JBJ rimless nano cube conversion

[nolanrob123]

Morning gents. Anybody interested in a long winded story on why I did or how to convert your JBJ 28 gallon nano into a rimless or are you just interested in pictures? I haven't found anybody that has done this so I decided to take the plunge. I will post finalized pictures once I install the kessil on Monday. Thanks for looking. Sorry the photograph is sideways but I'm working from my mobile at the moment.

[kaskiles]

Is the glass thick enough on the tank to handle no top brace?

[nolanrob123]

The glass is actually pretty thick. When I removed the trim on the top it came off with great ease. If it was structural it would have had pressure on it. I spoke to a good friend that owns a local fish store who builds custom tanks and he agreed as well. I did have my suspicions and I cut the top brace/trim right where the false wall is and have that epoxied on as a support. Do I think it needs it? No. It does bring me piece of mind though. I will be posting more pictures of the completed project when I get in town Monday. Today when I checked it out things looked good. Temps in the tank are way down as that hqi heats up pretty quick. I can't wait to see it with the LEDs.

[adam1103]

I just recently picked up a 28 from a friend. The top was missing so the decision was made at that point to go rimless! Also drilled the back and added a ten gallon sump. I really like the looks of it. Most people that I know that own a biocube think I'm crazy.. There like why get a cube and drill it? The whole point is it self contained... Great job by the way!

[nolanrob123]

Do you have any pics of yours? I was thinking of doing a sump on mine since the ballast is now out of the cabinet. I'm really loving the looks of it now.

[deleau]

I'd like to hear the long winded story in additon to the pic. My JBJ 28 LED is new, and I will keep the lid on it since it's in my office. My LFS has a used one that I might get for a good deal.

I'd be interested in taking that one rimless and hanging an LED on it and putting it in the bedroom.

[Whysoserious]

Can you post more pictures?

Looks good btw

[nolanrob123]

So I just got the light in and mounted it up. Glass was done today so I placed it on as well. I'm loving the clean look. The temp drop should be good for the corals too. I will post detailed photos later tonight and more info on how and why I did it. Honestly I wish I would have done this a long time ago. In one photo you can see how I installed the rear trim back to provide a clean look for the fuge area.

[nolanrob123]

Sorry to double up and replies but I can't get my iPhone to cooperate. Also I went with the 15k and I am very happy! Like almost every post I have read they don't look that blue in person. For the gooseneck I decided to wrap it and the cable in conduit to keep the smooth clean look. For the glass I decided against having it cut and putting a hinge on it since that would interfere with the light. My question for you guys with the kessil is do any of you run the intank media basket? I want one but I don't know if it will fit properly or not.

[adam1103]

Ill try and post a few pictures of mine in a few days. Currently out of town. But I like the look so far.

[Whysoserious]

Nice Kessel lighting. Your setup looks real good and must be damn quiet. The stock fan just suck. I can not wait to modify mine and make it dead silent by removing the entire hood lol.

Adam1103, yes more pictures of the rimless. Thank you

[nolanrob123]

Thank you very much for the compliments. I will try to take a better pic of the tank. I cant figure out how to upload a good pic using the phone here. I cannot believe how much more quiet this thing is. You can't hear squat. The kessil is so faint that I had to make sure it was working. The temp in the tank maxed out at 77.8 and the house stayed at 76 all day long. I'm stuck on whether or not to trim the glass the shape of the tank or leave square. What are your thoughts? Also if anybody has experience with the kessil how close did you put it to the water? I have mine a little high for now but plan on moving it a little close each week. Thanks again guys / gals.

[nolanrob123]

Also the guys at intank are too good. I went ahead and ordered the media basket and it should be in this week. Hopefully it will fit with the light bracket. If not I will figure out a mod. I don't have any fish anymore so I'm not too sure if I will utilize my reactor any more. I was running phosban.

