The gauntlet of noobie questions

[Cilibrin]

First, let me say thanks to Chris for this site. It looks fantastic!

 

Okay, here's the deal: Up until the last year I kept freshwater tanks. Had a 30 gallon African Cichlid tank and a nice 50 gallon South American biotope set up for Discus and Rams. The rams and disucs bred many times; my underwater plants bloomed frequently; it was a great setup. So, I'm not entirely new to fish keeping.

 

I've never kept a saltwater tank, especially a reef tank, but I jumped in yesterday.

 

I ended up getting an Eclipse 6 -- didn't know the controversy about Eclipses until reading this site for the first time last night. I'm not normally fast to buy things, but seeing all the coral and talking about fish in the aquarium shop made my head warm and fuzzy, and I bought.

 

Here's what I have for the tank -- I plan to make changes and grow the tank slowly.

 

Eclipse 6 with stock filtration and bio wheel.

Stock lighting -- will be purchasing good lighting soon, but I dont want to do major modifications to my hood.

5 lbs of LS

6 lbs of LR

I'm using saltwater from the shop, as I don't want to initially mix it myself.

 

I have hopes that this will be a solid, colorful, thriving miniature ecosystem. Tell me that it can be

 

I'll probably purchase one fish and a cleaner shrimp and some snails.

 

Now the questions:

 

1. Can you recommend a great book to get me started the right way, while my tank is cycling?

2. What's a good water test kit?

3. What type of lighting should I look for? I know this is a loaded question, as I don't know specifically what corals I'd like in the tank. All I can say is relatively easy and hearty corals.

4. I'm religious about water changes and stuff, but with freshwater I never ever tested the water. Seemed to me that a balance between plant and animal life, water changes, and knowing the tank was enough to keep it healthy. And it was. Am I deluding myself that saltwater can work the same way?

5. What other things am I totally being a noobie and not asking questions about?

 

I've scoured a lot of the site in the last day looking for of these answers, but it would be nice to make sure I'm on the right track here.

 

Thanks everyone!

[caja]

1. John Tullock's Natural Reef Aquariums and Eric Borneman's Aquarium corals.

 

2. Salifert. You'll need ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH to start with.

 

3. Custom Sea Lifes' Supernova 32 watt Power Compact retrofit kit fits perfectly in the Eclipse hood.

 

4. Yes.

 

5. http://www.nano-reef.com/info/

 

Welcome to Nano-Reef!!!!

[Polystigma]

Although I have never tried, I believe that the CS SuperNova 32 retro is designed for the Eclipse System 12. It is too long for the Eclipse System 6. The System 6 has a rough dimension of 10" x 8 " x 2".

 

I sympathize with being a newbie as well as wanting to use the System 6. There are a few different designs on here, just search around.

 

Ted

[Cilibrin]

Hey thanks for the initial responses! I just called CSL and they actually don't have retrofit lighting that fits the Eclipse 6. Feeling like I bought a lemon tank.....

[MB3]

I've got a System 12 that I just set up and what I have found is out of the box they are not reef ready. I'm sure you'll run into similar issues with the 6.

 

I do, however, like the lines of the tank. So far to make it work I've had to get the PC retrofit (there may not be any made specifically for the 6, but there are compact fixtures that will fit in that hood) and remove the flap on the top to control the heat.

 

Because of the position of the tray that runs almost the length of the top rear of the tank I'll have to be creative if I need any gear to hang off the back or I will have to add a fuge.

 

So far I've been able to conserve the orginal look of the tank but there is no doubt it would have been cheaper to go with a more standardized tank or hood.

 

No regrets though.

[Polystigma]

There may be no cookie-cutter retro fixture made by CS, but you can definitely fit in enough CF fixtures from someplace like www.ahsupply.com or something.

 

My original design for mt System 6 includes two 13w fixtures with reflectors and a CS Moon-lite. I may skip the moon-lite and put at lerast one more 13W fixture in the hood.

 

I am removing the stock light fixture and filtration system.

 

Ted

[kennerd]

I have a 2x13w retro fit in an Eclipse 6.

 

There are plenty of links to see how everyone Frankensteined their hoods do a search for eclipse lighting.

 

Also, the 32w will fit, but not with the filtration and stock lighting in the hood....Kinda sucks ripping everything out that you just paid for, but the current setup will be fine for cycling, for sure.

