Haley's Cade 900 S2 Upgrade

haleyw · Aug 28, 2022

Hello! Starting a build thread to document the setup of my new Cade 900 S2 that should be shipping sometime this week. I currently have a 24g Aquatop AIO that has been running for about a year that the Cade will replace. I decided to pull the trigger on upgrading my setup after experiencing a heater explosion during the night a couple weeks ago that ended up killing off 2 of my fish, all of my hermit crabs, a pistol shrimp, and some of my coral

The surviving tank inhabitants include 2 clownfish, various snails, and some LPS and soft coral that I'll move over to the new tank once it is ready for them.

Purchased Equipment
Tank: Cade Reef 900 S2
Return Pump: Sicce Syncra SDC 6.0
Skimmer: Aquamaxx ConeS Q-1 In-Sump Protein Skimmer
Heater: 300W BRS Titanium heater w/Ink Bird Heater Controller

I haven't quite decided on lighting or wavemaker pumps yet. For lighting I've been considering either a Kessil Ap9x or ReefBreeders Photon 32-V2. I have an AI Prime 16 on the Aquatop that I can use until I can make a decision.

Once I get notification that the new tank is on its way, I plan on getting my 10g QT tank setup to house my current tank's inhabitants so I can start tearing down the Aquatop and preparing for the new tank!

fishski13 · Aug 28, 2022

For your heater, I would recommend running a pair of smaller heaters instead of just one. So just in case on heater goes out you have another one to kick in and not cause any problems. I am not sure if they make any titanium heater smaller than 300w but I would still go with two heater even if its two 300w over one heater. And the inkbird has two outlets for two heaters.

For lighting I personally like the Kessil Ap9x just because it is a very sleek look when it is mounted in the center, it is easy to program, and it gives off a very appealing shimmer.

dstockwell · Aug 28, 2022

Welcome to the Reef

gareth williams · Aug 30, 2022

Hi Hayley I’ve got a Cade s2 900 reef and love it, I run Ai hydra 64 light on mine, 2 nero 5 wave makers.

haleyw · Sep 10, 2022

The tank is here! We were able to get it unboxed and set in place last night, and I installed the plumbing this morning. I'm still waiting on the rest of the dry rock to arrive sometime next week so I can start building my aquascape.

I ended up grabbing an extra heater for redundancy, 2 Sicce XStream SDC powerheads, and have Kessil Ap9x on the way.

haleyw · Sep 20, 2022

Finished up the aquascape this weekend. Building the aquascape took longer than I expected, but it was a fun project and I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I've started cycling this morning, using the Fritzzyme Turbo Start and Nitrocycle that came with the tank, and Dr. Tim's ammonia dosed at 1.5 ppm. I also threw in some media that I've been cycling in a bucket for the last couple of weeks.

I've added a motion activated LED light strip to the cabinet area, it's been really helpful to have some lighting down there! Planning on spending some time trying to get some decent cable management going on while I wait for the tank cycle.

haleyw · Oct 2, 2022

Cycle finished earlier this week, so I moved my clownfish over to their new tank yesterday. They hid out in a cave for about 5 minutes after the transfer and then started exploring the tank. They seem to be settling in nicely and ate the food I tossed in this morning.
Today I plan on dipping and then transferring over some of the coral from my old tank, and possibly the pistol shrimp. I've ordered my next additions from Dr. Reef - an orange spotted goby, a McCosker's wrasse, and a blue flasher wrasse, but I'm not expecting them to ship for another month or so.
I've also ordered a small 5 gallon AIO that will serve as my coral/invert QT. I've previously used a 10g as a coral QT, but the smaller footprint of the 5 gallon is appealing to me.
Here are the clowns in their new home!

haleyw · Oct 4, 2022

I tore down the Aquatop yesterday. I naively thought that it would be easy to find the pistol shrimp after removing all of the rock from the tank, but I was wrong. I sifted through the sand scoop by scoop looking for him, before eventually realizing that the only place he could be is in one of the rocks I had removed. Luckily I had placed the rocks in a tote that has saltwater in it. I don't plan on moving the old rock to my new tank, so I've made a trap using a soda bottle to hopefully catch the little guy!

haleyw · Oct 11, 2022

Woke up this morning to find a small puddle next to my tank

One of the plastic hose clamps that secures the ATO line down to the sump had failed. Luckily the leak was only a drip and the hose stayed in place so it didn't dump the full contents of the ATO reservoir on the floor. I have the hose temporarily secured in place with a couple zip ties, but I will probably just leave the ATO valve shut until I can run out and get a more suitable replacement.

Other than the leak, things in the new tank are coming along nicely. The clownfish have settled in and have made the lower overflow intake their new home. The coral that I've moved over looks good as well. The diatom phase has started and seems to be lessening off already.

Trapping the pistol shrimp did not go as planned. I had the rock he was hiding out in in a 5 gallon bucket with an airstone and heater for a good 5 days before I finally trapped him overnight. When I found him in the trap in the morning however, he was dead. I'm feeling pretty bad about the fact that he died in the trap. Not completely sure why this would have occurred.

I ran around to a few different LFS over the weekend. Picked up a bottle of pods and phytoplankton to add to the tank, along with a few new coral frags and peppermint shrimp to go in the coral QT.

haleyw · Oct 14, 2022

My first new addition to the tank arrived today! I ordered a Minus Blenny from Ocean Devotion -- fully quarantined and arrived looking healthy and active. It's still a little stressed from shipping, but seems to be settling in to the tank nicely.

Neuratox · Oct 14, 2022

It looks like your tank is coming along fantastic! I dig your aquascape. It will be cool to see how it looks in a few months! As a side note, I never would have guessed that was a midas blenny. Is it juvenile or is the coloration due to stress from shipping?

haleyw · Oct 14, 2022

It looks like your tank is coming along fantastic! I dig your aquascape. It will be cool to see how it looks in a few months! As a side note, I never would have guessed that was a midas blenny. Is it juvenile or is the coloration due to stress from shipping?

Thank you, I'm excited to see how it will look once I get it filled out with coral! I think the coloration is due to stress and it attempting to blend in/hide in the rockwork. It does look a bit more golden when it is swimming in the open.