Many of you have read my headaches with the previous Cubey and JBJlighting. If not, feel free to catch up HERE
Today though, while sitting on the couch I see the UPS truck pull up. "Um hun...did you order anything that was supposed to be delivered today?" "Nope..." Then the UPS guy continued to come to our house with a large box...
So lets start with what JBJlighting has to say about the new Cubey DX. I have not found any information released anywhere about the Cubey DX other then what is on their FB and Youtube page.
Published on 29 Jan 2014
"This is JBJ-USA Aquariums CUBEY⢠the premier 3 gallon desktop All-In-One biotope. JBJ Lighting is extremely proud to announce that our Nano Cube family has just gotten a little bigger, by adding something a little smaller. The newest edition is the most compact Nano Cube to date, and will virtually fit on any desktop or counter area to add a contemporary look & feel of a BIG TANK performance in a Nano Cube environment. Don't be mislead by its small size. This small package has incorporated:
3-stage rear filtration
the patented flip top canopy
new high output, low heat, long lasting LED lighting system
Whether you're a family looking for an entry level freshwater aquarium or a moderate to advanced marine aquarist looking for the challenge of a nano-reef, the CUBEY is truly the one size that fits all."
I must say, looks like they took advice from their customers with this one.
To start, this one came undamaged, which is one step up from the 2 replacement ones I received of their old Cubey.
Lots of peanuts, but the previous was the same packaging.
Only this time, they have actual formed Styrofoam for the tank. Previously it was just multiple pieces wedged in the box.
Pop open the hood and see what is inside. Interesting, they added more baffles, and gave a bag of carbon and ceramic bio ring things. Also...there is a spray bar instead of just the open jet for the return...and what else...is that an over flow as well this time around?? I think so.
That darn moisture in the enclosed lid was a huge issue. Previously the moisture had build up so bad that it entered the light fixture and was causing major havoc on the circuit board. Also the screw heads rusted and dripped rust water into the tank. This light appears to be well sealed. The screws are still unprotected, which has me a little worried. I am not planning on opening the fixture to check for a seal as I do not want to damage the screws speeding up rust. I will be adding a dab of silicone on them though. The wire going in does have a water tight grommet sealing it which is promising. There is also a vent in this new hood to avoid moisture build up. The feeding door is nice to as the last one was on the lip of the hood and when you do drop food in, then some would get stuck on the rim of the tank.
Now what was inside the tank.
Remote - On Off, 5 color, warm white, cold white, red, green, blue and 2 buttons for + and - brightness.
Y-DC plug - Connects the LED and return pump to the same DC plug, very handy as the only other thing you need is a small heater. 2 plugs will work great with any wall outlet with no need for a plug block or power bar.
DC pulg - standard 12VDC plug
Owners manual
EDIT: Alright, hold up, wait a minute. I was playing with the lights just now. Like mentioned above, the remote has On & Off buttons, then 5 color buttons and 2 buttons for + and - brightness:
warm white
cold white
red
green
blue
Please note that there are 5 buttons for the 5 colors...you can not mix match them or even set them to "random" (which I think would have been a great idea). As the video shows, it is just those colors and intensity for those colors. The previous version of the Cubey had 3 switches to control the 3 colors and you could mix and match. The Cubey DX also really is 100% remotely controlled lighting as noted in the video, which means if you loose the remote, or batteries die...then I hope you like the last setting that you put it on. Also, if the batteries die or you loose the remote, you can not turn it off any other way then unplug it, but when you plug it back in, then it defaults to OFF. :-\
After sleeping on it, I would like to point out a another issue with the light, again, the remote is needed to turn on and off the lights. You can not use a timer for the lights as they use the same power cord as the return pump. You would need to remove the DC splitter and add a second DC plug if you want to use a timer.
The RF sensor is on the top of the lid, so you need to have a clear line of sight down on the top of the lid for remote to see the sensor to work. I think they did this to keep the clean look from the front, but the small dot would have been more then acceptable in that location.
Starting to think the lighting is a fail.
Main suggestions on the lighting to make this a passable fixture would be that..
1.) Manual control (without the remote)
2.) RF sensor on the front of the lid.
3.) Random option for the lighting to cycle through the lighting options.
Closer look at the over flow and the baffles.
A few concerns so far though.
First, the sponge filter is in the first chamber and goes from the top to bottom of that chamber. It will not be difficult to clog the filter and at that point the water has no where to go but overflow the false wall, which is less then 1/8" from the rim of the tank. When I do start up the tank, I will be shortening the sponge and probably cutting some of the first chamber wall or drilling a hole at the top to allow water to escape the chamber into the second if the filter clogs. The overflow goes under, over, under (return chamber)
There is a hole that is in the false wall. I will just ad a dab of gel super glue to it. It is too small to have functioned as a backup for the above issue, so not really sure why it is there.
More to come this weekend when I throw some sub-straight and rock in. Of coarse that is after a good cleaning. It has that new acrylic smell as well as a lot of manufacturing dust through the entire tank and glass is obviously dirty.
