Fancy FijiCube 22.4g AIO build (Beginner/work in progress)

[Schulks]

I am creating a new FijiCube 22.4 AIO build. I have under a year of experience keeping fish and this will be my first build over 14 gallons, with a protein skimmer, refugium, and hopefully room for more soon like UV or dosers.

Components:

- Fijicube 22.4g PRO AIO Aquarium(Includes filter sock holder, Media basket, and a 300 GPH controllable DC pump)
-Fiji Cube Large Hang on Back Refugium
--Refugium Light TBA
- Innovative marine Mighty Jet Mini (For Refugium)
-IceCap k1-50 Protein Skimmer
-Hygger Mini Wave Maker
-Auto Aqua Smart ATO
-Helio 100w PTC heater (Might need more juice here my house is typically around 67F)
-Kessil A160WE w/ A Series mounting arm
-Kessil Spectral Controller
-12" AI Blade Glow


The fiji cube AIO has a very spacious 4 inch deep rear chamber and the HoB refugium addon gives me about a 7 gallon filter chamber. First I have taken advantage of this with an Icecap k1-50 protein skimmer. Everyone says nano skimmers are terrible and this is like a full size skimmer but with a 4"x4.5" footprint. However, the first problem I am having is the skimmer has 2 wings around the pump and it forces it to be in one specific direction. In the current position it leaves about .2" between the pump and the walls of the sump(2nd picture). This skimmer hangs on the edge and doesn't balance on those wings so I might just remove them.

Refugium: I am really hoping the HoB addon works well but I've never had a refugium before. An added benefit of the HoB is it comes with a place for me to install probes and dosing lines in the future. The mightyjet mini is leftover from my previous build and will give me control of the flow going through. I'm not sure what light yet but I am thinking about trying my fluval 13.5s original light. Will it grow other algae's instead of the right algae's? I could also get a kessil h80. It could connect to my controller which would be nice but I'm not sure the small lens would be a good fit for the fiji cube HoB refugium. I could aim it at the back of the refugium to hit all of the box instead of just the top but then it would be going through the acrylic. I need to investigate more to find if that is a good idea.

Wavemaker: Hygger Mini wavemaker is amazing. I really like how wide the flow is for the smaller aquariums I have. The controller works well. It isn't intuitive to control but it works.

Lighting: I was drawn to the kessil shimmer early when I had a bad experience with a cheap LED bar. I am going to try and mix the AI Blade Glow for some color pop and use the kessil whites for fish color/shimmer and hopefully I can find some pretty cool mixes between the two. I think it is a great mix of lights but we will see. Mounting is going to be awkward; I am hoping AI's elevated tank mount is tall enough to mount it beside the kessil without shadows. If not I am going to have to jerry rig it to my Kessil mounting arm somehow.

Fish stocking: Frankly, I am reckless when it comes to buying fish so I always end up with another aquarium lol! This aquarium is to hopefully go back down to one to focus all my effort on. I had 3 but I shut down the quarantine/returned a fish to store and am hoping to combine my 2 remaining tanks into this one.

I have 2 clown fish, a Yellow watchman goby, and a rain ford goby all about 2". I'd like to get them living comfortably in this cube for a couple years and then upgrading
I have separated the clowns and the yellow watchman goby before but I am hoping it was because the size of the aquarium. I don't know if this will work or for how long.

I'm still trying to decide how to mechanically filter. I could buy 14 filter socks then learn to toss them in the washing machine once a month. I could also cut some egg crate, put it in the filter sock holder, and cut filter pads to fit. Not sure what will keep my protein skimmer/ATO running better or if the extra work is worth it for cleaner water.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any advice!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I am creating a new FijiCube 22.4 AIO build. I have under a year of experience keeping fish and this will be my first build over 14 gallons, with a protein skimmer, refugium, and hopefully room for more soon like UV or dosers.

Components:

- Fijicube 22.4g PRO AIO Aquarium(Includes filter sock holder, Media basket, and a 300 GPH controllable DC pump)
-Fiji Cube Large Hang on Back Refugium
--Refugium Light TBA
- Innovative marine Mighty Jet Mini (For Refugium)
-IceCap k1-50 Protein Skimmer
-Hygger Mini Wave Maker
-Auto Aqua Smart ATO
-Helio 100w PTC heater (Might need more juice here my house is typically around 67F)
-Kessil A160WE w/ A Series mounting arm
-Kessil Spectral Controller
-12" AI Blade Glow


The fiji cube AIO has a very spacious 4 inch deep rear chamber and the HoB refugium addon gives me about a 7 gallon filter chamber. First I have taken advantage of this with an Icecap k1-50 protein skimmer. Everyone says nano skimmers are terrible and this is like a full size skimmer but with a 4"x4.5" footprint. However, the first problem I am having is the skimmer has 2 wings around the pump and it forces it to be in one specific direction. In the current position it leaves about .2" between the pump and the walls of the sump(2nd picture). This skimmer hangs on the edge and doesn't balance on those wings so I might just remove them.

