coral in an eclipse?

[jacrmill]

i have an eclipse hood. ive looked into ways to upgrade the lighting, but none really panned out. besides that, they get really expensive. anyways, someone told me they kept some corals who only need low lighting in their eclipse with the regular lights. i have a 37 gallon tank, and 1 18 watt full spectrum bulb, and 1 18 watt blue actinic bulb. i have a bicolor blennie, and a royal gramma. any help?

 

[b_ball12_99]

The 37 is tall isn't it? That makes things harder.

 

[jacrmill]

i believe it is 22 inches tall. but i have LR stacked pretty tall too, so i could put it on there, it doesnt have to be on the bottom. i was told by one person on this board that they kept a brain, and a star pollyp. another person said they kept some star polys, green & purple mushrooms in one. im just looking for more opinions on if anybody else thinks it would work. i also have a powerhead for circulation, and the eclipse hood moves a good amount of water itself, so current isnt a problem at all. thanks for any help.

 

[b_ball12_99]

If you get them near the light they might work.

 

[burnnspy]

Sorry, I feel that if you want a reef tank then you need to get a real tank and spend the money on reef lighting. Experimenting on keeping corals on crap lighting is some bad and not the way reef keepers should go about the hobby, IMHO.
BurnNSpy
[ April 22, 2001: Message edited by: BurnNSpy ]

 

[jacrmill]

sorry, but i dont have $300 to blow on lighting right now. believe me, i would if i could. but there are corals who dont require intense lighting. there are also people who have done this with success. i was just looking to find out what kind of corals they have kept. i will get expensive lighitng when i have the $, but for now im trying to get what i can with what i have. im not putting any corals in danger, because im NOT experimenting. im asking what others have had success with and sticking to those.

 

[jacrmill]

to be honest im trying to play it pretty safe, so not to kill off any corals. ive heard from a couple people that they kept certain corals, but im not just running out and buying them. im trying to find out what everybody else thinks about that. i just want you to know that im not some guy who is reckless and is going to end up killing off like 500 corals. im trying to find one that will work, and asking for help. im sorry im a college student and cant afford the $300 metal halide lights.

 

[burnnspy]

Some corals will survive low light, humans will survive with water, bread and candy, but neither forms of life will thrive as they should.
Being on a limited budget makes it even more important to get what you need the first time, be patient and save. If you plan to keep a better reef in the future you will appreciate not having to waste money on upgrades down the road.
BurnNSpy

 

[jacrmill]

when i do upgrade in the future, it will be in a tank that is much larger than 37 gallons, thus the lights i would have used for it would be useless. so i was going to put off getting corals till then. but i was then told that there are some corals that would do well in an eclipse, i was looking to find out what those corals are. does anybody know?

 

[burnnspy]

Sun Coral will do fine and so will brown button polyps.
BurnNSpy

 

[jacrmill]

BurnNspy-
thank you very much for your help, you said they would do fine, but does that mean they will be healthy and happy? i mean i dont know if a coral can be "happy", but i intead to treat them like fish. if i cant keep an environment that keeps them healthy, and just as importantly happy, than i avoid buying them.

 

[burnnspy]

The Sun coral is non photosynthetic, I would also recommend a non-photo gorgian and flame scallop, you would need to feed the tank DT's Phytoplankton and they will all be happy. The brown polyp colonies are less light demanding and if placed close to the top will do well also. A deresa clam close to the top may do fine but that is stretching it a little.
BurnNSpy

 

[jacrmill]

thank you very much, you have been very helpful.

 

[hermit enthusiast]

I wouldn't recomend it 'cause the lighting systems on a eclipse are way to weak for most corals. If you got them high enough mushrums would probally survive in your tank. Good luck on getting your new lighting system. Hope this helps.
Peace

 

[jacrmill]

i dont think im gonna change the lighting system. ill probably just stick to corals that dont need alot of light, and put them high in the tank. when i get outta college, and get a large tank, then i will get very good lighting and all the corals and fish i want. but for now IU is gettin all the spare $ i got. thanks again for all the help everyone.

 

[kimmisue]

There are alot of cave dwelling corals that are red and yellow fans....
I recommend a book called "Corals a quick reference guide" by Julian Sprung
It will tell you how much light / water flow each coral will need...
Have you thought about PC lighting?
Two of them would have your tank doing well
Maybe one blue and one white....
I got two complete sets for right around 200.00
You can upgrade one at a time....
Maybe lose the hood and create your own canopy.
I know how it goes with money (lack off) been there done that..
The sun polyps that were suggested need to be feed at least 3 times a week.
Make sure when you do go out looking you find out the feeding needs .....you may not want the corals if it has 30 mouth to feed each night individually.
or you have to feed it live food.
Just my .02
Kim

 

[jacrmill]

never thought about that. beleive me, i will do much more research before i buy anything. right now im just seeing if its worth doing the research, which it sounds like it is. thanks again.

 

[jond]

I know there is an excetion to every rule. Trust me I believe in that. I don't know if it is wise to try it, and maybe I should not have. But I must say, my brain coral is getting huge. I am expecting an order UPS on Thursday that is going to give me 225W over the stock 40. I am changing my whole setup, but it is not because I could not keep corals. I did have a frogspawn that was not doing well, and I took it back. I have seen it and it is doing much better. No explanation for that because brains are supposed to need more light than the frogspawn. I am not going to rattle, but I think if you have your rock close to the top, good water quality, good circulation, you can make it work. I have heard stories of more success than mine. I know many may not like this, but not everyone is rich and if you are responsible there are corals you can keep in your Eclipse. Keep new bulbs(every six months at least).
By the way, the main reason I am switching is I want to be able to keep healthy amemone's. Good luck..

 

[coralbeauty]

I agree with BurnNspy, however, the coral I have in my eclipse, are not just living they are growing!
However, I think part of my secret is the placement of the tank in my house. It gets a great deal of afternoon sun. Oherwise, I only have about 2 watts per gallon. I know the rules, this is not enough, however, everything is doing great. I have propograted all of the mushrooms, and polyps. In fact I have to "prune" the star polyps to keep them from overrunning other corals. The hammerhead has put on 1 and one half inch of base, and the frogspawn, which is on the bottom of the tank opens fully!
To do it over again, I would not buy this system. It is too limiting, however, the tank I have set up is beautiful and healthy.
Connie

 

[jacrmill]

i also would have to think twice before buying it again. it is very limiting in the lighting area. but it does look nice, and the filter and biowheel seem to work good for me. but what is past is past. believe me i will post a question about a specific coral on here before i buy it. thank you all for the help, and i will continue to read in the reef section.