JBJ 12 gallon nano cube review and pictures

[bdelaney]

eight2178: I've heard of this tank with the fans already built into it. Do you know who makes it?

I added a small fan to mine. The temperature used to hover between 82 and 84. The leather coral didn't seem to like that too much. I built a small temperature contoller circuit to regulate the fan. It basically turns the fan on/off with the lights when they heat up. Now the temp hovers around 79-80 degrees. The evaporation rate seems to have doubled with the fan though.

I also added a small yellow clown goby that has happily taken up residence in my leather coral. I'm still trying to get him to eat, but I think he's adjusting nicely.

 

[Anonymous]

Very cute fish. A friend of mine has one of those in an 80 gallon tank with a pair of orchid dottybacks. Those gobies are pretty feisty for their size!

Can you add your fish to the "Suitable nano reef fish" thread?

 

[brownisbetter]

I've been serious concidering the JBJ to replace my upgrade my overloaded 2.5.

Eight2178, who makes the other tank and where did you get it?

 

[Chronicles]

For the guy wondering about the eclipse 1, I have one on my 15gal tall w/ the stock 15watt NO using a 50/50 and 4 13watt 50/50 PC bulbs. Everything is stock, no cutting etc. It all fits in the stock light cover but just yesterday I had a 19 3/8" x 5" piece of plexiglass cut for the front part so I could take the light cover off. This helps get some of the heat out. My tank is about 80-81F constantly so it's not really a problem. Let me know if you need anymore info, the 13watt PCs are the $9.99 worklights from walmart, I did a writeup on how to do it which includes still having the handle for the ballast which makes a nice case for it.

 

[brandon4291]

Brian, I thought this would be a great focus thread because apparently these JBJ's have made quite a dent in the nano market. My lFS just ordered about 50 of them, and here we all are on the net talking about them. Whatever custom retrofits you guys work out will be great reference info for a newcomer starting this JBJ setup. PS, I saw them they are great with the curved glass and all. Very deep from front to back, one could do a lot with the aquascaping in this shape!

Brandon M.

 

[bdelaney]

Cool....I'm the focus thread! Thanks Brandon.

The tank is doing well. I'll try and post an update when I get the chance.

 

[Ben271]

my jbj

 

[bdelaney]

Nice looking tank, Ben.

I just wanted to post a quick update. I'm attaching a few more pictures to this posting. Sorry about the low quality, but it's just one of those camera-phones. (Gotta get a real digital camera one of these days.)

Here's a summary of the tank:

JBJ 12 gallon nano cube

Modifications:
Acrylic divider to separate wet/dry filtration from other filter chambers
1 60mm DC cooling fan w/temperature controlled on/off circuit

Live rock/sand:
8 lbs live rock
3 lbs base rock
5 lbs fine aragonite sand plus live sand from an established tank

Inhabitants:
4 astrea snails
Various mushroom covered rocks
2 small green star polyp covered rocks
1 small cabbage leather
1 large (for this tank) leather coral
1 yellow clown goby

Additives:
1/2 capful of Kent 2 part calcium and alkalinity supplement once every other day.

Maintenance:
2 gallon water change every 2 weeks w/RO water
top off every 3-5 days w/RO water

That's about it for now.

 

[Ben271]

That leather looks awesome in there! What's in store for the future?
Ben

 

[bdelaney]

That leather looks awesome in there! What's in store for the future?
Ben

Thanks. It was a nice leather coral and in really good health at the LFS. I'm really pleased with how it has adapted to this tank. I'm planning on adding a cleaner shrimp and maybe a firefish in the future.

As for corals, I'm not planning on adding much else save for the tiny frags I might trade for at the next reef club meeting. If I can find some undemanding LPS, than I might try that.

 

[eight2178]

sorry guys, computer crashed...just getting back online now....the brand that makes my tank is called 'boyu', got it at my lfs, in pasadena, california. ive searched the internet looking for the company that makes my tank, havent found anything....

