Krusty the Clown Posted February 11, 2002 Share Posted February 11, 2002 Two of my fellow reef enthusiasts at work convinced me to turn my fresh water desk top Eclipse 3 tank into a Nano Reef tank. It is a collaborative effort between the three of us. We all have Reef Tanks at home but we have no experience with a nano reef this small. (more pics in reply below) So far we have: 2 inch sand base 4 pounds of Live Rock (with misc. hitchhikers from my home tank) 1 Yellow Tail Damsel (Went to my home tank replaced by Percula clown) 1 Blue leg Hermit 4 Small Mushrooms (Various colors) 1 Small Long Tentacle Toadstool 2 Cerith Snails 2 Spaghetti worms A small bunch of caulerpa A frag of pulsing Xenia I am changing out a Gallon of water a week (from my home tank) The Damsel was stirring up the sand all the time, so I took him home. I hope to try a small clown in the near future. The only inhabitant that is showing any sign of stress is the Xenia but I'm holding out hope. I'm open to ideas. Any comments or Ideas? (Edited by Krusty the Clown at 7:29 am on Mar. 19, 2002) Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted February 11, 2002 Share Posted February 11, 2002 Welcome to Nano-Reef.com Krusty! It sounds like you're off to a good start with your new nano reef! I'd love to see some photos of it whenever you take some (Us crazy reef keepers always have to see the tanks ) I'm just curious if you modified the lighting any? It would probably benefit the corals to have some actinic light. I'd bet a 13w smartlight powercompact would fit that hood too. Link to comment
bsharp1313 Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 You can actualy fit up to three 13w pcs in. That is what I have on my 3 gal eclipse. I did have two and they worked great but I saw that I could fit three in so I decided to go for it. Link to comment
NanoReefer53 Posted February 14, 2002 Share Posted February 14, 2002 welcome to the board too bsharp1313 Link to comment
Krusty the Clown Posted February 19, 2002 Author Share Posted February 19, 2002 I added a small tank raised Percula clown today! He's eating and seems happy with the tank! Link to comment
350 ZR2 Posted February 19, 2002 Share Posted February 19, 2002 krusty, what type of lighting do you have? Link to comment
Krusty the Clown Posted February 20, 2002 Author Share Posted February 20, 2002 I am currently using the existing 6 watt 10K light that came with the Eclipse, but I hope to upgrade the lighing to a 13 watt PC soon. Link to comment
Krusty the Clown Posted March 1, 2002 Author Share Posted March 1, 2002 I took some pics today so I thought I would post some! Close up of Krusty and Dr. Zoidberg (clown and Hermit) Long Tentacle toadstool Shrooms (Edited by Krusty the Clown at 7:17 am on Mar. 1, 2002) Link to comment
pendragon Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 Thats look really nice! I am in the process of getting a little tank for my cubicle too. hehehe. :smile: Link to comment
NanoReefer53 Posted March 2, 2002 Share Posted March 2, 2002 might wanna upgrade the lighting since you put in corals. Link to comment
Krusty the Clown Posted March 6, 2002 Author Share Posted March 6, 2002 The Clown passed away today Link to comment
My Eclipse 6 Posted March 6, 2002 Share Posted March 6, 2002 WHAT??!! HOW??!! WHY??!! I am soo sorry... Link to comment
OscarBeast Posted March 7, 2002 Share Posted March 7, 2002 How fast did you add everything? Link to comment
quiksilver5768 Posted March 12, 2002 Share Posted March 12, 2002 The clwon died? that's pretty weird. They are very hardy fish. Unless it was a true perc. But they should still be pretty hardy. Thats a shame. : ( Link to comment
KoAps Posted March 12, 2002 Share Posted March 12, 2002 Sorry to say this but it's for the best, 3 gal is waaaaaaaay too small for any fish, especially a clown. Personally, I say anything under 10 shouldn't have fish. My 6gal has no fish and no issues. also, like Chris Said, you would want to up the lights, or if you are going to have only coral of a low light natural, change it to blue only. I know my mushrooms and green stars and moon coral all liked the blue light more soo then the white just my $.05worth (Edited by KoAps at 8:44 pm on Mar. 11, 2002) Link to comment
