My 8g Cad Lights Work Tank.
Hello Everyone
This is my first time on here in a long long time. I had a 170g total system with a 9og display tank, but alas 2 years ago i had to shut down because of traveling for work.
Now i am going opposite side of the spectrum and going with a 8g total system.
The tank i chose is the 2013 Star Fire glass Euro Pico 8G LED reef system from CADLights.I have read a lot of problems online with customer service about ordering tanks with shipping to Canada, But i decided to try it any way. Aside from a small miscommunication at the beginning (which was partially my fault) They where great to deal with and answered my emails fairly quickly.
The tank itself showed up in good condition (there was some slight bubbling on the black vinyl wrap that covers the outside of the rear filtration compartment) they did an awesome job on packing it for shipping. It came in a box within a box with more than ample padding in both.
Now some specs on the tank
*Modern Slim Profile LED lighting system 6.2W. Quad panels design with light output of 150PAR.
* Tank dimensions are 12" x 12" x 13"
* Multi-Chambered Reef system with Powerful Organic Ceramic (Low nitrate production) filtration media.
* 100% Acrylic filtration for a true deep black background.
* 187 GPH pump for a turn over rate of almost 23X per hour.
*NEW Linear + Seamless design.
*High Starfire glass Clarity seamless single panel.
The Good
I love the look of this tank.
Its small does not take up a big footprint.
I like the all in one filter compartment
Lights are Nice and sleek looking
Just big enough to make some interesting aquascapes
Pump they send is more that enough
they send a sponge filter and Mesh bag full of the Ceramic rings(don't know if ill keep or turn into a mini Fuge)
Tank is so silent! only noise you can here is if you put your ear right on the glass lol
Starfire glass is nice and clear and the edges are bent perfectly
The Bad.
the rear filtration takes up a big chunk of tank space (see Pictures)
The light is nice, It lights up the tank no problem but i don't think it will be strong enough to grow SPS.
The overflow has two inlets one at the surface and one halfway down the tank. the only down side i can see is reduced surface skiming. Could fix that with a quick mod but does not seem nesccisary.
Out let for the pump is on the left hand side (not the problem) but its halfway down the wall. make it more difficult to place rock. (see Pictures)
So far very pleased with the tank. The pictures are of Day one set up after the water has mostly cleared.
Stocking Plans
So far i have
5Lb of live sand placed in bottom
7lb of dead rock. Going to get another half lb or so from a buddy to seed.
Future plans
I have not decided exactly what i want in there but this is the general idea.
1-Helfrichi Firefish, I know i might be pushing it on this fish. but he should be ok as he has lots of places to hide in the aquacape and there is a glass top
1-2 Wheeler's Shrimp Goby or some other paired goby.
1-shrimp Probably Bloodfire
1 Crab Probably porcelin
in a couple months to make sure i have a stable system Assorted softies like candy canes,mushrooms,Frog spawn Colorful rics.
I plan on freshwater top ups daily and a 50% water change weekly may switch to 25% twice weekly depending on how the parameters are working.
I will be posting often i hope as this is my first excursion into a nano of this size. Feed back will be most appreciated. My first fish will not be going in till 2-3 week depending on cycle
Pictures will be in second post
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