saltedbytes CADE Reef S2 1500 Build

[saltedbytes]

My cycle is finally complete and I got my Great White skimmer delivered today.

Initial thoughts - It is reasonably cheap skimmer for what you get, and you can tell. The Acrylic looks nice and of high quality, but the rest of the plastic parts feel a bit flimsy and cheap. The venturi is 3d printed, which the advertising suggests it's great for upgrades, but I don't really see how.

The instructions are super basic, but there is a QR code for a video which better illustrates how to assemble it. I found that the air piping included with mine was incorrect which threw me off for a minute (the drain pipe and the air pipe needed to be switched).

As far as the noise goes, I can't really hear the pump over the sound of my noisy Vectra M2, but I can hear the whistling sound of the air intake when the cabinet doors are open.

This skimmer gets great reviews for performance, so time will tell.

 

[danieyella]

My cycle is finally complete and I got my Great White skimmer delivered today.

Initial thoughts - It is reasonably cheap skimmer for what you get, and you can tell. The Acrylic looks nice and of high quality, but the rest of the plastic parts feel a bit flimsy and cheap. The venturi is 3d printed, which the advertising suggests it's great for upgrades, but I don't really see how.

The instructions are super basic, but there is a QR code for a video which better illustrates how to assemble it. I found that the air piping included with mine was incorrect which threw me off for a minute (the drain pipe and the air pipe needed to be switched).

As far as the noise goes, I can't really hear the pump over the sound of my noisy Vectra M2, but I can hear the whistling sound of the air intake when the cabinet doors are open.

This skimmer gets great reviews for performance, so time will tell.

I have the smaller version of this and it has held up beautifully, I don't think you'll be disappointed. It is definitely worlds quieter than the skimmers I had previously.

 

[bnord]

Hey, hope all is progressing with your tank - have a 1800 and and Cade frag in a crate. Will join the chorus (might buy a Coris) on the quietness of the M2 which makes it al the more frustrating for you on the CS fro Eco
And I have zero noise in the overflow as well - someone said above minor adjustments. I bought silencers from WaterBox as a precaution, but have set them aside

 

[saltedbytes]

Hey, hope all is progressing with your tank - have a 1800 and and Cade frag in a crate. Will join the chorus (might buy a Coris) on the quietness of the M2 which makes it al the more frustrating for you on the CS fro Eco
And I have zero noise in the overflow as well - someone said above minor adjustments. I bought silencers from WaterBox as a precaution, but have set them aside

Still dealing with my noisy pump unfortunately. Waiting on a day they can collect it to avoid paying double postage and for the place I bought it from to supply a loaner while mine is out.

CADE has sent me new standpipes as it appears there may be an issue with the height of the ones I have. I haven't had a chance to drain the weir and replace them yet though.

The GW Skimmer is going great, was super easy to tune in and was pulling out skimmate from day 1. My only issue now is that it stinks. When I open the cabinet doors my partner complains she can smell it from the lounge room upstairs. Going to look at getting a carbon mat to sit on top of the skimmer.

No photos - but I've since added 2 Ocellaris clown's which are doing great, a Duncan and some random Zoa's (it was a cheapy from the LFS). Waiting a bit longer before I put any other Corals in.

 

[bnord]

Still dealing with my noisy pump unfortunately. Waiting on a day they can collect it to avoid paying double postage and for the place I bought it from to supply a loaner while mine is out.

CADE has sent me new standpipes as it appears there may be an issue with the height of the ones I have. I haven't had a chance to drain the weir and replace them yet though.

The GW Skimmer is going great, was super easy to tune in and was pulling out skimmate from day 1. My only issue now is that it stinks. When I open the cabinet doors my partner complains she can smell it from the lounge room upstairs. Going to look at getting a carbon mat to sit on top of the skimmer.

No photos - but I've since added 2 Ocellaris clown's which are doing great, a Duncan and some random Zoa's (it was a cheapy from the LFS). Waiting a bit longer before I put any other Corals in.

