# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  ADA tank vs CADE tank?

## Star-flog

Plan for 3ft planted tank project and has been thinking which tank should I get. From the online shop, gather the price information as:

1) ADA Cube Garden 90-P (90x45x45cm, 8mm) selling price S$760
2) CADE Optiwhite CB900 (90x45x45cm, 8mm) selling price S$388

The ADA brand is almost double of CADE. ADA made in Japan (some says it has been OEM to CADE now also made in China). CADE made in China.

Does anyone seem CADE Optiwhite tank to compare the quality and whether it worth the price different? 

I've 1 ADA Cube Garden Mini-L. The quality is superb.  :Well done:

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## Star-flog

Actually I visit Guangzhou aquairum market last week and there is Cade shop there. But not sure what kind of glass as shop owner said.

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## BT Lee

Dear Friend,

Is that shop in the 'Fong Chiun' fish market?

Cheers!

BT Lee

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## Star-flog

> Dear Friend,
> 
> Is that shop in the 'Fong Chiun' fish market?
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> BT Lee


Chinese name is 芳村花鸟鱼虫市场

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## BT Lee

Hmmm, easy to find place.

Have not been there for a long time.
Anything worth buying you see recently?

Cheers!

BT Lee

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## blue33

Maybe i can help this.  :Grin:  Cade is using optiwhite which mean cold roll glass(edges gives more white), where as ADA using more low iron glass which has less white tint especially you can see on the edges of the glass. *Take a good look at the pictures you took, tank edges is white color*. Both type of tank are good IMO. For superior quality wise  :Laughing: , ADA is more refine(Japanese culture), unless you are perfectionist if not for the price i would choose Cade. *One thing to note is for Cade, you may encounter the cut glass MAY protrude out at the corner slightly among the stocks which means there maybe a step at one of the sides.* If you have deep pocket, then ...  :Evil:

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## williamng

Well, difficult to compare. Personally I have the old ADA cube garden 45P. The older versions are Germany made. The newer series are made in china according to someone I know. 

Cade tank look nice too and I hear review are good. Reliabilty is not known but it look reasonable to me.

As for pricing, difficult to comment. I would say ADA is branded, well known for their quality and consistency. As for whether it is worth double the money. It is up to each individual aquarist

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## Star-flog

> Maybe i can help this.  Cade is using optiwhite which mean cold roll glass(edges gives more white), where as ADA using more low iron glass which has less white tint especially you can see on the edges of the glass. *Take a good look at the pictures you took, tank edges is white color*. Both type of tank are good IMO. For superior quality wise , ADA is more refine(Japanese culture), unless you are perfectionist if not for the price i would choose Cade. *One thing to note is for Cade, you may encounter the cut glass MAY protrude out at the corner slightly among the stocks which means there maybe a step at one of the sides.* If you have deep pocket, then ...


Thanks for your comments.
Learn something today on different grade of glasses for making tank. Isn't it the whiter the glass, the better? 
For Cade, if the cut glass protrude out at the corner. It should consider QC fail and can be opt for exchange.
Besides, ADA and CADE, any other brand with similar grade?




> Well, difficult to compare. Personally I have the old ADA cube garden 45P. The older versions are Germany made. The newer series are made in china according to someone I know. 
> 
> Cade tank look nice too and I hear review are good. Reliabilty is not known but it look reasonable to me.
> 
> As for pricing, difficult to comment. I would say ADA is branded, well known for their quality and consistency. As for whether it is worth double the money. It is up to each individual aquarist


Thanks for the input.
I heard too that ADA also made in China, and believing the quality should be comparable to CADE. Therefore, paying premium price only for the brand....
Not too sure.

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## williamng

Despite ADA and Cade are both made in China, I still think ADA brands are still better in terms of quality control etc..Not just the brand name but quality control as well. Even the 3 letter "ADA" makes you more feel better.

What Adrian say is true. Well, if you just me a choice of ADA or Cade without budget. I will pick ADA anyday. Japan brands like Sony and Panasonic performance better than china brands despite all are made in China, have the same features and of course look almost the same. It is the quality control that matters. 

As for the step between glasses, I think you cannot exchange them. I guess the difference is like 1/2 to 1mm so it is not extremly obvious? Cannot use Adrian as a gauge lah..His standards are too high. However, I guess if you tell him ADA for the price of CADE, he will take it anytime..LOL

For me, if I buy a bigger tank, probably I choose Cade due to the price savings.  :Jump for joy:

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## blue33

LOL...  :Grin:  For the step i do ask for replacement when they sent over. Ok, lets get back to the topic, for Cade tank the whiter is only on edges, for the flat area the transparency is almost the same for both brand, Cade gives a more cooling effect on the edges due to whiter effect, ADA gives more serious/stone effect. For ADA the edges are more transparent. Which is which for you, you got to decide whether to put so much $ on it or not.  :Kiss:  

IMHO. If you are really *SERIOUS* in aquascape, then.......... but if for normal scaping, i would choose cheaper and good quality like Cade. Personally i would rather spend more $ on hardscaping material than spend so much on the tank alone, buying hardscape material to try already cost you alot. I've seen lots of people spent so much on equipment but not on hardscape as they think they are cheap or not important to show, ended up the tank grow weeds only. Now i'm almost semi retired liao.... lol  :Opps:  :Opps:  :Opps:

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## deacon

Can consider getting the CADE Stainless Steel filter too?? 

