Carl_in_Florida Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 No turning back now! So someone gave me a 29 gallon glass tank. My plan was to do a real simple fish only freshwater setup. So I got the 26g going. Everything was great but one day, out of the corner of my eye, the 6 gallon Eclipse was staring at me. Oh the Eclipse. I had one fish in it that died. After that I left it sitting on the counter for like 3 months with no fish in it or anything. Just an Eclipse and the built-in filter and some gravel. That was all. So I go to my local fish store to get a new light for the 29 when I notice this little tank on the front counter. I later learn that it was a nano. They were these little tanks with a complete reef in them. When I got home I did a little research online and found out that there is a whole community devoted to keeping this small marine aquariums. Then I found out that some people keep them in 6 gallon Eclipse tanks! Oh no! I was bitten by the reef bug. The rest was history. I have 10 ponuds of LS (hey look, I'm using the lingo!), 10 pounds of live gulf rock (http://www.gulf-view.com/liverock.html) I added about 6 punds of dead rock to act as a shelf. For lighting I am using 2 18 watt daylight curly q's and a 13 watt actinic pc bookworm. I currently have a rio 50 churning the water but I need to swap it out for something that will not make my water boil. Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted November 27, 2003 Author Share Posted November 27, 2003 here's the photo. I put all the images on my site carl's nano-experiment Link to comment
serjuanca88 Posted November 27, 2003 Share Posted November 27, 2003 Looking good. Gulf View is great, huh? Watch out for hairy crabs. And to me, those clams are a pain. When they open the whole rock structure can move. I ripped most of them off, but I left a few. They are great little filters. Link to comment
birdman204 Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Very cool, and yes, It's very addicting! Link to comment
Kalanianaole Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 Congrats and welcome. That's some nice looking live rock with some good coralline growth. I ran a 6 gal Eclipse for 18 months and since now many people on here seem to have them, I'll offer a few Eclipse-specific tips I learned: –Careful when scrubbing the inside or moving rocks around. The acrylic will scratch easy and I have many gashes from sand that got stuck in the sponge while cleaning and scratched up the inside. Algae likes to take a foothold in these tiny recesses and causes more cleaning. –If you don't plan on removing the stock lighting in the hood try to track down a 12" Power-Glo (made by Hagen). It's an 18,000K bulb and really takes away yellows and enhances purples. I liked it at least. Hellolights.com also carries a great 13w 10,000K/Actinic bulb that fits the bookworm. I enjoyed it much. –I ran a Rio 90 with an attachment that reduced the flow a little. Make sure you get some choppy waters at the surface so that scum layer doesn't form. –Love her, but never trust her for her heart is full of lye. Things can get real sour real fast so keep atop of water changes and cleanings and make sure you have a good algae/cleanup crew. Hope some of this helps a little, even though this was a barrel of unsolicited advice. Oh well, I just get real excited when I see another Eclipse. Link to comment
wetworx101 Posted November 28, 2003 Share Posted November 28, 2003 I would swap the existing bookwom light for an actinic all together...that tank needs some blue!! Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted November 28, 2003 Author Share Posted November 28, 2003 Thanks for all the pointers. When I wrote that I had a 10 k pc bookworm, I meant that I put a actinic bulb in a bookworm. The tank does seem a little white but it looks lighter in the photo then it really is. I have had saltwater tanks before but never a full blown reef. What I have learned in the past is to GO SLOW! So lets see what happens. Link to comment
beastium Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 i already posted this message somewhere but i dont know if anyone will read it.. so here we go again =) Hey everyone! can someone please give me some pointers? i just set up a new eclipse 6 and i put some pre-made seawater, some live sand and about 5 lbs. of live rock. here's the problem!: do i need more live rock, a minijet, a new light, and/or a fan? let a brother in. -Ron Link to comment
mineralrock Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 id suggest a new light! powercompacts all the way! Link to comment
beastium Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 thanks, is it necessary though? i'm new to saltwater aquaria.. how much light is required for live rock? i have another question: i just set up a tank and it has been running for about 8 hours now with one 5 lb chunk of live rock and crushed coral substrate and ive decided i want fine sand instead. lets say i take the live rock out for a minute as i take out the old substrate, will the basteria die? what would be the best way, if possible to replace the crushed coral with coral sand without harming the live rock? Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted May 24, 2004 Author Share Posted May 24, 2004 If you are worried, then just put the rock in a bowl and throw some of the water in it. If you can afford one of those 32w pc retro's then you can keep your filter and really do not need a powerhead. How much light do you need for live rock? Great question. I don't know the answer but I know more is better. Carl Link to comment
