Eclipse tanks
- Thread starter fishsta
- Start date
czone13
Member
hey ok i have a eclipse, it said 35 gallon at the store but idk if its an eclipse 3 ,4 or 5, lol i just know it was an eclipse i had mine for 2 3/4 years and it did awesome but i didnt have my reef just fake stuff for that first 2 years then i found out about LR (live rock) and corals and wanted to do that, but its a pretty good tank, but now i bought a new light so i got rid of the hood and bought a 30-60 gallon tetra power filter, and it works great but if your going to get some corals in the tank ur going to half to get a retrofit or install some PC's in the hood cause u wont have enough watts of lighting to have corals but it is a pretty good tank, how big is this tank by the way????
good luck
-cZoNe13-
good luck
-cZoNe13-
reefnut
Active Member
You can see my old 6g eclipse here>>> https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=95384 I took it down when I setup the 55g because I was tired of messing with it. The only filtration was LR & LS.
nomad
Member
I use LR and LS for filtration and added 2 microPH (both rated 97 gph) giving moderate circulation throughout the tank. I also shortened the intake post so that it is only a little over 1" so that I have access to the strainer for cleaning. Instead of buying the Eclipse's cute little carbon/polyfiber filter, I bought a fine mesh media bag and a big jar of activated carbon on sale and a filter pad that can be cut with scissors. I cut a piece of filter about the size of a playing card and curve it about 2" from where the water comes into the filter area and put the media bag with about a third cup of carbon between it and the biowheel. I feel that this is cheaper and that I have much more control over what is going on, e.g. if I get an algal bloom I can clean the glass, give it an hour or so for the filter to catch most of the algae and then pull out the piece of filter, throw it out and put in a new piece; this helps get the algae out of the system before its more than just a green film. After 6 mos or so, when everything has gotten stabilized and you have learned how to keep it that way, most of the filter area can be filled with LR medium sized rubble, just keep some area for the filter pad (I would always keep one in) and for carbon (as often as you feel you need it, but you won't need as much). Oh, don't use carbon during the initial cycling.
Lighting: Decide ahead of time what you will want to keep in the tank and get the appropriate lighting. Ask about this here on this board, not at the LFS. Although I will say I did have my LFS do my retrofit since what I wanted was exactly what they had done to theirs which was on display (Coralife 96W 50/50 PC -- $96), but it did mean that I had to buy an electronic heater/chiller or else everything in the tank would have cooked. I found a really great sale and got it for $200 instead of the regular $440. You don't have to have this much light to be able to some very colorful and interesting animals in your tank; I happen to like a very bright tank. I told what I spendt on these items just to give you an idea of what some things can run you in $$$. Get the Eclipse with at least the SW lighting not just the regular fish setup lighting which will not support any SW organisms except fish.
I can't post pics right now--I'm still trying to figure out the camera and how to get the pics on the computer.
Anyway, I have had mine for 3 months now and have enjoyed it very much. In the past, I have had larger tanks, but right now the $$$$ go elsewhere.
mimzy
Active Member
I've got an Eclipse system 12. It's a very pretty tank, but I went with the acrylic version (kinda without knowing it) and am beginning to regret it - these things are so small, so it's soooooo easy for sand/rocks to get bumped into the viewing areas... Acrylic scratches pretty easily.
Filtration seems to be working quite well on mine (150gph biowheel and activated carbon), and the powerhead attached to the end of the filtration system gives a good current. I'm getting corals within the next 2 weeks, so we'll see if it's enough or not.
If you plan on keeping anything other than low-light corals, you'll have to build your own lighting system, 'cuz these tanks dont come with any kind of impressive lights - mine has a 30watt 5000k pc fixture, and it's only interchangeable w/ Marineland brand lights of the same wattage.
It looks really cute and all, but once you put the thing together it seems almost as if the designers were half asleep when they engineered it - the lights are attached to the hood, and the tiny little opening they give you through which to feed and stuff is in a really akward place - there's a bar that runs accross the top of the tank, right through the middle of the area the top opens to, so you have to take the entire hood off if you want to test the water or anything.
You also really have to watch the water level; if it goes near the black plastic rim around the top, the tank overflows...and yet, the filters don't work well if the powerhead isn't mostly submerged in water...which means that the water line HAS to be VERY close to the plastic - if not towards the middle of it....quite a precarious situation.
In my opinion, if you plan on keeping
[hr]
corals or anemones, or if you'd like a refugium or plan on making ANY mods to the filtration, just get a cheap glass tank and put everything together yourself. The work involved in upgrading the lights of the Eclipse would mean you'd have to build an entirely new hood...and since that is the reason for most of the cost of the Eclipse - it would be cheaper to start from scratch!
