CadLights 39G Signature

[Marlin65]

I was told those ice probes don't work all that well better off buying a 1/10 hp chiller. Also I think those cadlights are all tempered so don't try to drill the glass. Not sure on this but better check first if you want to go that way down the road later.
Tank looks great, and I like the placement in your house.

[Oscar]

In the Cad39G water overflows are located in 2 locations. On the far right water flows into chamber 1 which in my case houses LR and a few bioballs. I added a sponge filter in this compartment to minimize the waterfall sound. It worked well from day 1 with the sponge siting directly on the top of the bioballs and wedged nicely into the space.

The 2nd overflow is in compartment 3 which is also the refugium. Due to the design there is about a 4-5" water drop and the waterfall sound was too much. I tried installing more sponges but the force of the waterfall dislodged them.

So I built this waterslide device from some plexiglass. It wedges in and hangs on the back glass. The light unit and skimmer were removed for installation.







But as you can see there is still a small waterfall at the rear of the water slide. So I added an extension to the hanger until the rear end of the waterslide actually sits below the refugium water surface.

But I was still getting microbubbles so I added a small piece of sponge to the waterslide under the skimmer exit and that seems to do the trick. Now I have an almost silent water flow and most of the microbubbles are dealt with.



The bar that you see in the above image is the refugium light. My next step is to adjust it until enough light enters the refugium to make it effective. The light may have to shine in from the back of the aquarium to ensure enough light gets in. That will require some testing.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Marlin65

I was told those ice probes don't work all that well better off buying a 1/10 hp chiller. Also I think those cadlights are all tempered so don't try to drill the glass. Not sure on this but better check first if you want to go that way down the road later.
Tank looks great, and I like the placement in your house.

You are right, I was not thinking of drilling the glass. There is only one plastic divider and it separates the display section of the tank from the sump section.

But maybe I can rig something up to hang the probe into the water. What would be really nice is if you could just drop the probe into the water just like you do with a heater.

In regards to the location of the tank, all of our other wall space is full of furniture, art and other stuff so this was about the only location left. It is actually located in the corner of our kitchen next to the island, so we get to study it during meals.

Of course the beer fridge is not far away either.

[Oscar]

Here is what the top-off test looks like this week. Once I am confident I have the system working properly then the bucket, or perhaps a 5G water jug will be placed in the corner behind the tank. It is a tight fit but it will work.



Then hopefully I will top-off the reservoir only once a week instead of 2X a day as I have been doing.

Refilling the reservoir will be a bit of a trick. I will try pumping water into the reservoir from another bucket. A bit of a pain but the whole idea is to hide as much of the hardware, wires, hoses etc.

Now for another beer and watch Spain vs Russia.

[Marlin65]

Looks great and looks like you put lots of thought into your tank.
Not sure what MH you are running but on my tank thats about the same size I had my temp jump up about 3-4 degree in about 4hrs of light. A ice probe is only rated for about 1-3 degree pull down if I remember right. I had put two holes in my sump to run two but you also need two controllers. So in the end it was cheaper to get a real chiller. It takes a Mag 5 to run though so you would need to run that water off the main tank somehow. Maybe a over the top drain and sump.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by Marlin65

Looks great and looks like you put lots of thought into your tank.
Not sure what MH you are running but on my tank thats about the same size I had my temp jump up about 3-4 degree in about 4hrs of light. A ice probe is only rated for about 1-3 degree pull down if I remember right. I had put two holes in my sump to run two but you also need two controllers. So in the end it was cheaper to get a real chiller. It takes a Mag 5 to run though so you would need to run that water off the main tank somehow. Maybe a over the top drain and sump.

Thinking is cheap. Fortunately the closest LFS is 1 1/2 hours away.

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Yeah I have a 150W hallide and I experience a similar temperature range. Thanks for the insight on the probe.

Until now I have been storing top-off water in the cabinet. Removing those bottles gives me a shelf I can dedicate to a chiller if necessary this summer. My carbon foot print is getting larger daily!

Now I really am going for that beer!

[mseepman]

Tank is looking really good Oscar. It's great to see this thread knowing that we spoke before you got into this hobby and already you've got a really nice tank, with a great setup.

Now that I was looking at the back of the tank...doesn't the Cadlights depend on that fan to do all the chilling? I think I've read that it drops the temp quite well even though you have the MH.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Now that I was looking at the back of the tank...doesn't the Cadlights depend on that fan to do all the chilling? I think I've read that it drops the temp quite well even though you have the MH.

Yes the stock fan is very effective but painfully noisy. It interru[pted TV viewing in the nest room. It was also either on or off. CadLights now has a newer version of the fan whcih is supposed to be much quieter.

So I kept the fan box and replaced the internal with an Ice Caps variable speed fan. Almost silent and with a temperatue probe tha varies the speed based on air temperature. I have not really got it tweaked, the location of the probe needs adjustment.

[mseepman]

Hey Oscar, how's the temps holding up now that the outside temp in the Okanagan is finally rising. I know my tank is hotter than I like and I've got AC in my house.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Hey Oscar, how's the temps holding up now that the outside temp in the Okanagan is finally rising. I know my tank is hotter than I like and I've got AC in my house.

I am very pleasantly suprised so far. Inside temperature right now is 73F. My tank for the past 2 weeks has been in the range of 78-82F with running the actinics for 12 hours a day and hallide for 10 hours.

I notice the forecast is for temps up to 35F for the next week and our rancher is south facing. I have an air conditioner that I can temporarily install in the window when necessary so this is going to be a major test.

I replaced the fan that came with the tank (it was way too noisy) with an Ice Caps variable speed fan. It has a temp probe that is installed between the water surface and the lighting unit. It is set to automatically come on the lowest setting at the same time that the hallide starts. The fan speed steps up as the air temperature increases. This fan is also super quiet which is a bonus.

I do have a 2nd fan that I received from CadLights. It is nearly silent although it is either on or off.

So next week I will shorten the time that the hallide is on and install the additional fan. In additon I have had a JBL top off setup so with all of this extra evaporation due to the fans, the salinity of the tank will stay relatively constant.

Next week will certainly be a big test.