MartinG83 Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 I need help attaching lighting to my Eclipse System which is soon to be a nanoreef. The lid is, of course, plastic, so I just can't screw new lighting fixtures into the plastic as I did with my 72 gallon which has a wooden canopy. What type of lighting should I buy? Brand, bulb, wattage? Where do I buy it? The light which is currently in the aquarium came standard with the Eclipse System. It's a 13 watt 5500K Daylight bulb. Pictures of current Eclipse setups would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for any help! Link to comment
LiQuiD Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 And why can't you screw into plastic? Get the 32 watt smartbulb retrofit from custom sea life (easy) and under $50. http://www.customsealife.com/NewFiles/smar...lite-retro.html Man, I have gone over this eclipse hood thing more times then I can count this week. Go ahead Dave, hit him with a "do a search 'tard" thingy Link to comment
LiQuiD Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 Of course with your version of the hood, the plastic light cover will no longer be used. Just remove the old light and cover and screw ti into the plastic. If it makes you feel better, drill holes through the first layer of plastic and use bolts and screws. You could throw some adhesive on there as well if you still have concerns. Link to comment
MartinG83 Posted December 28, 2002 Author Share Posted December 28, 2002 So, it's just that easy? I thought plastic would crack if I tried to screw anything into it. Granted, I've never tried, but still, it just looks like it would. I'll have to add that site to my favorites. Very nice, thanks! Link to comment
LiQuiD Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 What is funny is if you actually liik at the construction of the eclipse hoods, the pieces of plastic are SCREWED together. That should be an indication that it is OK. That may have sounded sarcastic but none intended. Link to comment
cenzo Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 I put my 13watt in my 3 gal, screwed it into the white part of the canopy its not the best looking but who is looking anyway Link to comment
glazer Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 Never owned an Eclipse nor do I plan to.... my little diddy here is this...... I don't have a clue the nature of the plastic on these tanks but I would never attempt to just drive a screw into anything plastic without a pilot hole first. Some plastics such as ABS due have enough elasticity to them to be able to put a screw through them without anything cracking but most plastics do not. Link to comment
MartinG83 Posted December 28, 2002 Author Share Posted December 28, 2002 Oh Yes, I intend to drill a pilot hole. Is there a special bit I will have to use or will bit for wood work fine? Link to comment
wwc Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 I have seen one story online (and a picture on Yahoo) of a Eclipse 12 w/ a CSL retrofit that the plastic melted and nasty small fire resulted. My impression is that the acrylic used in the tank was a significant factor. However I don't know much more. wwc Link to comment
vanessa Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 Hey I have the same 12 gal eclipse and looked high and low for a solution to getting enough light for my nano tank...what I found and you don't have to retrofit a thing is order a bulb for the already pre-existing fixture that comes with the tank!!! I found a 50/50 half actinic half daylight compact 13W 10000K bulb at an online store called hellolights.com it sells for $6.99 shipping and handling makes it $12.00. It's a lot cheaper than retrofitting your hood which minimum would have cost $55. Because it's 13W you shouldn't have to worry about it being incompatible because the light in there already is 13W. I called Marineland who makes the eclipse and asked them if they made a better nanotank bulb and she said they don't...as long as I used a 13W or less compact bulb then you shouldn't have to worry about any problems. Hope this helps you.Vanessa Link to comment
Twins Guy Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 yes that's a simple solution to getting the right spectrum into the tank...but 13W of PC is not gonna put off enough light to support most photosynthetic critters. i'd recommend drilling holes, getting some nylon hardware (nuts n bolts) (ace, or i think aquatic ecosystems has some in their catalog) and attaching a 32W retro that way. i've done similar things like this-it looks good, holds well, and doesn't rust like metal. not sure about the overheating issues however! my recommendation would be to scrap the plastic tank-or turn it into a platy playground-you'll be glad you did! tg Link to comment
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