JBJ cubey AIO pico system with a cute name - but that is where the cute ends >:/

[TORX]

JBJ-USA Aquariums CUBEY

A special thanks goes out to JBJ-USA Aquariums. As an aquarium manufacture and hobbyist they recognize the importance of expanding the hobby in a responsible and sustainable fashion. Why not start teaching would be aquarists conscientious husbandry practices A.S.A.P.?! Aquariums inspire both creativity and an interest in science in children and adults alike. They have provided this aquarium through a contest my daughter won through their Facebook page contest, also they recently provided a 12g Nano-Cube DX to Orr elementary School in DC and continue to assist in educating youth in this great unknown underwater world.

A mighty 3 gallons, the JBJ Cubey is a great tank for a kids room or just about anywhere there is a small area left in your house needing a tank. This all-in-one packaging has a three-stage filtration. You get 54 low temperature LEDs configured with 24 cool white (10,000K) and 24 full spectrum blue LEDs (20,000) and 6 red to give you a crisp white overall look pushing out a bit more than 15 W of output. It is unfortunate that the tank comes only with three light switches and only one power cord. This severely limits the lighting possibilities and pretty much prohibits any sunrise/sunset automatic simulation.

It also uses a three-chamber water filtration much like it larger relative the NanoCube. Chamber one has 2 openings, one at the top and bottom of the tank and brings in the water. It can be used for a heater and additional media before heading to the middle chamber where the filter media caddy allows you to use mechanical, chemical and biological filtration controls before heading over to the return chamber. There is one major downfall being there is no surface skimming on this tank. The return is also located without a directional nozzle and does not agitate the surface tension. There does seem to be just the right amount of flow through the tank.

All in all, this is a great little Pico tank. Still lots more pictures and info to come and more rock to be added. Yes that is a tiny zebra damsel in there at the moment. I understand the Damsel Police will be on me, however its tiny size will be okay for a short while and then will move to my 120. Just need to go shopping for a proper Pico tank fish.

Blue

Red

White

Red/Blue

All

 

[yveterinarian]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Your daughter looks like she is absolutely thrilled with her gift.  Do you plan on doing daily water changes since it is so small?

 

[TORX]

Re: Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Your daughter looks like she is absolutely thrilled with her gift.  Do you plan on doing daily water changes since it is so small?

She is elated. She named her fish George. Not doing daily, most likely twice a week and see how that goes. There is pulsing xenia and zoas in there currently. Going to add more rock and some mushrooms in the next few days.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

[hazey]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Nice little tank - good for her!!

 

[TORX]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Added some GSP from my DT that she wanted as well a frag of my branching hammer. Hammer is pretty ticked off at the move, but is opening up.

Daily 1cup water changes started now. I was doing 2-3 days, but corals were not liking that so much. More rock next and daughter wants the GSP to spread across the back wall.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

[chuckm]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Nothing warms the heart like a daughter who is willing to help with the "fishy busisness"            

 

[TORX]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

A few little updated. Hammer has gone from 2 weak heads to starting to split to 5, already has the mouths for the 5. Through in some frags from London Fragfest the other day. Waiting for a little more growth before placing them. She wants a GSP back wall and she named the damsel Prince George

 

[TORX]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

A few little updated. Hammer has gone from 2 weak heads to starting to split to 5, already has the mouths for the 5. Through in some frags from London Fragfest the other day. Waiting for a little more growth before placing them. She wants a GSP back wall and she named the damsel Prince George

 

[sunnykita]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

be ready gang ! the bar will be raised ! the next generation of fragger is up and coming ! and she's doing a great job with her tank, I had the opportunity to see this tank today, and it's something to be very proud of ! I am excited thinking of where she'll be a year from now with her cube and dad's assistance! Way to go Mark ! it's nice to see another generation coming along and doing such a great job !
Had a great visit today, thanks so much. I think it's great that with the friendly forum and people we have here we get to meet so many people and include their families in the hobby too !

 

[sunnykita]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

be ready gang ! the bar will be raised ! the next generation of fragger is up and coming ! and she's doing a great job with her tank, I had the opportunity to see this tank today, and it's something to be very proud of ! I am excited thinking of where she'll be a year from now with her cube and dad's assistance! Way to go Mark ! it's nice to see another generation coming along and doing such a great job !
Had a great visit today, thanks so much. I think it's great that with the friendly forum and people we have here we get to meet so many people and include their families in the hobby too !