So time and patience will pay off

 

[ReefStash Verified Sponsor]

Coming together nicely!!! Tank and scape look great. Hang in there on all the little things.

 

[saltedbytes]

Sent my Vectra off for RMA and have borrowed an Aqua One pump from my LFS to keep things running. The Aqua One pump is only slightly noisier than the Vectra

Added a few things since the last post:
- A Blue Tang (purchased from a local here that offers a Quarantine service)
- Toxic Green Hammer
- Green Hammer
- Purple Hammer
- Purple Torch
- Some more snails
- 10 hermit crabs

I've got quite a bit of diatoms happening at the moment, but apart from that everything going great.

 

[saltedbytes]

I'm planning on going on a 3+ week holiday later this year during the Christmas period and everyone else I know that I'd trust to look after the tank will be away too. So I've started planning out how to keep it running for at least that long by itself.

First purchase, which is also convenient to have now anyway is the Auto Aqua Smart ATO RO. I didn't like the idea of only relying on a float valve to stop constant mains pressure inside the house, so the combination of solenoid (with high and low optical sensors) and a float valve that the Smart ATO RO has, puts my mind at ease.

The center brace in the Cade top off reservoir works perfectly for mounting the float valve and the magnets of the optical sensors are strong enough to work through the back pane of glass.

It was a bit pricey at $285 AUD, but it beats topping up the RO every 8-10days by hand and it will let me go away without having to worry.

 

[saltedbytes]

Got my Vectra M2 back from RMA with a note saying no fault found... Nothing but terrible support from Ecotech and their distributor here. I don't think I'll be buying another one of their products again after this experience.

 

[danieyella]

Got my Vectra M2 back from RMA with a note saying no fault found... Nothing but terrible support from Ecotech and their distributor here. I don't think I'll be buying another one of their products again after this experience.

I've never used their products, when I bought my sicce syncra I debated between them and vectra, after reading your struggles & others I'm glad I went the way I did.

The sicce is dead silent, or at least silent enough I can't hear it over the ats bubbling or normal house noises.

 

[bnord]

really sorry to hear about your customer experience with Eco. I gotta say that I have been a loyal and repeat customer due in large part to their responsiveness and quality of phone support
and since the last posting I have added another Vectra to a new tank and its rock solid and silent. So really sorry to hear.
love the idea of the float valve in the reservoir and will likely copy it with your consent (smile)

 

[saltedbytes]

I've hooked the Vectra back up again and unfortunately no change. I'm going to have to live with it for now.

The AutoAqua Smart ATO RO has been awesome. Water level drops below bottom sensor, the controller beeps to indicate it's starting a fill, solenoid switches on, water fills to top sensor and then the controller beeps again and switches the solenoid off.

You can also press the button on the controller to do a manual fill if you want to top up early.

My Hippo Tang has settled in well. It had a couple of darkish marks on it for the first week or so, but it seems like they were just marks from it scraping on the rocks as it was trying to find a hiding space between the rocks. They've healed up and it's out and about swimming and eating fine.

Corals and Clown Fish are all doing well too.

I am having an issue with my skimmer though. It was running great for weeks, pulling out putrid smelling liquid skimmate (as you'd expect). But in the past week it has been foaming up and pushing the lid off the top. The bubbles will not pop down in to liquid. I've been emptying the bubbles out daily and have tried retuning water & air level but can't get it right.

 

[Chefstylez]

Hey awesome build. I have the m2 on my 1500sp although I have no issue with noise I have an issue with micro bubbles at anything over 50%. How did you plumb with the barb kit? The flex hosing provided is too large for the return and I figured if I tightened the clamp enough it would be enough. I want to run my pump at 70% to increase turnover in the tank but the micro bubbles are unsightly.

