Mini reef setup

[greggy]

hey i was think of starting a mini reef in my room since i have a 180 gal in the basement. i was thinking of purchasing a Ecplise 12 gal. Has anyone every used one of those tanks for a mini reef? if u have and pro's or con's on this tank pls answer me back. THANX
-greggy

 

[greggy]

thanx Tang i will look into what other mini reef tanks are out there.

 

[kelly]

Check the Nano-Reef forum. They have retrofit kits for small tanks. I got a PC Retrofit kit for my 7 gal bowfront from them for around $50.00 including shipping a few weeks ago.

 

[josh]

Hi,
check out <a href="http://www.nanoreefs.com" target="_blank">http://www.nanoreefs.com</a>
They sell a sweet little setup with pc lights and a build in overflow/refugium for 200.00. It costs a bit more, but it comes with everything.
HTH
-Josh-

 

[chevron tang]

my first tank was a eclipse 12 and I had to upgrade pretty quick because of the lighting situation. You would have to switch the hood. There is really no way to install more lighting into those hoods because the hood is made of plastic and I was told that it would melt it. (one of the reps for the eclipses told me this)

 

[iswimwithmyfish]

i have an eclipse system 12 as my reef tank... it's pretty good, but my powerhead upset a lot of fish and invertebrates. Frequent water changes, and alot of water testing. Otherwise i love it!

 

[chrissy]

I have a 12g Eclipse w/the power compact neon light (they are harder to find but mad for saltwater)- Love it. I haven't had a single problem. I have had it a year. I test the water 1 once a month and it is always just fine, I do water changes about ever 3 weeks or so. I do have quite a bit of live rock and have started adding mushroom corals and smaller peices of different corals. I've been picking corals that don't need extreme light. I even have tons baby brittle stars that are doing wonderful. I figured I would start with small pieces and see how they do because I know the lighting is a problem. I don't know anyone with my set up so I have been doing it all on trial.

 

[mo168]

Hi,
I have Eclipse 6 Gallon type, acutally it is a Galaxy 5 gallon (@ WalMart) made by the same company as Eclipse 6 gallon, but it is just 1 gallon shorter on the bottom with same hood and filter.
I do upgrade the light to Powerglow and have lr, sand, Muchroom, Hard Coral, Feather Duster, polyps,
Of course all are small...
<a href="http://www.cse.fau.edu/~wmo/fish1.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.cse.fau.edu/~wmo/fish1.jpg</a>
<a href="http://www.cse.fau.edu/~wmo/fish2.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.cse.fau.edu/~wmo/fish2.jpg</a>
No fish at the time of the pic.
Now I have 2 neon Goby, 1 P Crowns, 2 pinkfire fish, 1 purple fish(forgot the name), 2 Golden Mated shrimp, 2 horseshoe crab, 12 Blue hermit Crab.
Of course, everything is small.
Have the tank for a month and everything is doing fine
Thanks any comment?
Winston

 

[reeferx]

I have the Eclipse 6 gallon as well. I swapped out the lighting and screwed in a couple 9w compact lights with a make-shift reflector. I covered the switchs with ballons to keep moisture out. Both lights have their own timer. One is a actinic and one is a daylight bulb. It has been working without problems for a couple years now.
If you can get 3-5 watts of light per gallon you should be fine.
Matt Rogers
<a href="http://www.threestepstoareefaquarium.com" target="_blank">http://www.threestepstoareefaquarium.com</a>

 

[luke]

mo168 - You have 5 fish in a 5 gallon saltwater tank???? That is a massive bioload for such a small tank!!
Luke

 

[greggy]

thanks for all the pros and cons on the eclipse tanks. i will be looking into one shortly. if u find anything new about the tanks pls let me know
greggy