Fiji Cube 76EXT Shallow

[fushi]

Wow...this is awesome and troubling at the same time. I was contemplating between water box and fiji...I like the Fiji because of the price and their sump systems..I am looking at the 108g INT with sump...hoping and praying that Waterbox goes down in price

I think once you account for the glass sump and included plumbing the waterbox, fiji, and red sea are about the same ballpark value.

And just a heads up I haven't been happy with the Fiji acrylic sump, none of the apex probes fit in it's holders and if you plan on running a moderate amount of flow the chamber openings from section to section are too small.

 

[jphilip813]

I think once you account for the glass sump and included plumbing the waterbox, fiji, and red sea are about the same ballpark value.

And just a heads up I haven't been happy with the Fiji acrylic sump, none of the apex probes fit in its holder and if you plan on running a moderate amount of flow through it the chamber openings from section to section are too small.

I actually have their 36" sump on a 120 Reef custom-built system I had in Maryland up until last July 2021..military move forced me to take it down, now about to set another larger system up here in Texas. See video of it starting at 1:20

 

[fushi]

I actually have their 36" sump on a 120 Reef custom-built system I had in Maryland up until last July 2021..military move forced me to take it down, now about to set another larger system up here in Texas. See video of it starting at 1:20

That sump layout is way better than what I received.

This is the sump that came with the 76ext package.
https://www.fijicube.com/collection.../fiji-30-advanced-reef-sump-2nd-gen-fiji-cube

 

[jphilip813]

That sump layout is way better than what I received.

This is the sump that came with the 76ext package.
https://www.fijicube.com/collection.../fiji-30-advanced-reef-sump-2nd-gen-fiji-cube

Yeah, that is the size I think I will have to drop down to if I go with their complete 108 INT system. The probes worked for me, initially, I had a little issue, but then I saw that I had to add suction cups to keep them vertically in the probe holder (which wasn't a big deal to me). The only thing I do not like about the version you have is the access to the return pump is in the very back...hard to conduct maintenance

 

[fushi]

Yeah, that is the size I think I will have to drop down to if I go with their complete 108 INT system. The probes worked for me, initially, I had a little issue, but then I saw that I had to add suction cups to keep them vertically in the probe holder (which wasn't a big deal to me). The only thing I do not like about the version you have is the access to the return pump is in the very back...hard to conduct maintenance

The pump section is very tight I had to make a diy snail guard so it would fit, I'll post some pics when I get home.

 

[fushi]

Yeah, that is the size I think I will have to drop down to if I go with their complete 108 INT system. The probes worked for me, initially, I had a little issue, but then I saw that I had to add suction cups to keep them vertically in the probe holder (which wasn't a big deal to me). The only thing I do not like about the version you have is the access to the return pump is in the very back...hard to conduct maintenance

 

[jphilip813]

Yikes...hopefully, it can hold a Neptune COR 20 with NO issues...what type of ATO is that on the right?

 

[fushi]

Yikes...hopefully, it can hold a Neptune COR 20 with NO issues...what type of ATO is that on the right?

It’s a Avast marine, and works great.
https://www.avastmarine.com/products/ato-kit

 

[jphilip813]

It’s a Avast marine, and works great.
https://www.avastmarine.com/products/ato-kit

Nice nice....

 

[fushi]

Thanks @RobB'z Reef for this awesome venturi design and @telegraham & mahina corals for sharing the Kalk Milk idea.

I now have one tank on kalk milk and another on sodium hydroxide 2 part. I cant wait to see if there is any differences.

#KalkMilk

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Thanks @RobB'z Reef for this awesome venturi design and @telegraham & mahina corals for sharing the Kalk Milk idea.

I now have one tank on kalk milk and another on sodium hydroxide 2 part. I cant wait to see if there is any differences.

#KalkMilk

Slick! Nice work, keep us posted! Mine is still going strong. Will be sending out my first ICP tests soon since going full time on it.

 

[telegraham]

Thanks @RobB'z Reef for this awesome venturi design and @telegraham & mahina corals for sharing the Kalk Milk idea.

I now have one tank on kalk milk and another on sodium hydroxide 2 part. I cant wait to see if there is any differences.

#KalkMilk

@Lousybreed ... all you and @RobB'z Reef!

 

[JC Reef]

Life has been very busy the last couple of weeks and I haven't had a chance to update this thread, so here is a quick summary.

The tank arrived and looked great, the local carrier was very nice and helped me get it into the garage.
After taking everything out of the box I did notice the finish on the stand was not as good as my red sea, there are little chips on some of the edges and some of the nut inserts were not set in the wood correctly. Upon assembling, I noticed it was missing a few screws and locking cams. I contacted Fiji cube through facebook messenger and they were very quick to respond, but it took about a week for the missing screws to arrive. They also sent me a few little extras for the inconvenience and finish issues I told them about. The included fittings package didn't come with the nicest bulkheads so I would recommend just buying your own fittings. The tank was nice, with no scratches, thick glass, and silicone was pretty clean.

The GNC lights are good so far, having to control them through its own wifi network sucks but all in all Im happy with them. I plan on adding a Quanta UV bar when they are released for a little extra pop.

I have also sent out an icp today so I can start this tank on RM day one, I used redsea blue (commerical bag) salt.

I have an old INT110 skimmer in it now but was thinking about getting a Maxspect JUMP, does anyone else have any reasonably priced DC skimmer recommendations?

For the fish I was planning on moving my blue tang in and adding a few purple queen anthis. Any other recommendations?