Refugium: I am really hoping the HoB addon works well but I've never had a refugium before. An added benefit of the HoB is it comes with a place for me to install probes and dosing lines in the future. The mightyjet mini is leftover from my previous build and will give me control of the flow going through. I'm not sure what light yet but I am thinking about trying my fluval 13.5s original light. Will it grow other algae's instead of the right algae's? I could also get a kessil h80. It could connect to my controller which would be nice but I'm not sure the small lens would be a good fit for the fiji cube HoB refugium. I could aim it at the back of the refugium to hit all of the box instead of just the top but then it would be going through the acrylic. I need to investigate more to find if that is a good idea.

Wavemaker: Hygger Mini wavemaker is amazing. I really like how wide the flow is for the smaller aquariums I have. The controller works well. It isn't intuitive to control but it works.

Lighting: I was drawn to the kessil shimmer early when I had a bad experience with a cheap LED bar. I am going to try and mix the AI Blade Glow for some color pop and use the kessil whites for fish color/shimmer and hopefully I can find some pretty cool mixes between the two. I think it is a great mix of lights but we will see. Mounting is going to be awkward; I am hoping AI's elevated tank mount is tall enough to mount it beside the kessil without shadows. If not I am going to have to jerry rig it to my Kessil mounting arm somehow.

Fish stocking: Frankly, I am reckless when it comes to buying fish so I always end up with another aquarium lol! This aquarium is to hopefully go back down to one to focus all my effort on. I had 3 but I shut down the quarantine/returned a fish to store and am hoping to combine my 2 remaining tanks into this one.

I have 2 clown fish, a Yellow watchman goby, and a rain ford goby all about 2". I'd like to get them living comfortably in this cube for a couple years and then upgrading
I have separated the clowns and the yellow watchman goby before but I am hoping it was because the size of the aquarium. I don't know if this will work or for how long.

I'm still trying to decide how to mechanically filter. I could buy 14 filter socks then learn to toss them in the washing machine once a month. I could also cut some egg crate, put it in the filter sock holder, and cut filter pads to fit. Not sure what will keep my protein skimmer/ATO running better or if the extra work is worth it for cleaner water.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any advice!

Best of luck with the tank!!

 

[Schulks]

Progress is going slow here. I filled it up tossed in a bit of sand and a rock. The refugium was somehow forgot to ship so I was just waiting around awhile.. I emailed them and it was quickly shipped.

My IM Mightyjet mini is much stronger than a pump rated higher in GPH. I first setup the aquarium with the FijiCube DC 300 GPH pump that came with it as the return and my Might Jet Mini 266GPH in the refugium box. The skimmer chamber was lowering before the return. When I swapped them I could see the mighty jet was moving much more water.

I DIY adjusted a fancy way to filter the aquarium. Another reefer encouraged me to buy a used ISeaLive Waterbox Nano filter roller from the marketplace here. I have had one of Isealives products before and it was quality this one seems just as good! I had to cut the sock holder and place these little squares I cut around it to DIY a fit. It turned out nearly perfect!

Now I am struggling to hang-up the lights... I wish I had the cheaper flex arm because I have nowhere to put my darn much more expensive a-arm.. All the hang-on space is hogged by the refugium! I am looking at hanging it from the ceiling.
No mounts available for the AI blade yet either.

The skimmer hang on real-estate is also being hogged. I ordered an adjustable stand from Octoaquatics along with a mushroom box and 2 mini frag racks. His stuff looks cool and he seems like a cool guy!

I still need a refugium light that fits the HoB.

 

[Schulks]

Does this seem like a good way to light this HoB refugium?
It is an a80 but it should work I think

Fancy Fiji Cube Refugium light placement

www.youtube.com

Edit: Changed my mind about this. I am just lighting it from above like normal.

 

[Schulks]

I love the marketplace here. I had an A80 but I think the red glow of fuge lights looks really cool so I found an actual h80 for 85 bucks that I got to pickup. It is like new! Very big win.