[Whysoserious]

The glass thickness and sturdyness of the tank, is it still solid without the housing? It looks so thin lol.

But thats nice of the temp. You probably dont need a chiller then. I would also trip it the edges atleast and make it rounder.

[nolanrob123]

The glass is pretty thick. I will take a measurement when I get back in town. I was surprised at how little effort it took to take the brace off. I believe it's only real purpose was to hide the water line and mount the lid.

[tdo]

The glass on the jbj nanocubes are pretty decent sized! I took the rim off of my nano 24 gal and have been running it with just water for about three months now and have not noticed any stress or anything on the glass.

[nolanrob123]

That's great to hear TDO! Do you have any photos of it? Do you run with a lid or topless? I sent my glass out to be cut but while I have been out I'm thinking I like the open look more. I will save the lid for times when I leave extended to slow evaporation. Not too much dust in the house anyway.

[tdo]

I do not have any pics right now. It's just an empty tank full of water lol. I'm going to be running it topless. Just need to decide on a par38 bulb with gooseneck or the kessil. I have an ai sol light but I think that would be over kill on it lol.

When I took the trim off I took it all off in one whole piece so that incase I wanted to put it back on I could... And well I can put the entire trim and top back on easily, so I know it does nothing for reinforcement.

[nolanrob123]

I was really contemplating the par 38. If you decide on that one let me know how it turns out. I like the vast array of colors to choose from. I ended up with the kessil because of the ease in mounting and the solid reviews from it. I just got back in and removed the glass top. I love the reflection on the ceiling now haha.

[nolanrob123]

Here is the photo with lights on and lid off. I had picked up the lid after it was cut again today and decided on leaving it off. I think it looks so much better. I still need to clean up the sides but haven't found the time yet. I can't seem to get these pictures to upload worth veiwing so if you have any advise I would appreciate it. Thanks again guys!

[tdo]

Yea I love the look with no top! Looks like it should have came this way from the store!

[Whysoserious]

What a sweet picture! Let me ask you, how did you remove the cover? I mean detailed steps would be great. I have a basic idea, but want to be on the safe side lol.

I will probably remove some water from the tank where I will work to take off the housing.

Your tank is looking great!

[tdo]

I just used a razor blade underneath the trim. Went really smooth too. I was able to take the whole top trim off in one piece, just so I could put it on if I wanted to sell it.

[nolanrob123]

I did the same as TDO. The only difference is that I cut my frame in the back to give mine a finished look. Unlike his, my tank is about 5 years old and shows it age and I didn't think anybody would be interested in my old hood. Lots of rust on the screws, crystal was pretty well ruined. Just didn't care. But.......it is VERY easy to remove properly intact like that to keep for future use.

[nolanrob123]

Just an update on the tank. Everything is still sealed and dry. Today I received my intank basket and it works awesome. No more double or triple stuffing the padding to get water to go through the basket. This thing is awesome. Also it works with my kessil bracket too. You just have to hold the white block while you clamp the arm. Very easy.

[nolanrob123]

Here it is with a photo.

[deleau]

When you took off the rim, did you have to do anything to the edge of the glass on the top? (In other words, does JBJ round the edges / finish the top edge before putting on their rim?)

[shrum1340]

When you took off the rim, did you have to do anything to the edge of the glass on the top? (In other words, does JBJ round the edges / finish the top edge before putting on their rim?)

I was wondering the same thing. I wouldn't think they would take the time to finish it nice.

[shrum1340]

Just an update on the tank. Everything is still sealed and dry. Today I received my intank basket and it works awesome. No more double or triple stuffing the padding to get water to go through the basket. This thing is awesome. Also it works with my kessil bracket too. You just have to hold the white block while you clamp the arm. Very easy.

You can't go wrong with the Intank media basket, the stock one is bad! Kessil light looks great on the tank.

[nolanrob123]

It was polished in the top. The edges are not totally smooth but it does look like a normal piece of glass. Very very good looking.