I’m also upgrading to the Fiji cube 76gl with international overflow.
My stand looks great, no issues. However, I was shorted with hardware as well lol. I was missing 5 Binding Post Screws and 5 Joint Connectors.

 

[fushi]

I’m also upgrading to the Fiji cube 76gl with international overflow.
My stand looks great, no issues. However, I was shorted with hardware as well lol. I was missing 5 Binding Post Screws and 5 Joint Connectors.

I'm glad to hear your stand looked good and can't wait to see your build progress.
The waiting for the missing screws annoyed my more than the chipped paint as I couldn't find the screw posts at a local store.

I added a few fish and tester corals in my tank week and will post some pictures later.

 

[fushi]

I know the pictures are a little blue but adjusting the GNC lights is kind of a pain, so i'll have to post some better pictures in the near future.

 

[fushi]

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Tank Restart

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So I ended up having to breakdown the tank soon after setting it up. Nature decided I needed to remodel my house so the tank was broken down and moved for a little over a year.




The restart has started!

I went with Captive8 Reef Salt this go around (as seen on the left). Its like ESV salt (4-part mix) where some of the elements come in liquid form, from my understanding this allows freshly mixed salt water to be used instantly. Sine I use an ICP testing no water change method I figured its worth spending a little extra on salt so I don't have to make large element adjustments upfront. At least thats my theory, I will update when I get my first ICP back.



I cycled the tank with a little ammonia and Prodibio BioDigest.

Every tank I have cycled I have tried different products some some worked and some did not.

This time around I dosed 50 drops DrTims ammonia, 1 large ampule of BioDigest 5 drops of moonshiners Vitamin C, and one days dose of moonshiners liquid mud on day one.
A few days later I tested the ammonia again and it was all gone, however the water went a little cloudy so I turned the skimmer on and it cleared up nicely.


The following image is a bit cloudy because I just added more sand.

I saved all the old rock and just washed it with hydrogen peroxide before adding in.

 

[ryanjohn1]

I’m patiently waiting for my 76int to be delivered. Just got email confirmation that it’s been scheduled for pick up by carrier

 

[fushi]

I’m patiently waiting for my 76int to be delivered. Just got email confirmation that it’s been scheduled for pick up by carrier

Its really a great size, enough water to slow parameter swings yet small enough for easy maintenance.

 

[fushi]

Restart Update
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I picked up a yellow coris wrasse and a flame hawk from an LFS, they did great for a few days so I added a few corals from my reffer170, they opened up right away even with the alk being lower in this tank at 8 dkh over my reefer's 9 dkh.

I also got a shipment of fish in from Reef Pro: 2 Naoko's wrasse, 1 Yasha Goby. The fish came in super healthy and in water with a salinity of 34.7ppt which made it super easy to acclimate to the tank. I will defiantly order from them again.

I started to get a cloudy bacteria bloom, so I knocked it down with some UV, then I started to get some stringy white bacteria slime in the sump so I cleaned out as much as I could. I think the bloom is due to me dosing Nitrate and phosphates to the tank for the corals.

Thursday 11/2/23
A few days later I got a shipment in from POTO, the all the corals came in great condition except the red dragon that was snapped in half, but its a delicate coral.

I floated the bags then dipped and rebased the corals, every thing looked great in the tank a few hours later. However the next day the red dragon started to stn at the base so well see if it can pull through.

I also got a shipment in from @hollback of tiger pods, they were packed well and the bottles were full of pods. I would defiantly recommend getting your pods from him. I set half a bottle aside to culture with some phyto from mercer of Montana, and add the rest to the tank at night.

(I forgot to take a picture but the bottles were loaded with pods)

I got the pods to help slow down diatom growth but the wrasses have been having a ball hunting them so hopefully my culture will grow out fast.

Sunday 11/5/23
Diatoms have started to break out so I'm hitting them with some UV and a power filter, I'll probably have to keep this up for a couple of days. I like to run the power filter for just a couple hours a day as its a bit too much flow to leave in the tank 24/7.

Fiji Cube
I really regret getting a Fiji cube system.

The acrylic shaft on the Fiji roller mat shattered, Fiji customer service was quick to respond and is sending me an upgrade kit that fixes the acrylic shaft issue but for the amount I have spent on the system, plumbing (thats not included), and roller mat I wish I just bought a RedSea it would have been a lot less of a headache.

Besides the Fiji filter roller being difficult to use and breaking, none of the acrylic edges are chamfered on the Fiji sump so I constantly get cut while working in it.

To make things worse the Fiji overflow box doesn't fully seal into the bulkheads which allows water to flow into the overflow box below the grates. This becomes a big problem when the return pump is off as the sump can't hold all the water that flows down from the tank.
The flow from the leaky seals is slow but if the return pump was off for more than 20 min the sump would overflow.

My solution to these Fiji Cube issues is to buy a larger Bashsea sump with a ReefMat and buy a vectra pump and make a 40ah battery back up for it.


My recommendation to anyone looking for a new tank is to stick with waterbox or RedSea.

With the amount of money I have spent to get this aquarium up and running it would have been a lot cheaper and a lot less of a headache to just buy a waterbox or a reefer. I like the "frag/lagoon" style tank but in the end I would have been happier with a reefer 350 that comes with everything you need in the box, is less of a headache, and has a way better fit and finish.

 

[ryanjohn1]

My 76 int is great. Sucks your not happy with some of the stuff you’ve got