 

[saltedbytes]

Hey awesome build. I have the m2 on my 1500sp although I have no issue with noise I have an issue with micro bubbles at anything over 50%. How did you plumb with the barb kit? The flex hosing provided is too large for the return and I figured if I tightened the clamp enough it would be enough. I want to run my pump at 70% to increase turnover in the tank but the micro bubbles are unsightly.

I cut a piece of clear vinyl tube to go from the barb to the pipework in the CADE and used the included clamps.

It's a pity that the included flex pipe is way too long. The do make a 30cm version of the pipe if you can find a place that stocks them locally.

Do you get micro bubbles coming out of the return outlet in the tank?

 

[Chefstylez]

I cut a piece of clear vinyl tube to go from the barb to the pipework in the CADE and used the included clamps.

It's a pity that the included flex pipe is way too long. The do make a 30cm version of the pipe if you can find a place that stocks them locally.

Do you get micro bubbles coming out of the return outlet in the tank?

It’s right under the the threaded section of the barb fitting on the M2 where I see the bubbles forming and yes there are bubbles in the DT but only w/ stronger than 50% return rate

 

[Dabcrusher]

Hey, hope all is progressing with your tank - have a 1800 and and Cade frag in a crate. Will join the chorus (might buy a Coris) on the quietness of the M2 which makes it al the more frustrating for you on the CS fro Eco
And I have zero noise in the overflow as well - someone said above minor adjustments. I bought silencers from WaterBox as a precaution, but have set them aside

What frag size did you get

 

[melfish]

Ha, are we the same person? I had the same issue with my GW skimmer and am now finding the same issue with my CADE main drain. Do you have an update/resolution? With any water movement from the power heads it’s impossible to tune without either sucking in air, or gurgling water down the emergency. Plus the water level sits higher than the gauge window on the side of the weir….. what’s the point?

R.e. Customer service, yeah, that seems to be the go in Australia with all USA brands. Have had major issues with several and associated distributor. We don’t get customer service in Australia ;Hilarious

 

[Vyper]

I'm planning on going on a 3+ week holiday later this year during the Christmas period and everyone else I know that I'd trust to look after the tank will be away too. So I've started planning out how to keep it running for at least that long by itself.

First purchase, which is also convenient to have now anyway is the Auto Aqua Smart ATO RO. I didn't like the idea of only relying on a float valve to stop constant mains pressure inside the house, so the combination of solenoid (with high and low optical sensors) and a float valve that the Smart ATO RO has, puts my mind at ease.

The center brace in the Cade top off reservoir works perfectly for mounting the float valve and the magnets of the optical sensors are strong enough to work through the back pane of glass.

It was a bit pricey at $285 AUD, but it beats topping up the RO every 8-10days by hand and it will let me go away without having to worry.

i Did this same exact thing on both of my cades. I am using similar float valve along with Neptune apex atk2 to do this same thing. I have been very happy with how it has performed. It is nice to never have to fill the ato by hand again.

 

[Swchase]

I basically set the L2 at 50%, adjusted the gate valve until it was "close," and then amended 1% at a time on the Vectra, waiting an hour in between adjustments, until it was quiet. Keep in mind wave makers will always cause the occasional drain noise as they disturb the surface water consistency.

Big key is the patience in between adjustments.

I have been trying to dial in my L2 in the cade 1500 for a couple days now. I think i have it good, LL2 is running at 50% and I have it running almost silent. Only thing is I have no Skimmer running and not all my media in yet haha, so i will have to do it over soon Im sure. Any tips would be welcome.

 

[Vyper]

Hey awesome build. I have the m2 on my 1500sp although I have no issue with noise I have an issue with micro bubbles at anything over 50%. How did you plumb with the barb kit? The flex hosing provided is too large for the return and I figured if I tightened the clamp enough it would be enough. I want to run my pump at 70% to increase turnover in the tank but the micro bubbles are unsightly.

I hard plumbed both of mine and don’t have any issues like that.