[Whysoserious]

Your return chamber water volume isn't as high as I thought it would be. My level is right below the return hole on both sides.. But interesting

[nolanrob123]

A clarification photo now that the lights are off. The top is polished and the outer edger is as well, but the inside edge isn't. The inside edge is still smooth and unnoticeable though. Photo attached. Again sorry for the poor photo quality. Thanks for the nice and helpful comments too guys. I was honestly afraid this would turn into a flame contest.

[nolanrob123]

Your return chamber water volume isn't as high as I thought it would be. My level is right below the return hole on both sides.. But interesting

What kind of pumps are you running? I changed mine out a while back. Also I have both on at the same time for more flow. I noticed better polyp extension when I did that.

[nolanrob123]

You can't go wrong with the Intank media basket, the stock one is bad! Kessil light looks great on the tank.

This is something that could not be more true. I wish I bought that basket a loooong time ago! The stock basket is a real piece of junk compared to that beauty. I love that kessil light so much. Between these upgrades I am finally happy with the tank. I took a video that shows better quality but I don't know how to link it. Any ideas?

[Whysoserious]

What kind of pumps are you running? I changed mine out a while back. Also I have both on at the same time for more flow. I noticed better polyp extension when I did that.

Still got the stock pumps, but I need to change them out. What type you have? MJ1200?

[nolanrob123]

They are the eheim pumps but I cannot remember which ones. I will pull them out and check. I do like the mj-1200 very much though. The fitment I hear is much better.

[kaskiles]

Might be the Eheim 1000 compact. They have a better footprint for the back chamber size than the stock pumps. They also have good back pressure power, I'm using one to pump up from the floor to top off my JBJ...

[nolanrob123]

Yep. I don't know if they are the 1000 or the 2000 but I love them. Just pulled them out today to give a good cleaning. I was very surprised by the very low noise they produce and volume they move compared to the stock pumps. I had run the tunze silence pumps and switched them out for these.

[deleau]

A clarification photo now that the lights are off. The top is polished and the outer edger is as well, but the inside edge isn't. The inside edge is still smooth and unnoticeable though. Photo attached. Again sorry for the poor photo quality. Thanks for the nice and helpful comments too guys. I was honestly afraid this would turn into a flame contest.

The used one I thought I had a line on is unavailable. I definitely want to do this with another JBJ. I'm not sure why this would have been a flame fest; this is a neat project.

[nolanrob123]

So it's getting close to a 90 day update. Things with the tank are great. I have found the temperature stability to be outstanding. Growth is great on some of the corals. Some of the others not so much. This I'm thinking is because of switching to the kessil. I'm considering adding a second one. What are you guys thoughts? Also, good news is there are no leaks at all.

[nolanrob123]

And here is a new photo.

[FiShTaCo]

This is a cool thread, really good looking tank!
I wouldn't know about the second Kessil, never ran LED's.
I had a couple questions about the 'Intank media basket' ....who sells them? Is it a multiple layer basket?

[nolanrob123]

This is a cool thread, really good looking tank!
I wouldn't know about the second Kessil, never ran LED's.
I had a couple questions about the 'Intank media basket' ....who sells them? Is it a multiple layer basket?

I got mine from Steve at intank. I think it's mediabaskets.com. They are great. The quality of the basket is great. Plus the filtration and flow is unbeatable.

[FiShTaCo]

I got mine from Steve at intank. I think it's mediabaskets.com. They are great. The quality of the basket is great. Plus the filtration and flow is unbeatable.

Awesome. I did a google search last night but only found a basket from them that will fit an AquaPod 24. I currently own a 12g. :twitch:

[SNAKEMANVET]

Tank looks awesome,I have noticed that mine will leak around the edge if my nozzle is pointed up to much.I would like to remove mine someday.

[KYLEJ]

awesome tank! I've been contemplating doing this to my jbj 24 gal. I think this thread just convinced me to. :)