eclipse systems

gene52569

New Member
I was thinking of putting eclipse hoods on my 2 saltwater tanks, complete with the eclipse filtration. Good idea or bad???? They work well for me for my freshwater tank, but not sure if it is recomended for saltwater.
Comments??????????
 

perchpsk

Member
if you do it I would add a protein skimmer and additional powerheads. My LFS, which is very knowledgable usually, has set up "finding nemo" eclipse systems. They added extra powerheads into it. It was a 20 gallon tank with 2 clownfish, a small puffer, and 2 damsels some ls and lr... disaster waiting to happen in my book. I asked them about it and they said normally they wouldnt reccommend it, but its an easy sale for people with kids who now want saltwater "nemo" pets. I'm sure it would be ok if your using the eclipse for extra filtration, but i'd be sure to use a secondary source of flow and filtration.
 

reefnut

Active Member
A huge drawback to the eclipse is lighting. They typically come with regular fluorescents and upgrading can be difficult. If you are planning on a FO tank it may work fine.
The second problem I've seen is it can be difficult to get hang-on skimmers to fit.
Just my 2-c...
 

krux

Member
there are diy plans out there to add overflows, prizms, vho, and pc to eclipse hoods if you want to go that route you can google for them.
personally i think your money could go a bit further making or buying a regular canopy, and using the difference to get a better hang on filter, or a hang on skimmer, or both, and at the same time you could do some pc lights on a workhorse ballast, or if money isnt as big an issue go with some ice caps or something.
my first thought in response to this question though is imagining the tear running down your cheek as you chuck the whole unit in a year when you want a bigger skimmer, a bigger overflow, or a lot more lighting.
if it is the look you want, as mentioned above, you can do mods, but they are fairly specific, so look at them first to make sure they use the lights, skimmers, overflows that you want, and also that they are compatable with the size eclipse hood that you plan on buying.
 

billsweet

Member
i have a 37 gallon tank with the eclipse 3 hood on it i did a retrofit power compact with a 65 watt 50/50 10000k it cost $89 fro the hood and $62 for the retro fit
so for about $155 i got a hood lighting and a start to filtration and waterflow with a great look try adding two small powerheads on the opposite side of the tank than the skimmer built in the eclipse
 
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