coral in an eclipse?

[kappadoku]

I purchased a 12 gallon eclipse, with a 13 watt PC in it. I added a 33 watt retro PC from an online retailer, for a total of 45 watts. Thats 3.75 watts per gallon. BUT ITS A SHALLOW TANK!!! Anything less than 20 inches, and wattage goes out the door, look for 5000-10000k lumens per square foot of tank area.
Do the math folks. Thats $150 plus a 50 watt ebo jager heater, and a Rio 600 powerhead. $200, (plus 3" LS and 18# LR) and I have a reef tank.
Its my office tank, with tons of button polyps that came on the rock, star polyps are flourishing, Xenia is pulsating, calurpa has to be trimmed back, seahorses(2) love me. I also have a small hang-on in-the-tank refugeum for brine shrimp, never have to feed the horses. There is also a small (3/4 inch) psycodelic mandarin goby thats been there for 90 days or so, and is growing like a weed. The feather dusters have spawned, theres about 20,000 little tiny ones stuck to the glass all over the tank. I do a 10% water change weekly.

• It CAN be done.
• Its an economical solution.
  Its not for beginners and newbies!

I just dont want experienced hobbyests to pass on the oppertunity to have a nano-reef because its too hard or too expensive. It can be rewarding and fun. A new challenge!

 

[bayouguy]

I know you have to work with what you've got, but I've had bad experiences with the Eclipse tanks - the light systems are not easily replaceable if you blow a ballast and since light is so important to most corals, this is probably the worst type of tank you can use. If the ballast goes out, then the hood is effectively useless, which is what happened to me.

 

[saltwater marauder]

I also have a 37 gal eclipse with the stock lighting and its fine for FOWL and inverts, button polyps have been doing fine. Corals...nope. I have been looking at the above posts and alot of you are stating that the eclipse tanks are worthless.......its not the tanks that are worthless but the hoods and lighting, which basically is what eclipse makes, you can throw that hood on any tank with the right dimensions. I like my 37 gal but hate the hood and will ditch it when I have time to DYI my own. Would have done things differently but I got the tank for dirt cheap. I agree that in most if not all the wpg theory isnt what the aquarist should go by but more so by lumens. Strangely enough, I have seen thse stock eclipse systems, however they were 25 gal. house all types of different corals. The retro's for the 25 with 55 wpg seem to work out but on a 37 deep it aint cuttin it.

 

[twoods71]

The newer eclipse3 hoods can hold 2 20 watt bulbs instead of the small 18 watts (look in the owners manual).
Also if the ballast blows it can be replaced. HD sells external ballasts that can handle 2 20 watt bulds, just a little wiring required.
Also there is a space on the hood between the light fixture and the filter area. This is a perfect spot to add some PC lighting. This can bring your WPG way up.
A little bit of planning and the eclipse hood is not that bad at all.

 

[saltwater marauder]

Between the lighting and filtration system, under my hood I have about 4 1/2 inches of space. How do you fit pc lights with an enclusure so they dont get wet into that space? I have seen it posted before but I dont see how it will fit without cutting out the filtration system, I think I am just confused here.

 

[twoods71]

To get the PC lights to stay you need to make a hanger that will attach to the PC light fixture. You can then hang the fixture on the filter area.
To keep the lights from getting wet you will need a cover of some sort or you can place a small piece of glass or clear plastic over the water just below the light fixture. Your tank should have a lip around the entire perimeter making this possible.
All this makes getting inside the tank a little difficult but is a cheap way to make a upgrade.

 

[coralbeauty]

I added a third NO flo tube and holder to that flap between the filter and other light. It does hang down a bit, and I have it seals in this pastic tube that I bought at HD. I also have replaced the ballast on the main system. I purchased the item at HD.
I am very interested in the postin about the 12 gallon tank. My next project is to do a nano-reef. Something between 7 and 12 gallons. I am going to put it on my desk at work, as well. Your post is encouraging. I have been doing this for several years now and I think I mgiht be ready for the challenge.
Thanks,
Connie