First tank!

Slakker

Slakker

Premium Member
I know this should probably be in a different forum, but this is the place I spend most of my time and where I feel I can really trust people.

Plus it will (in time) have a pair of clowns in it, so it's all connected :D

As you can see from the pictures, it's a little Eclipse 12 system. I'm picking it up (lovingly) used from a friend for $40 total, including a bunch of salt, some tools, chemicals, hydrometer, mag float, scraper, net, and some other assorted accessories.

You can see from the first pictures that it's in pretty rough shape. Looks like red algae, all sorts of unpleasantness. I took about an hour to clean off the walls of the tank and mix up water (I used much of the established water from when she had it up and running.)

Unfortunately she hasn't got her test kits for ammonia/nitrates, but the hydrometer has my SG at about 1.020 (yeah, a bit low, I know...but in my infinite wisdom I never tested the tank water when I was mixing up new stuff, and I'll have plenty of time to get it up before I add any fish)



That brings me to some questions...I've put up a picture, albeit not a good one (much respect for those of you that get great pictures of your tank...though in my defense my water is pretty cloudy) of the substrate...i've got a lot of algae laying around from cleaning out the tank (i didn't want to and had no way to get the sand out of there to clean) that the filter isn't stirring up. Should I continue banging my head against the wall trying to scoop it out, or is there a particular kind of snail or something I can get that will clean it up and benefit from eating it? You can see it in the last picture.

Also, are there any lighting upgrades that can be done in this hood? I forgot to get a picture of the light itself, but it appears to be 24w of NO fluorescent. I'm certainly not planning an anemone in this tank, but it'd be nice to get a bit better lighting just in general.

Let me know what you think. I plan on getting a test kit and adding a few pounds of LR in a week or so, and fish will follow only when I'm sure it's stable and not about to go through a hardcore cycle. I'm not expecting it to go through anything drastic, as it's mostly established water, and the sand is established, but she had it near a window and the filtration's been off for a few days (she gave her fish to the boyfriend)...so I'm not sure what to expect. Any advice you could give me would be really great...thanks in advance!


 
Without moving water it more than likely became smell right? In that case i'm willing to bet you had some die off. with this die off comes an amonia spike and then all your other levels shoot throug the roof, i would recommend getting a good amount of LR put it in there and let the tank run for a while. There is no harm in letting the tank run for a while to get the level down. There is harm however in adding a fish to early because you now just killed that fish knowing your levels are bad. Buy a test kit and see what happens
 
Yeah, when stirring sand, cleaning algae, moving tanks, etc. there will always be a mini-cycle, sometimes(and probably in this case) a full cycle. Do exactly what was stated above...no fish, no corals until the cycle has ended. Maybe a little piece of raw table shrimp to speed the cycle and give food to the nitrifying bacteria(biological filter).
 
Right, absolutely. The last thing I want to do is throw in some fish before the bacteria (or i) can handle it.

I may swing by an LFS for some live rock earlier than anticipated, but with spring break starting today funds are tight (Booked my trip to Boston before I knew the tank was for sale...hehe) and I won't be around for a little over a week to test levels.

On the topic of die-out, etc...do you think it would be a good idea to siphon the sand bed? I remember often doing it with the freshwater tank, but I don't know if it would be beneficial for a saltwater tank. It would probably get the algae scrapings out of the substrate though...

Also, what should I pick up as a CC?
 
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It will get the algae and the die-off out, but it may have a negative effect on the good nitrifying bacteria that is trying to repopulate. I personally do not siphon my sand bed. I think that good flow and good mechanical filtration(i.e.protein skimmer) will do this for you.
 
That still leaves me with trying to find a way to get the piles of algae off of my sandbed...I'm stumped. Aside from waving my net around like an idiot for a while, I don't have any other ideas.

Also, does anyone know if there's any possible lighting upgrade?
 
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If you are going away for a week or so this is the perfect time to ignore the tank.

Leave the ligjhts off. Make sure it is topped off with water.
Leave one small powerhead/pump running.