But...for lazy people, or extreme newbies (like me
) who don't want to modify anything at all, it's a pretty convenient system......for the most part.
Hope that helped.... below are a few pix of the tank. The good thing about small tanks is that you can put them on pretty much anything sturdy enough for you to sit on...the stand I bought for it is really just a small black cabinet that I got for 26 bucks at Bed Bath and Beyond
Oh, and the tank comes completely clear all the way around; I painted the background purple. Because I love purple. :jumping:
Filtration seems to be working quite well on mine (150gph biowheel and activated carbon), and the powerhead attached to the end of the filtration system gives a good current. I'm getting corals within the next 2 weeks, so we'll see if it's enough or not.
If you plan on keeping anything other than low-light corals, you'll have to build your own lighting system, 'cuz these tanks dont come with any kind of impressive lights - mine has a 30watt 5000k pc fixture, and it's only interchangeable w/ Marineland brand lights of the same wattage.
It looks really cute and all, but once you put the thing together it seems almost as if the designers were half asleep when they engineered it - the lights are attached to the hood, and the tiny little opening they give you through which to feed and stuff is in a really akward place - there's a bar that runs accross the top of the tank, right through the middle of the area the top opens to, so you have to take the entire hood off if you want to test the water or anything.
You also really have to watch the water level; if it goes near the black plastic rim around the top, the tank overflows...and yet, the filters don't work well if the powerhead isn't mostly submerged in water...which means that the water line HAS to be VERY close to the plastic - if not towards the middle of it....quite a precarious situation.
In my opinion, if you plan on keeping
[hr]
corals or anemones, or if you'd like a refugium or plan on making ANY mods to the filtration, just get a cheap glass tank and put everything together yourself. The work involved in upgrading the lights of the Eclipse would mean you'd have to build an entirely new hood...and since that is the reason for most of the cost of the Eclipse - it would be cheaper to start from scratch!
But...for lazy people, or extreme newbies (like me
Hope that helped.... below are a few pix of the tank. The good thing about small tanks is that you can put them on pretty much anything sturdy enough for you to sit on...the stand I bought for it is really just a small black cabinet that I got for 26 bucks at Bed Bath and Beyond
Oh, and the tank comes completely clear all the way around; I painted the background purple. Because I love purple. :jumping:
promisetbg
Active Member
Here's my 3 gal eclipse...modified~
fishieness
Active Member
woah!! sweeeeeTTT!!!! loves the zoos ans rics!
i have a 29 gallon one. I needed to add a powerhead.
how did you all add enough lighting for corals?! retrofit kits? what kind? and if you dont mind me asking... how much? :thinking:
i have a 29 gallon one. I needed to add a powerhead.
how did you all add enough lighting for corals?! retrofit kits? what kind? and if you dont mind me asking... how much? :thinking:
promisetbg
Active Member
Thanks,,,they are called Trimma Gobies~Eviota Sp....they are sort of rare and are from Cebu.Good for nano's as they are perchers...not swimmers.
My lighting is a 13 wt. PC retro w/ a remote ballast...cost around 26$ I think.This tank has been up since march...and I am actually seeing growth and the corals are maintaining their color.
I am toying with the idea of an upgrade in size though...it's very hard to clean the tank itself...as I can't get anything in it past the rock.A 10 gal might be nice...and easier to care for.
Last night I hooked up a little homemade skimmer for it .
My lighting is a 13 wt. PC retro w/ a remote ballast...cost around 26$ I think.This tank has been up since march...and I am actually seeing growth and the corals are maintaining their color.
I am toying with the idea of an upgrade in size though...it's very hard to clean the tank itself...as I can't get anything in it past the rock.A 10 gal might be nice...and easier to care for.
Last night I hooked up a little homemade skimmer for it .
oceana
Active Member
i also ran a 6 gallon eclipse system for a bit. but i have a few large reefs and got bored with it and tore it down. i kind of cheated because i drilled the tank. gutted the hood and filter and installed a few pc lights. . it hen but a 400 filter on the 10 gallon sump with a mag 5 return. haha i guess now that i think about it the only thing left that made it an eclipse was the little sticker on the front lol.
jacknjill
Active Member
im going to be setting up a 10 gallon tank in the next week or so. it will be a plain 10 gal glass tank (7$), millenium 1000 filter ($14), minijet 400 powerhead (not sure but around $20), 50 watt heater (already have it), coralife 20 in 96 watt PC lights (about 150 with shipping), 8 pounds dead sand (already have), 5 pounds liverock to start out (not exactly sure). so this is basically going to be very cheap.
promisetbg
Active Member
I have a pair..I found them at an LFS.
dhughesz28
Member
Here is my 12gal eclipse, FOWRL for now