 

[yveterinarian]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Great job guys!  Your daughter must be proud!

 

[yveterinarian]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Great job guys!  Your daughter must be proud!

 

[curiousphil]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Would be neat to see an update of where this tank is at

Just found this link when reading through the nano cube thread which recently sold.

 

[TORX]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Still growing like crazy. I have been REALLY slacking in the maintenance on it though. I actually moved a beat up hammer to her tank just so that it can heal. So far so good, the hammer didnt have any extension when I moved it. It is doing pretty good since the move.

I am however having an issue with the lighting. The other day I opened the lid and the lights flickered. From there I noticed water dripping out of, what I can only assume as, the LED driver area. There was also condensation in the LED fixture. I have emailed the company about the issue, they replied by sending an RMA, but I am not hopeful at this point as we won it through JBJ and did not buy it from a retailer. I am hoping to hear back by this weekend. If not, i am going to open it up and see what I can repair. 

 

[TORX]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

I must say that I am rather disappointed in their online support. I emailed originally Sunday the 8th. I heard back late Monday the 9th...good turn around there. I responded Tuesday with the information and attachments they requested. I sent an email on Friday wondering when I will hear back from them as still nothing yet. I will be calling Monday morning.

So the project today was taking it apart, clean it and hopefully restore what I can as I have no idea when/if I will receive a replacement (i may just look at a good deal on a LED bulb and remove the hood all together). The cause of the issue I was having (flickering lights) I can only assume was the water in the fixture itself sitting on the back of the unprotected LED boards. When I open the hood, the drops moved/dripped onto the boards creating electrical bridges in the board causing the lights to flicker.

Needless to say I am more then appalled now at the design and build of this USA aquarium product. Even if they had replied in a sufficient time frame, the facts still stand. I had commented on a few small issues originally in this thread, but now that it has been running for 6 months, more issues arose. Their company mission statement reads "We are committed to manufacturing the absolute highest quality equipment with visionary innovation. Our philosophy has always been "to create products that provide extra value" for all hobbyists." This product has fallen short of that by miles.

The LED fixture sits all of a 1/4" above the water level when the lid is closed and this is a completely enclosed aquarium. Therefor it is high humidity in that small area. The light fixture enclosure itself is 2 parts of acrylic that are affixed together with only a few screws that also mount the fixture to the lid itself. There is no rubber seal of any kind. The 2 pieces are also not a tight fit leaving obvious gaps now that I am looking closely at it. There is also a hole in the back of the LED fixture where the wires are fed through that is not sealed. You can see the water in the enclosure itself before I opened it for cleaning and drying. The white 'electrical boxes' on it were the exact same story. They were not sealed and water was in  both of the white enclosures. The screws that were used to construct the fixture had rusted and corroded. I can only re-use 4 of them. It seems that none of the wiring itself has not corroded at this point, but you can imagine how close that was to happening. The LED boards have no corrosion as well, but I can see the water rings from drops. I will be cleaning the boards and I will be reassembling the fixture with aquarium safe silicone to seal everything.

I hope that they have corrected the issue with the current version of the JBJ Cubey tank.

I have attached some photos, feel free to browse the photobucket gallery for more:

http://s1203.photobucket.com/user/Torx1979/slideshow/JBJ%20Cubey%20issues

 

[TORX]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

I called them today. They shipped a replacement white Cubey and it should be here Thursday this week per UPS. They said they sent the information to me and that UPS should have sent me emails as well, however I had not received emails from anyone. Yes, my email still works Great to hear that they shipped a replacement, here is hoping that they fixed the issues at hand. I will update this weekend.

 

[TORX]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

Wow, no idea what to say..so I will just say it. Replacement is in. All design issues are still there. There are visible gaps in the LED fixture in several spots and to top it off...when you open the lid...there are 2 screws already rusted, but hard to get a good pic with my camera.  There is also visible gaps of silicone missing as well as the bead at the front bottom of the tank is on the front glass, not touching/sealing to the bottom glass. :dead:

[img=1400x1050]http://i42.tinypic.com/f35jtk.jpg[/img]

 

[pulpfiction1]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

corrosion sucks

 

[Poseidon]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

get out the silicone gun and go crazy

 

[pulpfiction1]

Re: JBJ cubey is an all-in-one pico system with a cute name

take another pic of your daughter unhappy with the rusted out stuff then send both pics and ask why does she have to suffer?



lol