 :Grin:

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## Star-flog

> LOL...  For the step i do ask for replacement when they sent over. Ok, lets get back to the topic, for Cade tank the whiter is only on edges, for the flat area the transparency is almost the same for both brand, Cade gives a more cooling effect on the edges due to whiter effect, ADA gives more serious/stone effect. For ADA the edges are more transparent. Which is which for you, you got to decide whether to put so much $ on it or not.  
> 
> IMHO. If you are really *SERIOUS* in aquascape, then.......... but if for normal scaping, i would choose cheaper and good quality like Cade. Personally i would rather spend more $ on hardscaping material than spend so much on the tank alone, buying hardscape material to try already cost you alot. I've seen lots of people spent so much on equipment but not on hardscape as they think they are cheap or not important to show, ended up the tank grow weeds only. Now i'm almost semi retired liao.... lol


Hi Adrian, I share your opinion. Both ADA & CADE are already on the higher class. Select either one will not go wrong anyway.

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## Star-flog

> Can consider getting the CADE Stainless Steel filter too??


That's a beautiful piece of equipment but I will rather stick to my proven and tested Eheim filter.

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## Star-flog

One more cade tank photo to share.

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## BT Lee

Wao, nice stainless steel canister filter.

What is the price like?

Cheers!

BT Lee

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## blue33

You can visit 

*K.S. AQUATICS & TRADING CO 
Blk 101 Yishun Ave 5, #01-47, Singapore 760101

*recently they just setup a 4 footer Cade tank(planted tank), but the thing they sell is really EXXXX,  :Surprised:  the funny thing is the pipe connection below is wrong. lol  :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing: ...

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## deacon

> Wao, nice stainless steel canister filter.
> 
> What is the price like?
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> BT Lee


I dunno, chanced upon it at the CADE website..

Where to get to see and buy CADE stuff in Singapore??

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## blue33

Local Cade Distributor(most LFS order from here  :Grin: ):

*Keong Seong Fish Shop (KS)
** Blk 22 Havelock Road,* *#01-699,* *Singapore 160022*

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## Star-flog

> I dunno, chanced upon it at the CADE website..
> 
> Where to get to see and buy CADE stuff in Singapore??


Thanks for the link. 
No doubt the CADE tank and other of their product also very nice.  :Smile:

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## ghim

If price is the issue, Cade will be a good enough choice. 

I have a 30cm Cade cube. I really like it compared to my 2ft tank  :Grin: . Taking pictures of my 2ft tank is a chore, taking pictures of my 30cm cube is a breeze.

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## o2bubble

I had the same problem as well to decide which one to get and finally not ADA nor CADE but custom made by N30 - Wee Yang. The quality is good and looks the same as both. Asides for the price, 4ft ADA only has 120x45x45 which is too small and 120x45x60 which is a bit too tall and depth is small. So, got the 120x50x50cm from Wee Yang which is quite proportional in my opinion and of course much cheaper than ADA. CADE tanks maybe step-problem as mentioned earlier by a bro.

Agree with bro blue that get all branded equipment is worthless if you don't have the nice aquascape in the end to enjoy.

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## deacon

Yeah, I love my eheims, haha. But if I can get the CADE stainless steel filter at a fraction of ADA pricing, I would!  :Grin: 

WRT to N30, do they use similar opti-glass types? Will be shifting to my new place next year and planning to have a great looking 4 ft to grace the home.

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## BFG

Does this filter uses media tray ?

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## deacon

> Does this filter uses media tray ?


Sorry boss, no idea. CADE product info pretty hard to come by....  :Sad: 

I like they lights too.. but hardly can find info..

Maybe some other bros here know and will chip in..

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## ghim

The hose size for CADE's filter is not the same as the ones we used in Singapore. That's one of the reason why the filter is not available here.

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## hii

> Actually I visit Guangzhou aquairum market last week and there is Cade shop there. But not sure what kind of glass as shop owner said.


