When Cade rocked up at ReefStock in Sydney this year they brought with them a few aquariums worthy of note. First, they showed off white cabinet options for all S2 aquariums, followed by the cleverly designed Reef S2 Nano, and nifty Caddy add-on cabinet, but the tall one at the back that caught our eye was the Altumate S2 aquarium. The Altumate isn’t new per se, and it’s been around for a few years in Australia, marketed mostly as a tall, high-end freshwater aquarium that could also be salted up.
The originals had the Cade aluminum cabinet with adjustable feet, ultra neat, ultra clear glass and silicone, and a corner weir, but the amount of sump spaced dedicated to the Altumate Reef/River, its heavy biological media bias, and lack of ATO reservoir made it a dream tank for an Asian Arowana, Discus or cichlid owner but left the salty guys asking where they were going to place the skimmer and ATO. At ReefStock Australia 2022 however, Cade owner Adam Dalton revealed the upgrades.
Towering 67″ high
The all-new Cade Altumate S2 still has that tall, stand-out display aquarium look about it, towering 1700mm/67” high including the cabinet, and with a lofty but luxurious looking 800mm/31 ½” tall display tank. It still features the Asian-style corner weir and up-and-over pipework of the type of Arowana tanks we’ve seen in China, only it’s topped off with a beautiful, one-piece glass euro brace and an aluminum trim to match the cabinet while also offering some chip protection in transport.
The large sump has been upgraded to still offer wet/dry biological filtration and tons of room for media if required, but now also has a dedicated space for a skimmer, a manifold to run myriad reactors, UVs, and a chiller, as well as the trademark Cade powerboards for plugs and side opening glass doors. The main drain has a precision gate valve, there’s a non-return valve situated inside the weir box, and a made-to-measure, pre-assembled mesh cover is also supplied for the main tank.
Fresh or saltwater capability
Making a high-end tank that could run as a marine or freshwater set up straight out of the crate isn’t easy, as an Amazon biotope and a Fijian Coral reef are worlds apart in their water parameters, filtration needs, and the needs of the animals that live there. But go through the enormous spec sheet of the Cade Altumate S2 and it looks like they have just about everything covered.
Those who shudder at the thought of going back to wet/dry filtration on their modern reefs can simply do away with any biomedia altogether, while still using the numerous trays for filter wool, carbon, and phosphate remover, and it still has many of the great features of the Classic S2 tanks.
The ATO chamber couldn’t be built into the back of the display tank like other Cade models but it’s been built into the back of the spacious sump instead, with the largest Altumate 1800 model incorporating an impressive 92-liter/24-gallon reservoir inside the cabinet. That’s plenty of water volume to top up the 1079 liter/285-gallon Altumate S2 1800 system.
Three models are available in the new Cade Altumate S2 range at 1200, 1500, and 1800mm long. Side by side, these dwarf standard 47”, 59”, and 71” long aquariums, and at 176, 222, and 285-gallon system volumes, dwarf them in capacity too. Size and quality do come at a price and these new, rethought from the ground-up fresh or saltwater systems retail at $5325, $6825, and $7425 (USD) respectively. They would make one heck of an impactful display for Discus, a large fish-only saltwater tank, or a reef tank, however, for those who with the resources and a long reach.
