully) of clownfish, a sohal tang (see below), two shrimps, hammer coral, plate coral, polyp colony and a bubble tip anemone.

All the fish stores here had no stock of BTAs. I picked up the poly colony only to discover that there was a tiny BTA sitting nicely with them! I called the LFS and he did confirm that he was looking for it..

And that's how i have my BTA

I did so the inverts first. Two days later went the clowns, two days later the tang and then the corals.

The sohal tang is very young, and it is going to grow and my setup is not for Sohal Tangs for sure, i got it from a friend to get it to grow a little bit in my tank then it will go to his 500g reef.

I will post proper pictures of the livestock in the upcoming days. Here are some of my phone shots.

Enjoy!

 

[BoSalman]

So, it's been a while since i introduced corals/fish to the DT..

So far, everything is looking great and stable. Did go with a two week 15% WC schedule, corals are happy and so are the fish. Skimmer started to pull gunk out and water parameters are stabilizing.

However, conducting water tests and researching online.. i came to find the Tropic Marin Pro-Reef salt has a low Alkalinity/Calcium mix. As stated by them, it comes for those who use calcium reactors!

My Alkalinity is pretty stable at 6, which is very low to some, but suprisingly my three corals are doing great so far with new growth! Specially my pogoda cup coral and my BTA (if u can help identify it also?)

Also, my calcium is on the low end averaging around ~390 weekly testing even with the 15% WC... so that is also low.

I will start hooking up my BM T-01 doser and will start slowly to dose RedSea foundation A/B/C to try and target Alkalinity first to 8, then stabilize it around 9 once i get the calcium to catch up with it.

Here're some photos.

 

[declanisadog]

Looking good! Those BM skimmers are hit or miss in my experience. I've used three on three different tanks, and one was perfect all the time, one overflowed occasionally, and the other was all over the place.

 

[sfmacguy]

I love my CadLights Tank, I have the Artisan II 125. I would like to kick whomever decided on the plumbing in the nether regions though. I've had the return bulkhead fail twice, and after getting a few responses from them, they've gone dark.

TL;DR: Gorgeous tanks, horrific Customer Service, Abysmal plumbing.

 

[BoSalman]

Looking good! Those BM skimmers are hit or miss in my experience. I've used three on three different tanks, and one was perfect all the time, one overflowed occasionally, and the other was all over the place.

That's exactly what i concluded here as well.. not sure why though. I was trying my best to avoid switching, but once i fired up the ConeS i had a big smile for sure..

 

[BoSalman]

I love my CadLights Tank, I have the Artisan II 125. I would like to kick whomever decided on the plumbing in the nether regions though. I've had the return bulkhead fail twice, and after getting a few responses from them, they've gone dark.

TL;DR: Gorgeous tanks, horrific Customer Service, Abysmal plumbing.

Exactly! Even though i have everything in line, i contacted them for a spare overflow plumbing set, that was 5 weeks ago without a response other than "we will get you a quote asap"...

Overall i am happy with the tank, minus the plumbing and CS..

 

[BoSalman]

Just an update.

The system have been stable so far, added most of the fish i was thinking about. However, non of our LFS have corals in stock currently so i'm left with the very few i have so far!

Anyways, this turned out to be better as we tend to go crazy and buy everything all at once. Ever since introducing the livestock to the tank i was closely monitoring everything.

Parameters, algae, sump, skimmer, heaters and all.. everything so far looks good.

After waiting for a month or so, i finally recieved my Red Sea Pro Alk test kit. I do have Tropic Marine test kits and i like them, but they are extremely difficult to read/measure when it comes to Ca, Mg, Alk!

Testing my Alk with normal test kits, i figured that my Alk was on the low side (6-7 dKh), but i wanted to test exactly what it is and how it changes. Amazingly, my few corals were doing so great that i thought my numbers were off!

Tested today with RS and it came out to be extremely low (5.46)!

I ran to grab my BM-T01 and am currently test dosing RODI water for 200ml on 4 cycles for all three pumps.

Once i confirm the pumping accuracy, i will be running DS Reef Foundation A, B, and C.. my Mg is on the low side, and so is Ca, Alk.

So my plan is to dose Mg first, get it up in the 1300-1350 range and stabilize it. Then shooting for Alk to get it between 9-11 (yet to see) and Ca as well (420-450).

So i will be starting backwards.. dosing C then B then A and hopefully will get the numbers dialed in.

I also decided to do this up to a point where i will start gradually changing salts. Currently running Tropic Marin Pro-Reef Salt, changing to Brightwell Aquatics NeoMarine..

The tiny chaeto ball i got from a friend looks like it is finally showing some growth, skimmer is skimming crazy stuff and i do see algae covering my dry rock (green, not GHA), so am hoping to see coralline soon!

All in all, everything seems to be going good despite the low numbers, fish are happy and so is corals suprisengly!

I will take more photos of how the tank progressed so far tomorrow..

Kindly advise on any of what you read/saw so far! Hoping that i'm on the right track while i do more and more reading everyday!

Thanks.

 

[jdpeters]

I have the versa 42g.. the tank itself is beautiful and great smooth silicone job. Stand is stunning. There was no hard plumbing for the pump just flimsy vinyl which at the time was good but I’m a little more advanced now and see how it’s shoddy. The sump proportion wise is great but the middle chamber doesn’t have a adjustable water level which is frustrating. All in all I’m seriously considering the artisan 178 gallon for my next build. Probably leaning more towards the Red Sea s max 650 though.

 

[BoSalman]

I have the versa 42g.. the tank itself is beautiful and great smooth silicone job. Stand is stunning. There was no hard plumbing for the pump just flimsy vinyl which at the time was good but I’m a little more advanced now and see how it’s shoddy. The sump proportion wise is great but the middle chamber doesn’t have a adjustable water level which is frustrating. All in all I’m seriously considering the artisan 178 gallon for my next build. Probably leaning more towards the Red Sea s max 650 though.

To be honest, i would recommend a cadlights to anyone with access to metric plumbing. This would save you some cash towards the equipment/stocking.

However, if i had the option to choose between them and RedSea, with cash available that is, i wouldn't hesitate to go for a bigger read sea.

 

[jdpeters]

I’m gently letting my wife on to the idea that my next tank/room will cost 10k+. This being after the selling of our current home. No one bats a eye at a 20k or more Harley why should a aquarium be any different

 

[BoSalman]

Updates!

So i have been dosing now for two days, am being very careful as it's my first attempt at this and so far everything is looking satisfactory!

Am trying to reach and maintain an Alk of 7.5-8 range, with Ca 420-450 and Mg on 1250-1300s. So i started first day to dose RedSea Foundation C to raise my MG to that range. Currently doing 45ml per day to slowley raise it on 8 small doses.

Next day i started with Alk but going VERY slow.. i manually dosed 20ml and i setup the pump to dose 5ml/day/2 doses just to figure how much time it takes to reach my target and figure my daily consumption.

Here're spme photos of my "small" bioload...

Oh and that BTA is growing for sure!