JBJ Cubey Modification

[Triinsept]

Like most people who have a Biocube or similar, one quickly realizes the lights are pretty terrible. I’m certain I’m not the only one who has done this w a cubey but I did find it hard to find modifications for this tank specifically.
I wanted better lighting but I also wanted to keep the hood. I like the clean look of it and I like that I don’t have to do any top offs assuming I do a weekly water change.
I had an extra prime hd so I decided to do a modification w that. The only problem w the prime is that it doesn’t do super well if it sits on top of the water. You really need some height on it to get the proper spread and eliminate the flashlight look.
So I cut out a 2.5 inch circle on the top half of the hood and velcroed the prime to the top. This way I could also keep the plastic window screen on the inside of the hood. The light shines perfectly through the window screen and has enough spread to cover most of the tank adequately.
The better lighting makes all the difference!
I hope this helps anyone else debating a modification on their cubey.

 

[TheEngineer]

Nice work. I like your stand too

 

[Katrina71]

Ha ha. Doing a mod for a Christmas gift on a 3 gallon. Did you upgrade equipment? Pump and such...looking to do a media basket too.

 

[Katrina71]

That looks outstanding btw!

 

[Katrina71]

@cromag27 check it out

 

[Katrina71]

Just curious how you cut your hole in the hood?

 

[cromag27]

@cromag27 check it out

most likely a drill with a home saw.

 

[Katrina71]

most likely a drill with a home saw.

That's what I thought. Masking tape the area?

 

[cromag27]

even better, use painters tape.

 

[Katrina71]

even better, use painters tape.

Green or blue?

 

[cromag27]

either as long as it’s painters tape.

 

[Triinsept]

Nice work. I like your stand too

Thank you!

 

[Triinsept]

Just curious how you cut your hole in the hood?

Thank you! I didn’t upgrade anything else. It’s for my seahorses, they wouldn’t want much more for flow as it is .
I just used a wood/plastic 2.5 in hole cutting drill bit. It actually worked great. I thought it might crack the plastic bc it’s not very thick but it worked great. Then I used a sanding dremel bit to clean the edges. All and all once I decided what I was going to do it was super fast and super easy.

 

[Triinsept]

Just curious how you cut your hole in the hood?

I did not use any painters tape but it wouldn’t have hurt. I did start out quite small with the pilot hole and worked my way up gradually.

 

[andoba]

have you seen any improvement on your lighting with that A+ being so close to the water?

 

[Thjhiggins]

How does the added light go through the wide mounted LED light on the hood? did you remove the original light? Also wouldn't it metal the plastic on the cubey being mounted directly on top of the plastic top? I am so desperate to add more lighting and am. ot handy with tools. Any info you can provide would be helpful

 

[Thjhiggins]

Like most people who have a Biocube or similar, one quickly realizes the lights are pretty terrible. I’m certain I’m not the only one who has done this w a cubey but I did find it hard to find modifications for this tank specifically.
I wanted better lighting but I also wanted to keep the hood. I like the clean look of it and I like that I don’t have to do any top offs assuming I do a weekly water change.
I had an extra prime hd so I decided to do a modification w that. The only problem w the prime is that it doesn’t do super well if it sits on top of the water. You really need some height on it to get the proper spread and eliminate the flashlight look.
So I cut out a 2.5 inch circle on the top half of the hood and velcroed the prime to the top. This way I could also keep the plastic window screen on the inside of the hood. The light shines perfectly through the window screen and has enough spread to cover most of the tank adequately.
The better lighting makes all the difference!
I hope this helps anyone else debating a modification on their cubey.

did you remove the stock lighting?