Fiji Cube Reef Mat (Had to Return It)

[Reef802]

Has anyone experienced the fleece roller acrylic tube unscrewing itself from the threaded motor shaft? When I got my unit, it was shipped without the acrylic tube, but Fiji shipped one right away. After 3 rolls, it jams up 2/3 of the way through because it literally backs itself out of the threaded motor shaft.

Not sure if it should be supplemented with something or mine is just not correct. Have the bottom acrylic rods really loose, so it's not binding there at all.

Thx!

 

[Derrick0580]

Mine did this the very first day, had to take it all back apart and screw it back on. Fiji said it couldn’t happen because when winding it should screw itself tighter. I think maybe the piece opposite the motor that holds the end of the roller that is “h” shaped and has 3 screws was too tight. Just my guess anyway. Works fine now.

 

[Reef802]

Mine did this the very first day, had to take it all back apart and screw it back on. Fiji said it couldn’t happen because when winding it should screw itself tighter. I think maybe the piece opposite the motor that holds the end of the roller that is “h” shaped and has 3 screws was too tight. Just my guess anyway. Works fine now.

Will have to look at it a bit closer. Sent email to Fiji asking, but sounds like I will get the answer you stated.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Derrick0580]

Will have to look at it a bit closer. Sent email to Fiji asking, but sounds like I will get the answer you stated.

Thanks for the info!

Hear back from fiji yet? Just curious if they tell you it’s the first they’ve heard of it…have a feeling they will!

 

[Reef802]

Hear back from fiji yet? Just curious if they tell you it’s the first they’ve heard of it…have a feeling they will!

Nothing.

Have it reinstalled now (since last night). Loosened the H screws so it floats some. Think you had a good catch with what may have caused it!

 

[nickng]

Nothing.

Have it reinstalled now (since last night). Loosened the H screws so it floats some. Think you had a good catch with what may have caused it!

Is it still as noisy? i plan to use the fiji box with the filter fleece

 

[Reef802]

Is it still as noisy? i plan to use the fiji box with the filter fleece

If referring to the water noise, I have not had any issues with it being very loud as my flow is not very high, and I don't have the silencers on it.

 

[Derrick0580]

Is it still as noisy? i plan to use the fiji box with the filter fleece

Me neither, description says silencers included but alas they were not. Possible Brs isn’t selling a lot and I got one out of the first batch shipped out. But imo it isn’t any louder than the socks were. I hear more water movement from the junction where my frag tank drain line is joined to my display drains before going into sump.

 

[Derrick0580]

My next question is if anyone has tried the 6” clarisea fleece on it? Same width, but 131 feet long vs 82 feet. The math shows the fiji brand is 3 cents cheaper per foot, but the extra money would be worth the extra time you get between roller changes. I just don’t know what I need to measure to know if it will fit or not. What I mean by fit is will it sit in the holder without the thickness hindering movement and will the motorized roll allow for enough room to fit the soiled fleece roll to spool back up?

 

[Derrick0580]

Ok so tonight i noticed the drive motor screw had backed itself out again. The fleece doesn’t have any sort of guide to keep it straight on the waste roller. Has anyone else had this problem? I basically unrolled about 60 feet of dirty fleece and held the advance button down to feed it back onto the scrap roller straight and added super glue to the drive motor screw hole. I can see this easily becoming an issue for everyone as the fresh roll slides easily on the holder. Not sure how to go about keeping it in one place and allowing it to slowly bunch up to one side or another on the waste side and jamming up the roller, in turn preventing the spool from turning freely and allowing the drive motor screw to back itself out. If you hold the drive motor in your hand with the screw away from you it turns in a counter clockwise direction which is making it back itself out once the fleece is jammed up against either side. Trying to figure out how to keep the new fleece held in one spot so it rolls straight onto the scrap side. I know I’m not the only one having this issue!

 

[Ric878]

So, I just got this fleece roller and have it installed. Through some of the lessons learned in this thread, I got it working reliably. I also got the silencer kit, but there are no instructions and I can't figure out how to install it. Does anyone have the silencer kit that can send me a picture of it installed?

 

[BCI Can Do Better]

So, I just got this fleece roller and have it installed. Through some of the lessons learned in this thread, I got it working reliably. I also got the silencer kit, but there are no instructions and I can't figure out how to install it. Does anyone have the silencer kit that can send me a picture of it installed?