mineralrock Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 not necessarily true carl! 1 watt per gallon will sustain liverock. I remember talking to this guy at the new england aquarium asking him why the 20,000 gal reef tank didnt have any coralline growth and he said it was because the thousands and thousands of watts of halides above the tank prohibit it from growing and that less light allows for more growth of this beneficial organism (and others) and then at work I noticed that the tonga rock we got in (after a few months of curing and many hours of darkness) was covered...and i mean covered in beautiful dark red corraline...hmm. and beastium...the more powerful light is not so necessary until you get photosynthetic corals. Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 there you go. If you want a saltwater fishtank, you would be fine. Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 HOLY CRAP that was a lot of cyano... Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 pretty nasty huh? That additive I used really worked! I need to post some updated photos. The tank has been a real ease to maintain. Link to comment
beastium Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 the eclipse 6 supplies a fullspectrum 8 watt 12" light. i kinda wanted a blue look but couldn't find the right size or color ANYWHERE... so i decided to get some blue cellophane. and now its blue =) lol am i denying my live rock anything by making it blue with cellophane ? thanks guys. and just curious: -what will it take to pull off a dwarf lion in my 6 gallon? -what's photosynthetic coral? -have yall seen the Nano-Cube 12 gallon tanks? nice. carl what kind of heater do u use? or is it unnecessary b/c room temperature is ok Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 Originally posted by beastium the eclipse 6 supplies a fullspectrum 8 watt 12" light. i kinda wanted a blue look but couldn't find the right size or color ANYWHERE... so i decided to get some blue cellophane. and now its blue =) lol am i denying my live rock anything by making it blue with cellophane ? thanks guys. What did you do with the celophane? Originally posted by beastium and just curious: -what will it take to pull off a dwarf lion in my 6 gallon? I can't (won't) answer this. Originally posted by beastium -what's photosynthetic coral? Corals that require light to live. Do a search. Lots of info available. Originally posted by beastium -have yall seen the Nano-Cube 12 gallon tanks? nice. Lots of them here on the board. Originally posted by beastium carl what kind of heater do u use? or is it unnecessary b/c room temperature is ok I don't need a heater here in south florida. Kind of lucky that way. Carl Link to comment
beastium Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 i put it in the plastic that covers the stock light and now its blue.. is this sufficient? i guess the lionfish won't work do you use the eclipse filter pad and bio wheel or have to taken those out to make room for the lights? Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted May 26, 2004 Author Share Posted May 26, 2004 I got rid of the whole filter thing for room. Do a little research here on the boards. Your rock will provide enough filtration and the filter and wheel will work against it. I would take out the wheel and the pad and just let the filter turn over the water. That way you will not need a powerhead. Carl Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted May 26, 2004 Author Share Posted May 26, 2004 Check out this thread http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=21482 It explains the hood. Link to comment
beastium Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 will the cellophane suffice? or do i need a white full spectrum separate from the blue bulb? how would the bio wheel wet-dry work against the live rock filtration? Link to comment
Cellenzweig Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 Hello, The celophane does nothing, but adjust the appearance of your tank. All it does is filter out some of the yellow/orange light - thus reducing the overall amount of light reaching your tank. I suggest getting the proper lighting if possible. PC lights are great for nanos. As for a bio-wheel, most people who use them take the wheel out and just use the unit for water circulation. hth. Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted May 26, 2004 Author Share Posted May 26, 2004 Originally posted by beastium PC? Do a little reading through the articles section. It will answer many of your questions. pc=power compact Link to comment
beastium Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 thanks, i just ordered a 13W 50/50 actinic/10,000K PC fixture Link to comment
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