Fiji Cube Aquariums? Sump vs AIO?

[mcqueenokc1]

Looking to buy a saltwater tank.

Not finding much information on them. I love the dimensions of the 48 Gallon Shallow Ext. (30" x 24" x 15.75") I had a small biocube 14 AIO a few years back but, this would be my first Sump. The fiji cube's don't come with completed plumbing. What is the learning curve to plumbing an exterior overflow down to a sump? Any recommended youtube channels on this?

I have also been back and forth between AIO vs a Sump.. I don't have all the time in the world to maintain the tank and want any option that is going to make the maintenance easier but also have a stable reef for LPS Softies and fish.

Anyone have any experience with these Fiji Cubes?

Any advise will help! Trying to do as much research before I buy anything as possible.

 

[Poochaku]

I bought a fiji cube AIO and love it. The quality is excellent. IMO if you make smart equipment decisions, an LPS reef will do great in an AIO

 

[Reef.]

Go for the tank you want, the aio will mean more water changes, the sump could mean more cleaning etc but just because you have a sump doesn’t mean you have to add all the extra equipment a sump normally holds, you could just add exactly the same equipment as the aio, the water changes will be slightly less as you will have more water volume, add the extra equipment you can cut down on the water changes but will need to clean the skimmer etc I don’t think either one will be more work than the other, the sump tank will most likely be more stable so could go longer between maintenance if you miss a cleaning day.

Plumbing is not hard, buy the tank and you’ll soon learn how to do it, nothing better for learning than necessity.

 

[DirtDiver]

I have a Fiji 32 ext. The tank quality is excellent as noted by others. The stand looks good and works. If I were to do it again, I would build my own stand for some extra room to store and hide equipment. This is also my first reef tank. Like you, I debated on getting an AIO but I chose the EXT for the sump. It provided me with more options for equipment, larger overall water volume and really I just wanted to have a sump like a lot of other reefers. And I wanting a sump, upgraded to the next larger size just in case I upgrade later on.

On the plumbing side, it's not hard to do. It just takes some research, patience and dry fittings to make sure it fits your needs. Fiji does send a bag of fittings and valves that can make a pretty basic install. All you need to supply is the correct size pvc. I did end up buying additional fittings.

Here is a pic of how I plumbed my tank. Feel free to ask more questions.

 

[Valmg87]

What type of elbow did you use to attach pvc to return bulk heads? And did you have any problems connecting the pvc pipe to the return pump hose because of size variation?