Didn't know Guangzhou got this street while on my business trip there during May 2009... :Exasperated:

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## Star-flog

> I had the same problem as well to decide which one to get and finally not ADA nor CADE but custom made by N30 - Wee Yang. The quality is good and looks the same as both. Asides for the price, 4ft ADA only has 120x45x45 which is too small and 120x45x60 which is a bit too tall and depth is small. So, got the 120x50x50cm from Wee Yang which is quite proportional in my opinion and of course much cheaper than ADA. CADE tanks maybe step-problem as mentioned earlier by a bro.
> 
> Agree with bro blue that get all branded equipment is worthless if you don't have the nice aquascape in the end to enjoy.


Thanks for your feedback.
I asked local tank maker for a quote with 5 sides crystal glass of the same size (90x45x45cm, 10mm). The quoted price is S$600. It's not cheap either so must well get CADE tank.

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## Star-flog

> Sorry boss, no idea. CADE product info pretty hard to come by.... 
> 
> I like they lights too.. but hardly can find info..
> 
> Maybe some other bros here know and will chip in..


I seen it, very flat and classic looking light. Very nice.

Also, when I was in Beijing see the copy version of ADA MH lighting. Very nice the brand is - First Aquarium System (as photo). Selling price Rmb1200 (~ S$255 without bulb)

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## blue33

> Thanks for your feedback.
> I asked local tank maker for a quote with 5 sides crystal glass of the same size (90x45x45cm, 10mm). The quoted price is S$600. It's not cheap either so must well get CADE tank.


You dont need 5 sides to be crystal glass especially the base. The difference is alot.  :Grin:  Some people only use 3 sides crystal glass, the other 2 sides most likely you wont have chance to see(real and base).  :Laughing:

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## EvolutionZ

wow.. the cade filter looks very similar to the ADA one..

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## BT Lee

Hahaha, since already got 3 sides crystal glass, might as well go all the way make the rear side also crystal glass.
Who knows one day, when the front glass got too many scratches, can turn the tank around.

Cheers!

BT Lee

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## blue33

I guess you want to pour away the water also just to see the base any scratches or keep on rescape and rescape.  :Blah:   :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing: ...




> Hahaha, since already got 3 sides crystal glass, might as well go all the way make the rear side also crystal glass.
> Who knows one day, when the front glass got too many scratches, can turn the tank around.
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> BT Lee

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## Shadow

> Thanks for your feedback.
> I asked local tank maker for a quote with 5 sides crystal glass of the same size (90x45x45cm, 10mm). The quoted price is S$600. It's not cheap either so must well get CADE tank.


with $600, I will go for ADA  :Razz:

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## deacon

> I seen it, very flat and classic looking light. Very nice.
> 
> Also, when I was in Beijing see the copy version of ADA MH lighting. Very nice the brand is - First Aquarium System (as photo). Selling price Rmb1200 (~ S$255 without bulb)


Cool, thanks. That's why I always say, who ever said China don't give a damn about copyright? They sure copy it right!  :Laughing:

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## Star-flog

> with $600, I will go for ADA


So if we put all 3 tanks together for comparsion:-

1) ADA Cube Garden 90-P (90x45x45cm, 8mm) selling price S$760
2) CADE Optiwhite CB900 (90x45x45cm, 8mm) selling price S$388
3) Local Made (90x45x45cm, 10mm) quote price S$600

ADA vs CADE vs LOCAL:-
- price wise, CADE wins
- quality wise, ADA wins

 :Smile:

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## Star-flog

> Cool, thanks. That's why I always say, who ever said China don't give a damn about copyright? They sure copy it right!


 :Laughing:  Agree.
For the price with the same look, you can buy at least 6 to 7 set of ADA original. So China is heading into the 'right direction' using price as strategy to enter the market. 
*Copy It Right*, is a correct phase.  :Opps:

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## blue33

LOL... did i mention my friend got a Cade tank and he said the glass easily chip off.  :Surprised:  Though never happen to me.  :Grin:  Quality sometime still a issue in china product.  :Laughing:

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## Wahlin

> So if we put all 3 tanks together for comparsion:-
> 
> 1) ADA Cube Garden 90-P (90x45x45cm, 8mm) selling price S$760
> 2) CADE Optiwhite CB900 (90x45x45cm, 8mm) selling price S$388
> 3) Local Made (90x45x45cm, 10mm) quote price S$600
> 
> ADA vs CADE vs LOCAL:-
> - price wise, CADE wins
> - quality wise, ADA wins


I will buy CADE and spent the money saved on other equipments  :Grin: .

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## BFG

> LOL... did i mention my friend got a Cade tank and he said the glass easily chip off.  Though never happen to me.  Quality sometime still a issue in china product.


Too low iron in glass does cause chipping and even pitting on the glass surface. This is where quality comes into the topic.

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## Star-flog

I've 1 unit ADA mini-L tank using new clearest glass but it's also scratch easily. This may be the low iron and causing the glass to be too 'soft'.  :Cool:

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