3 Gal. Eclipse Q's??

[waterfaller1]

Hi,I have a 3 gal eclipse tank,w/ 3 Lb's LR..2" LS.I would like some input on what types of lighting I could get so that I could put a few soft corals in it.Would the lighting incorporate into the standard top,or would one have to be made?If I do upgrade the lighting,will I have to add a small fan for heat issues?

Also,should I run the bio-wheel or not?Presently it is not on there..I just have a small filter pad in the area where the normal filter/carbon pad would go.I am also running a little air into it{I know generally you don't do this w/ marine tanks} just to get a little more flow in the tank,and keep the PH up.

[tinyreef]

patience.

 

skip the biowheel unless you're aiming for a lot of fish (and little to no inverts).

 

lighting is tough with the molded cover for the eclipse, hence it's lower popularity. you're really only gonna be able to fit a couple of small pc's in there (with a fair amount of modding).

 

heat will be an issue. a deskfan or muffin fan (more modding) is definitely suggested.

 

i pers don't like acrylic for its scratchability but the shapes are nicer. hth

 

edit: there was a prior post before mine, wasn't there? hence the 'patience'. whatevah.

[waterfaller1]

Thank you for your help TR.I know it's not the greatest set-up...just trying to work with something I already had..for now.I have only one small fish,a yellow feather duster,christmas tree worm,one snail,a hermit,some copepods, and some ciratulid worms.No plans for any more fish...the only other invert I was going to add is a mini star that's in my refugium next time I see him.I would just like to put maybe a shroom or a couple buttons in there for color...not a whole lot.

Carole:)

[Carinya]

Carole -

 

My husband was able to fit a 13watt fixture from A H Supply into my 3g hood. (http://www.ahsupply.com/twox.htm) Then he hooked up two little computer fans to the back of the hood...had to cut out holes in the hood. We got the fans from Radio Shack.

 

I only use the tank for quarantine & such but I would think it would be sufficient for soft corals. There are some folks on here with that eclipse tank...see if you can find some & figure out what mods they did.

 

I would guess you don't need the bio wheel but I also don't really know what it would hurt. Skimmers put tons of bubbles into SW tanks...not in the display areas usually though. So I don't see how your airline would cause any inherent issues.

 

Best of luck.

[waterfaller1]

Thanks Carinya,I tried using your search feature here..but it was giving me a hard time...something about not enough words...but I did have three,and then tried four???

Thanks for the link about the lights...fans are'nt a problem..we have a local shop that has been here for ever,that is chock full of every type of computer doo-dad you could ever imagine...used...so pretty cheap too.You just have to know wiring..that's where my BF comes in;) On the issue of the air,I have it running off a gang-valve,from another 3 gal tank right next to this one,so I am able to control the amount...it is just a tiny bit.I don't think it's hurting anything...not causing a salt creep or anything.

[neanderthalman]

The trouble with bubbles in a reef tank is that proteins and other junk in the water will be drawn to the surface. This is the same principle that drives a skimmer. An airstone turns your entire tank into a skimmer, and you may wind up with a load of nasty stinky crap floating on the surface of the water. If you haven't noticed any film or foam, I'd say don't worry about it, but aeration is unnecessary provided you use a PH or HOB filter to provide some surface turbulence. As far as your biowheel, just remove the wheel and any filter media. Some people run a carbon filter, but it's not necessary. Some types of filters will increase your nitrate levels, which fish can tolerate, but inverts and corals don't deal with nitrate as well. I've seen most HOB's converted to a mini-refugium. Add a few tiny peices of LR, called rubble, and maybe a little macroalgae.

[clowne21]

i dont know if this is helpfull but i have the eclipse 25 gallon and i have the bio wheel in it and all my leaves are perfect but it could be because my tank is only a month old.hope this helps

[waterfaller1]

Thanks again for the helpful responses.I do not have an HOB or PH,just the original equipment.I was trying to do this without an internal PH..because I think heat will be an issue.I have been keeping the filter pad in the carbon filter spot,because there was still some stuff coming off the rock.I have been changing it every couple days,but will probably stop this completely as soon as it becomes a lighter color.

I have'nt seen any surface scum,but I am only feeding 3-4 mysis shrimp{only what he will eat} every other day,and will add a tiny fraction of invert formula maybe once a week.I am also keeping up on my water changes...is a gallon too much in a tank this small?I have been using water from my 75 for changes,and fresh RO/DI for top-off.

I just ordered some lights,and will be adding a fan.Here's a pic of what I have so far.

 

 

Here's a pic of my 75

 

[imafishboy]

is that 75g really urs? why in the world would you have a 3g then? haha i would never do that! i long for a bigger tank everyday! soon you'll find out you don't have as many options as ur 75. sure small tanks are awesome, but you have a 75! can i have it? do you know a guy named bryan?

[thecowkid]

hey dont let the small hood size deture you from using it. I had a 3 gal eclipse up until I got my minibow. If you have a dremil tool you can make that little aquarium a masterpiece. I had two 13 watt pc in the hood. It was the 13x2 kit from ah supply. Run the combos with no reflectors. You can go to radio shack and pick up a small project box and put the transformers in it to make a real slick setup. Using an old grounded extension cord you can clean up all the wires coming from the box to the hood. I gut the back left corner of the hood so that I could use a aqua clear mini for flow and to house the heater. Yes you will have a heat problem with those lights. To solve this go to www.allelectronics.com They have super small fans .25"x1"x1" And the prices are great. The hardest part of the mod is making the splash guard, but with a little construction paper and a piece of scrap acrylic all is well. This mod was easily done so that when I was finished with the hood that I put all the factory equipment back in and you could not tell from the front or the top that the hood had been modded.

[waterfaller1]

I am enjoying the small tank..and my boyfriend is too.I took the blenny back to the store{too wild for that small tank} and added a pair of trimma gobies{from cebu}..My BF has modified the top..we added a 13 wt PC light,a tiny 12 volt fan which uses a converter from a mag-light charger to convert to 110..the converter and the ballast for the light is in a remote box.I took out the original filter set-up,and added a red-sea nano filter{this little thing kicks}.I also added a few small corals from my tank,a few tiny snails,an orange cat's eye snail,and a red/white feather duster from the Phillipines.I have ordered a sexy shrimp for it.I will work on some new pics.

[calvin]

you put two fish in a 3 gallon?? Good luck with that!!

[waterfaller1]

They are 3/4" and don't get over an inch.