 

[Sabelotodos]

Hey everyone...this is my breakthrough in experience with saltwater aquariums so I figured the nanocube would be a good place to start. I just got it yesterday and so far have 10lbs of live sand and 3 live rocks about 3lbs each. So far I haven't made any modifications to the tank, except for the removal of the nanocube sticker on the front. But it's full of water and equilibrating. I'll take temps tomorrow to see if it runs high like some of the others seem. In the mean time, tips on whether or not modifications are really necessary would be appreciated. The store set up where I got it was as-is and running ok. Also, feedback on recommended fish, plants, crustaceans, etc for when the time comes would be desired to facilitate a smooth running system.

 

[Anonymous]

I think this setup, stocking, and maintenance plan is awesome. I wouldn't change a thing from how bdelaney here has it. Nice work!

Assuming you have a nice A/C in your house, the fan is probably unneccessary. The modification to the wet/dry in the back is a really good idea. It will serve to break up the layer of film that collects at the water surface; this film inhibits light penetration and reduces the amount of oxygen dissolving into the water.

 

[bdelaney]

Sabelotodos: The temperature may or may not be a problem for you, but it's really easy to add a small fan if needed. You might not notice any problems until the summer, depending on where you live.

You really don't need to modify anything. This tank seems to run fine "out of the box" for many people. The lighting is adequate for many low/medium light soft corals, so choose your livestock accordingly. The wet/dry modification helps with the surface film and gas exchange, but I still find it necessary to siphon off the top film during water changes.

A few small astrea snails help a lot with algae control. I like to stay away from hermits in nanos because they tend to climb over small coral pieces and knock them over. The snails keep to the glass most of the time.

A small shrimp such as a peppermint shrimp or a larger cleaner shrimp would make a good addition. Be careful mixing shrimp as many don't get along together.

 

[Sabelotodos]

Update on the new tank....well so far I've noticed that temps throught the day have ranged from 78-80....perhaps a little on the high end of the band I suppose...I currently have the tank set up near a window that does not receive direct sunlight. I will try opening the window to see if this lowers the temp a bit. More on this tomorrow.

 

[brandon4291]

Brian this was a remarkably well-written thread. I thought your description of the nano cube was accurate, and went right along with what I observed at my LFS. I was able to look inside one and raise the lid, it is all very clean and a solid build. He has several brains in it, and as LPS go Im sure they will live in there as long as they would in a 100 gallon system. BTW, this thread has been the fastest to build views since we started the focus thread over 1K


Brandon M.

 

[Sabelotodos]

Ok...the scoop so far is that opening my window just a few inches has brought the temperature to 75-78. This seems good so far. Outside temp is probably in the high 70's or low 80's but with the tank inside with a little airflow nearby seems to have remedied the problem. Also, I'll be ready to put fish in about a week. If I want to add more live rock, can it be added the same time as the fish or should I wait a while after adding more rock to put fish in. One more thing....are fire shrimp ok to use in a nano reef?

 

[Anonymous]

duplicate post

 

[Anonymous]

Just feedback from another current nanocube owner - Junk IMO - very poorly designed (water is totally stagnant without lots of modding and fiddling with water levels in sump area), my pump died within 2 weeks, light ballast started flickering and died within 1 week - replaced but still. I had let it cycle and moved my 7 minibow contents into it and am still really unhappy with it - other than it looking neat from the outside it's really shoddy - I noticed the seam/divider at back corner of glass was poorly siliconed and afraid it may leak in time.

I'm going back to a basic 20 long for my nano and ripping the lights out of this and throwing it in the closet or maybe use as a quarantine tank.

The phrase 'POS' comes to mind when I think of this - FYI I have owned a lot of tanks in the past 20 years have set up a few nanos more recently, this is by far the cheesiest tank I've seen in a long time. I don't think I'll be buying JBJ products again in the future.

/rant off

 

[Sabelotodos]

Hey, good to be back...well as temps have risen in my tank I've placed a minature tower fan I bought at brookstone and cleverly placed it behind my nanocube. It is concealed nicely and temps are around 76 consistently. I have added an anenome and a small clownfish which has quickly tanke residence in it. I also have now a turbo snail, cleaner shrimp and small hermit crab. I am using approx 2ml/day of the B-Ionic calcium buffer system. How much more stock can these tanks handle? Is there anything else particularly useful I can add to it?