Today though, while sitting on the couch I see the UPS truck pull up. "Um hun...did you order anything that was supposed to be delivered today?" "Nope..." Then the UPS guy continued to come to our house with a large box...
So lets start with what JBJlighting has to say about the new Cubey DX. I have not found any information released anywhere about the Cubey DX other then what is on their FB and Youtube page.
Published on 29 Jan 2014
"This is JBJ-USA Aquariums CUBEY⢠the premier 3 gallon desktop All-In-One biotope. JBJ Lighting is extremely proud to announce that our Nano Cube family has just gotten a little bigger, by adding something a little smaller. The newest edition is the most compact Nano Cube to date, and will virtually fit on any desktop or counter area to add a contemporary look & feel of a BIG TANK performance in a Nano Cube environment. Don't be mislead by its small size. This small package has incorporated:
3-stage rear filtration
the patented flip top canopy
new high output, low heat, long lasting LED lighting system
Whether you're a family looking for an entry level freshwater aquarium or a moderate to advanced marine aquarist looking for the challenge of a nano-reef, the CUBEY is truly the one size that fits all."
I must say, looks like they took advice from their customers with this one.
To start, this one came undamaged, which is one step up from the 2 replacement ones I received of their old Cubey.
Lots of peanuts, but the previous was the same packaging.
Only this time, they have actual formed Styrofoam for the tank. Previously it was just multiple pieces wedged in the box.
Pop open the hood and see what is inside. Interesting, they added more baffles, and gave a bag of carbon and ceramic bio ring things. Also...there is a spray bar instead of just the open jet for the return...and what else...is that an over flow as well this time around?? I think so.
That darn moisture in the enclosed lid was a huge issue. Previously the moisture had build up so bad that it entered the light fixture and was causing major havoc on the circuit board. Also the screw heads rusted and dripped rust water into the tank. This light appears to be well sealed. The screws are still unprotected, which has me a little worried. I am not planning on opening the fixture to check for a seal as I do not want to damage the screws speeding up rust. I will be adding a dab of silicone on them though. The wire going in does have a water tight grommet sealing it which is promising. There is also a vent in this new hood to avoid moisture build up. The feeding door is nice to as the last one was on the lip of the hood and when you do drop food in, then some would get stuck on the rim of the tank.
Now what was inside the tank.
Remote - On Off, 5 color, warm white, cold white, red, green, blue and 2 buttons for + and - brightness.
Y-DC plug - Connects the LED and return pump to the same DC plug, very handy as the only other thing you need is a small heater. 2 plugs will work great with any wall outlet with no need for a plug block or power bar.
DC pulg - standard 12VDC plug
Owners manual
EDIT: Alright, hold up, wait a minute. I was playing with the lights just now. Like mentioned above, the remote has On & Off buttons, then 5 color buttons and 2 buttons for + and - brightness:
warm white
cold white
red
green
blue
Please note that there are 5 buttons for the 5 colors...you can not mix match them or even set them to "random" (which I think would have been a great idea). As the video shows, it is just those colors and intensity for those colors. The previous version of the Cubey had 3 switches to control the 3 colors and you could mix and match. The Cubey DX also really is 100% remotely controlled lighting as noted in the video, which means if you loose the remote, or batteries die...then I hope you like the last setting that you put it on. Also, if the batteries die or you loose the remote, you can not turn it off any other way then unplug it, but when you plug it back in, then it defaults to OFF. :-\
After sleeping on it, I would like to point out a another issue with the light, again, the remote is needed to turn on and off the lights. You can not use a timer for the lights as they use the same power cord as the return pump. You would need to remove the DC splitter and add a second DC plug if you want to use a timer.
The RF sensor is on the top of the lid, so you need to have a clear line of sight down on the top of the lid for remote to see the sensor to work. I think they did this to keep the clean look from the front, but the small dot would have been more then acceptable in that location.
Starting to think the lighting is a fail.
Main suggestions on the lighting to make this a passable fixture would be that..
1.) Manual control (without the remote)
2.) RF sensor on the front of the lid.
3.) Random option for the lighting to cycle through the lighting options.
Closer look at the over flow and the baffles.
A few concerns so far though.
First, the sponge filter is in the first chamber and goes from the top to bottom of that chamber. It will not be difficult to clog the filter and at that point the water has no where to go but overflow the false wall, which is less then 1/8" from the rim of the tank. When I do start up the tank, I will be shortening the sponge and probably cutting some of the first chamber wall or drilling a hole at the top to allow water to escape the chamber into the second if the filter clogs. The overflow goes under, over, under (return chamber)
There is a hole that is in the false wall. I will just ad a dab of gel super glue to it. It is too small to have functioned as a backup for the above issue, so not really sure why it is there.
More to come this weekend when I throw some sub-straight and rock in. Of coarse that is after a good cleaning. It has that new acrylic smell as well as a lot of manufacturing dust through the entire tank and glass is obviously dirty.