I haven't put mine together yet but I'm pretty sure they go down the sides and you have to remove the set of rods on one side. then the blue piece can slide down from the top then when the rods are put back in they will line up with the curves on the blue pieces.

 

[ks2509]

I purchased one about a month ago from BRS solely because they advertised it came with the silencer plates. However they was a mistake on their side it did not. Long story short after the normal fijicube runaround when anyone has any problems, brs refunded me the cost of the silencer plates and I ordered them from fiji cube. Once installed it was a little loud but turned down the flow just a tad and it's now quiet. The first night the acrylic rod for the motor side did come unscrewed, which was annoying but an easy fix. I just screwed it in a little tighter. Also I found that if you take the upper support side off when installing and removing it from the sump it gives you the necessary room without having to try and disconnect the sump like I have seen some people say was needed.

Overall I am happy with it this is my 4th week with it running and I still have about half a roll left on it.

 

[nyfishkid87]

I purchased one about a month ago from BRS solely because they advertised it came with the silencer plates. However they was a mistake on their side it did not. Long story short after the normal fijicube runaround when anyone has any problems, brs refunded me the cost of the silencer plates and I ordered them from fiji cube. Once installed it was a little loud but turned down the flow just a tad and it's now quiet. The first night the acrylic rod for the motor side did come unscrewed, which was annoying but an easy fix. I just screwed it in a little tighter. Also I found that if you take the upper support side off when installing and removing it from the sump it gives you the necessary room without having to try and disconnect the sump like I have seen some people say was needed.

Overall I am happy with it this is my 4th week with it running and I still have about half a roll left on it.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[rob71488]

So yesterday, I got another response (Next week is the anticipated shipping of the silencer) see screenshot. As for thr vertical clearance, it depends...are you using their sump? If not the AF comes with legs for none Fiji Cube sumps, where it just drops in. I currently have a fijicube sump, so the clearance doesn't pertain to myself.

How’s that silencer working out?

 

[Brownvador]

So has anyone found a way to keep the roller from unscrewing itselt from the motor? If I tight it all the way then it binds on the motor holder causing the motor to jam because the motor holder appears to be too thick. Or maybe they drill the hole too deep in the roller causing the acrylic not to bottom down? I'm at a loss... One day and 1 of the bottom acrylic rods already snapped. Any help would be appreciated. As for the silencers, you have to take the upper section off, then remove the top 2 small acrylic rods, then you have to slide the silencers and rods back in together. Even doing it outside the sump is a challenge(but doable). A second set of hands should help.
UPDATE:
Right After posted this, I stuffed tiny rubber (3)washers into the acrylic rod and after that I was able to tighten it up without hitting the motor bracket and now appears to be working. Time will tell. If everything works as it should, I'll take back out and show you the installed silencers.

 

[Derrick0580]

I just squeezed a boat load of super glue down in the threads and put it back together. Not one problem since! Just wish the rolls lasted longer than 5-6 weeks, but I have been washing the dirty ones and feel like the ones that I wash are pulling more junk out as they appear to be much more brown than the fresh ones.

 

[Mtterry]

I just squeezed a boat load of super glue down in the threads and put it back together. Not one problem since! Just wish the rolls lasted longer than 5-6 weeks, but I have been washing the dirty ones and feel like the ones that I wash are pulling more junk out as they appear to be much more brown than the fresh ones.

Mine has never worked consistently. I end up rolling it manually by hand ever few days. Today i finally took it apart for the 4th time and i went to add a bit of loctite to it to hopefully keep it from unbinding. Turns out that the Acrylic shaft is literally cracked on the inside. The loctite was blue and i started to see it move paste the tap and saw it basically showed the shaft was exploded. If they told you that the shaft couldn't unwind because the motor spins the opposite direction is wrong.

 

[Mtterry]

Well, They still haven't responded back to my email inquiry and i'm headed to Boston for work in the A.M....

I worked on a design today that should hold me over until fiji cube decided to return my email. 2 piece 3d print, +1 m8 Nut. The design doesnt solve the thread backing out with the stepper motor issue, but hopefully it will do for a few days. I think you would need some type of set screw or something to solve that with the current motor orientation.

 

[Cpc83]

The permanent fix for the tube unscrewing is swapping the wires at the motor so it spins opposite direction. The motor originally will unscrew itself if the roller jams. I'm working trying right now to eliminate original controller and wire it to apex. Also for the 3d printer peeps I have a spare afr I will send to someone who can create two washers to keep the clean roll in the middle of rack and a sleeve with guides