minigeek Posted March 14, 2002 Share Posted March 14, 2002 I have an Eclipse 3 gal. FW sitting on my desk right now. I would love to convert this tank too! I have been having a hard time finding other users who have put in better lighting in these little hoods. Any info and pics of this kind of work would be awesome. Nice work on getting the 3 gal. going. Also, did you add extra circulation from a powerhead? Did you remove your Bio-wheel and carbon filter pad? Thanks! Link to comment
Krusty the Clown Posted March 18, 2002 Author Share Posted March 18, 2002 Update...The reef seems to be doing very well , I have bizillions of copods, the Culurpa is growing like a weed. I found a small anemone growing on the live rock (not aptasia). It is amazing how much new stuff I find every day. I have been testing nitrite and nitrate levels at least once a week and they are lower in my nano tank than in my 90 gal tank at home. People at work think I'm nuts! They find me staring at a "fish thank that has no fish", then I spend the next five minutes showing them all the life in the little 3 gal. tank. (they asked!) I have upgraded the Lighting from 6watts to 9 watts (3W/Gal.) I would have tried a 13 watt, but I got hold of a 9 watt ballest for free. . It is amazing how much better three more watts looks. I'm thinking of upgrading the tank to a 7 gallon, and I did'nt want to spend to much on this upgrade if I'm going to try a differant size. New pics in a few weeks. Link to comment
Korbin Posted March 18, 2002 Share Posted March 18, 2002 I have a 3 gallon eclipse too, and I'm using a clip-on 9watt (I think) light. I just took the entire hood off, and took the filter out. The light clips on the side of the tank and shines in like a desk lamp. Its made by JBJ Electronics. I bought it for $50 at my LFS, but I have yet to find them anywhere else (including online). I also have a Minipump 404 circulating the water. Last I checked, my water was perfect. I watch it pretty closely though. My light doesnt get TOO hot, but its not contained in a hood either. Because of the size of the hood, I would not recommend cramming a light in there. Both because of the heat, and because of how close it will be to the salt water. Zzzap! Plus I like my clip-on, because I can change the intensity of the light by moving the light closer or farther from the surface. Link to comment
Krusty the Clown Posted March 19, 2002 Author Share Posted March 19, 2002 Korbin, I made a lexon divider that sits in the eclipse top between the water and the light in the hood. Fairly safe and the temp has remained the same. If you removed the top are you using any external filtration? (Edited by Krusty the Clown at 7:25 am on Mar. 19, 2002) Link to comment
Cam barr Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 im shure u could also go to ahsupply.com and get a 13 watt bight kit its 13 watts vs 9 great tank Link to comment
Carrie Posted March 24, 2002 Share Posted March 24, 2002 HI, I don't want to be a party pooper, but I also agree: Please don't put a fish into a 3g. I am sorry your last one died, but please do not replace it! I'm sure the tank will look just as fantastic with corals and your hermit! Link to comment
Cam barr Posted March 25, 2002 Share Posted March 25, 2002 yea i agree way to small maby a 6 or 7 gal but not a 3 Link to comment
Korbin Posted March 26, 2002 Share Posted March 26, 2002 I dont have any external filtration. Just a lot of sand and as much live rock as I could fit in there. I'm going to have to agree with Carrie. I kept 6 tetras in a 3 gallon FW tank for almost 2 years, but I just don't think its enough for a saltwater fish. I already had 2 otherwise healthy fish die on me after water changes. My water was fine in both cases, the only thing I can think of is a lack of oxygen in the replacement water. What I'm getting at is that there just isn't enough water volume to provide a stable environment for a SW fish. My corals, crabs, snails, etc. are doing fine, though. Link to comment
Korbin Posted March 26, 2002 Share Posted March 26, 2002 Whoops, I made a mistake in my earlier post. My clip on light is 18w Link to comment
weston823 Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I am new to the nano-marine world and I have the 3 gallon eclipse. I would like to keep soft corals, zoos and or some shrooms. I would also consider a small goby and some critters. What I would like to know about is the lighting change. Do I need to upgrade the lighting, and if so would someone please suggest a product that will give me the wattage I need. I am looking for the easiest lighting to add to the hood. Link to comment
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