[Polystigma]

I definitely plan on trying to preserve the stock look, but without the stock lighting and filtration. I have been looking at the hood, is there any benefit to having the top hatch workable? I am considering supergluing it shut. I will have more space to attach things to. I will then need to add ventilation. But with the AHSupply lights, you get some vent covers...

 

Those with Eclipse 6 tanks, will the top frame still hold the shape if I carefully remove the center brace? ordinarily, I would cringe when I hear or say that, but this thing is a tiny tank. I have a hard time believeing that it will break. I have filled it without the top brace. There is definitely some distortion, but I was wondering if the rigid plastic frame was enough, without the brace...

 

I am still at least a month away from execution of my plan. Actually, closer to two months. I will most likely be able to start this after the New Year. There is still time for more research and planning.

 

Ted

[caja]

Proof positive that it works. I installed that retro in my old Eclipse 6:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...?threadid=17356

 

Scroll to the bottom for a pic of it installed in the hood.

[Polystigma]

Caja, I saw that post. But I do have one question. What is the overall length at the very front of the hood?

 

Is that an Eclipse hood or an entire Eclipse system 6 (6 gallon tank and hood)?

 

It just does not compute for me. I am not doubting you. Please educate me. I'd LOVe to get 32w in my tank with so much room to spare!

 

Ted

[caja]

Well, seeing as how I can't locate the tank at the moment

(memory issues) I can't measure it for you. All I can do is give you these measurements from the other post:

 

Measurements:

With the bulb plugged in to the ballast, end to end: 13 3/4"

Reflector is 3" wide but can be bent to fit narrower space.

Reflector can be trimmed lenghtwise to fit.

 

These are the retro measurements.That is the stock hood that comes with the Eclipse system 6. Tank and hood, yes.

[Polystigma]

Interesting. Is it mounted directly to the top? I could have sworn I measured only about 10" of usable length. Heck, your photo makes it look like you can fit another 32w fixture in there. I know, however, that the back end of the hood tapers in, yielding less usable space than appears in the pic.

 

How is the illumination towards the back of the tank?

 

EDIT: Do you think I can jam a PowerQuad in there?

 

Ted

[caja]

Illumination was fine. I did run the tank with the hood flap off to keep the heat down since I didn't install a fan.

 

Yes, it's mounted directly to the top. I'll guide you step by step, even though the kit comes with instructions for mounting it in the Eclipse hood.

 

-Unscrew all the screws from the stock lighting and remove the stock lighting.

-Take some nail polish or a sharpie and put some on the existing screw pegs on the hood.

-Center the reflector in the hood directley over the screw pegs and press down. This is where you will drill the new holes in the reflector.

-Drill the new holes in the reflector.

-The screw pegs are a bit long so I dremeled mine down to about 1/2" or so , so that the light would sit deeper in the tank.

-Screw the reflector into the hood.

-Install ballast and bulb.

 

Presto.

[Cilibrin]

Any concerns with such a light coming in contact with the water? Spoke with my aquarium shop last night, and they recommended cutting out part of the front of the eclipse lid and affixing lighting to the top of the hood.

[kennerd]

I would definitely recommend a Moisture Proof Endcap, if that's an option with either the Supernova or CSL retrofits.

[caja]

Only the Supernova has the waterproof endcap. The Smartlight, which looks similar doesn't. You definately need the moisture proof end cap because the light is exposed to the moisture that collects under the hood. I wiped the unit down of any salt creep when I did my weekly water changes, and it usually wasn't that bad.

[kennerd]

What a team we are, eh?

[caja]

So darn helpful it scary.

[tylernt]

You'll need ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH to start with.

I don't think the nitrite kit is really necessary. Watch the ammonia until it drops to zero, then watch nitrates until they rise to 10. I've found the nitrite cycle to be much faster than the ammonia cycle anyway, so the 'trites should be long gone by the time you can see significant 'trates.

 

And just to show you what a hypocrite I am, I have a nitrite test kit. But it's a cheap one!

[tommy]

Yes the acrylic aquarium will stay in place without the brace. I have an eclipse 6 with a aquaclear mini and a Coralife 96w light w/o the legs. I just place it over the aquarium-but unfortunately the temp gets around 84 during the day. I'll prob get a chiller and add a sump soon. My intentions were to use it on the ten gallon, but it had a leak so I used my old 6.lol

[kennerd]

I'd agree that it will most likely keep its shape without the brace, especially since the way that the hood & tank trim are set up, it will hold it together.