JBJ Cubey 3 gallon

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

My son is getting one for Christmas. Planning some mods. Interested in what others have done. Please share pics, tips, and tricks. Thanks in advance.

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

Planning to use this with a modified hood.

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

@cromag27 will hopefully be helping me with the hood/screen mod.

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

@vetteguy53081 He fell in love with your light. He snatched it and said it needs a special tank. I'm blaming you for this build.

Retro Reefer · Aug 25, 2018

For what it’s worth I would go with a bigger tank, Im a very experienced reef keeper and just tore down a 3.7 gallon cube that I had set up for about 2 years.. it was a nightmare, the small volume of water is very unstable and you will get wild fluctuations of salinity, temp and water chemistry.. any little problem like the death of a inhabitant can wipe out the tank very quickly.

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

I understand your concern. That's actually why I want him to have the opportunity to try this. He will be doing weekly water changes of about 50%.

Retro Reefer · Aug 25, 2018

50% weekly water changes will help but that doesn’t address any of the concerns I laid out. you can still do a small reef but 3 gallons IMO is just to small.. I also have a 14 gallon nano that’s probably been the easiest tank to care for I have ever owned. Both my 3 gallon and my 14 received the exact same husbandry, same water, same rock, same substrate, same filtration and similar lighting.. all corals in the 3 gallon where propagated in the 14 and transferred over, almost nothing would survive in the 3 no matter what I did.. the near death corals from the 3 once put back in my 14 would bounce back and thrive.. I was determined to make the 3 work and was constantly working with it trying to maintain stability and provide the best environment possible using all my years of experience and knowledge, nothing worked

On the other hand everything in the 14 thrives and it runs pretty much hands off except for ATO top offs and monthly water changes.

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

We started in an 8 gallon. I'm curious to see what thrives and what doesn't.

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

@Retro Reefer Did you use macro algae?

Retro Reefer · Aug 25, 2018

Katrina71 said:
@Retro Reefer Did you use macro algae?

No I have never used macro algae.. nutrient control wasn’t the issue, of course it’s the one thing I can’t test for but it’s my belief coral warfare and the release of chemicals from them into such a small volume of water where the bulk of the tanks problems, if you kept a single species of something simple like Kenya trees or Xenia's you may do ok in a 3 gallon

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

I'm looking for a pico circulation pump. Any suggestions?

Retro Reefer · Aug 25, 2018

Didn’t run a circulation pump in the 3 because my return pump created enough flow, in the 14 I have a RW-4 and a imaginarium PH1.. I was thinking about trying one of these in the 3 gallon but never pulled the trigger.

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4586+23729&pcatid=23729

Katrina71 · Aug 25, 2018

Retro Reefer said:
Didn’t run a circulation pump in the 3 because my return pump created enough flow, in the 14 I have a RW-4 and a imaginarium PH1.. I was thinking about trying one of these in the 3 gallon but never pulled the trigger.

https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4586+23729&pcatid=23729

Do it. We can have fun trying things together.