I also purchased a pentair 18w UV and practiced my plumbing. I thought the diameter of the tube was 2.5" per BRS website but the older model I got is about 5". I wanted the smaller one to avoid head pressure on the pump but I guess this one adds another 2.5% total water..
The ball valve going to the refugium will be how I try to regulate the UV's flow. Please critique my plumbing and make fun of me because I have no idea what I am doing xD

Also went out and got a couple new fish because the rainfords goby I got will not eat no matter what I do. Hopefully he starts soon.

new fish list is my 2 clowns, a yasha goby, and a neon goby. Hopefully I will manage another fish in the future.

I will hopefully have it filled up in about a week after all my fish start eating and are done QTing.

 

[Schulks]

Just received some Octo Aquatics goodies! The craftsmanship is superb! I would highly highly recommend them. Not only for the build quality but the customer service. He is quick to respond and ready to help with anything.

I purchased an adjustable protein skimmer stand, 2 mini frag racks, and an acclimation box. I made a lot of special requests in my order and he was ready to meet them all.

Thanks @cromag27 !

 

[Schulks]

Taking my time doing things right. I decided to just go ahead and run a copper treatment for the neon and yasha gobies since they were in the same qt as the Rainsford's I had to return. So here is a pic of my QT. 20 gallons for these tiny guys should keep them very comfy They are eating like champs.

I will add a picture of the yasha very soon. He is eating behind the pyramid piece the neon Goby is on here so I can't get a good angle.

 

[Schulks]

I just added a quarter dose of copper and will have them at 2.5 ppm by the end of the day. I want this clock ticking!


he didnt want to face me

 

[Schulks]

3rd day of copper treatment and they are eating great. The neon goby is extra fat because he eats everything I want the yasha to have.. lol

Better Pic of the yasha!

I am about to purchase sand for the tank. I can't decide if I want pure fiji pink or if I want to mix something with it so the pistol shrimp has something to keep him busy. Hmm...

 

[Schulks]

Fiji Pink Sand half off from Petco also on Amazon.

 

[Schulks]

yasha and neon goby have been in the tank for about 2 weeks now. Happy as can be!

I stopped using the fleece roller I felt like the water was not as clean as it should be. Not sure if it was my rigging or that the fleece roller doesn't work well. I don't like the fiji cubes odd filtration design either. Now I'm using the top of the media basket for a piece of fleece and my water looks much better. No more fanagling with something trying to improve filtration..

 

[afrokobe]

great looking build! love how you plumb the fuge and uv into a small aio system. Very creative

 

[Schulks]

Thank you! I only had 1 leak when I was done! haha I Fixed it with JB Water weld

Here is a few shots of the aquascape

I'm not sure I want to put my clowns in or if there is other fish I should start qt'ing. Clownfish would be a lot easier because they are here and healthy.
I should have a randalls shrimp next week for my yasha and I'm thinking about some sexy shrimp too.

Oh!! I also found a tiny brittle star from the liverock who is the new star of the tank lol! Wish I could snap a picture of him but he is hiding rn.

 

[Schulks]

Here are my clowns in my ywg tank. It might be a bit too stocked if I leave them in there. I don't want my pistol shrimp starvin. (fluval 13.5)

 

[afrokobe]

how big is the other tank with the clowns and YWG?

edit: I see its a fluval. I think they are fine in there for a while. I've seen some really heavy stocked fluvals lol

 

[Schulks]

It's a fluval 13.5g. It has about 10 gallons in it.

 

[afrokobe]

It's a fluval 13.5g. It has about 10 gallons in it.

just edited my post, but I think you should be fine. Unless the female starts getting big and more aggressive, but definitely would not add anymore

 

[BobbyJ]

What size RFG nozzle fit on your Fiji Cube? 1/4"? I have an old set of Vivid Aquarium ones that are 1/2" loc line, but they don't fit, and I want to change out the jet nozzles on my Fiji 32g. Thanks

 

[Schulks]

What size RFG nozzle fit on your Fiji Cube? 1/4"? I have an old set of Vivid Aquarium ones that are 1/2" loc line, but they don't fit, and I want to change out the jet nozzles on my Fiji 32g. Thanks

I can't quite remember what I did. I believe I purchased additional 1/2" locline segments and just popped them on the 1/2" that came with the Fijicube with a 1/2" RFG.

Right now I am considering upgrading the pump to the new AI Axis 40 Centrifugal Pump
so I can remove the powerhead and then purchasing the dual 1/4" nano return setup from VCA.

I am afraid these new Green Band Gobies will get sucked into a powerhead but right now the QT they are in has a powerhead and so far so good.

They are really pretty tho

 

[BobbyJ]

Thanks for the reply, I ordered a set of 1/2 flexible RFG nozzles and they fit much better. I also have the AI 40 for my build, small foot print with AI app works for me