By the time you get back a lot of the gunk will have died off and cycled away.
Do a large water change and add your live rocks.
 
Congrats on scoring that setup for only 40 bucks. As far as the Eclipe tanks are concerned I find them to be a bit of a hassle in that you really can only buy eclipse specific parts for them. The transformer and starter I believe are sunk in a plastic mold which is very inaccesible. The light on my Dad's Eclipse 12 gave out a month and a half ago. I have been looking since then to try to replace his entire hood, (as that is really the only option as the bulb and ballast are good), but have been unsuccessful in locating just a hood. Either way I'm sure you are going to be able to enjoy that setup for the time being. Even if you are stuck with a CFOWLR for a while, at least you will get some enjoyment from having them.
 
You'd think that Eclipse would make a lighting upgrade for this...especially as the way the lid is molded it's got that ridge that looks like it could accept a fixture that spanned the entire lid. Have you tried e-bay? You might be able to find a used hood or fixture.

Another avenue I've considered is to cut my own "glass top" out of clear acrylic, this way it would still (hopefully) prevent fish from jumping out, and still allow a light to be mounted on the top of the tank...maybe there's a fixture somewhere that'll fit.

At the very least, are there any bulbs available that fit this besides the 5500k that the Drs. have listed? I'd like to get a little more blue in the light but have no idea what kind of bulb it needs.
 
Believe it or not I checked Ebay and Craigslist everyday for about 2 weeks and after total washes everytime I gave up trying. Cutting your own top isn't a terrible idea, the only problem is that the eclipse filter that comes with the tank sticks up above the top and into the premade fixture. Not like you really need that thing if you get enough LR, but it would be a decent backup for a while until you could afford a skimmer.

If you are interested in getting a skimmer and replacing the Eclipse filter you could get a Current USA Nano Skimmer. They are supposed to be good up to 30 Gallons and I have one on each of my 20G tanks and they are doing fine under minimal fish load. I ordered both of mine from Bigalsonline.com. They ship standard ground, but if you get one of their cheapy Big Al's heaters, add a rio powerhead or two you can pull it all off with shipping for under $50. I understand that when I get my 55 out of storage in Gainesville that my cheapy Big Als equipment isn't going to cut it, but it is sufficient for the setup I have now.
 
Yeah, a skimmer is something I've been thinking about and anticipating having to buy sooner or later...I'm just not sure how comfortable I am running a tank with fish for any extended time period without it.

It wouldn't be all that much work to cut/bend an acrylic cover for the filter, either...but I digress.

It's time for some updates. I went looking for liverock today, and asked a few questions along the way. One of the guys I talked to seemed just absolutely appalled that I would even think of starting this tank up without completely tearing it down, cleaning it out, and buying new, fresh substrate. He was even more appalled when the question "You didn't move it with water in it, did you?" resulted in a "Yeah, just enough to cover the sand bed." Needless to say, he wasn't very helpful in finding something that would eat the algae I've got laying around. Another guy recommended some hermit crabs.

Well...the only thing I ended up buying today was a smaller siphon to try to get some of the algae out without losing substrate. I removed a bunch, which basically resulted in a 50% water change, and it is still a mess.

I've got some better pictures of it, so if anyone has any ideas, I would really, REALLY appreciate it. I'm going to be leaving it up, filtering, and dark for a little over a week, and we'll see how it looks after that. I'm a little nervous that I'm gonna come home to a disaster, but I guess worst case scenario at this point is I tear it down and start over...the only thing to be lost at this point is some sand and a little bit of time.

 
hey i have an eclipse 12 too, but its not bow front like that. i have a 10K zoo med bulb in there i just got my first clown, all black orange face, and clean up crew about 25+ lbs of live rock a mushrom came as hitch hiker on the rock and also got an orange ball tip anemone on another peice...so far everythings good but i wish i could get 2 bulbs in it and its kinda a pain in the *** tank to get going too its too small. i got my 40gallon from my grandmother and gonna use my 20 as a sump but its a good tank in the beginning. got any questions hti me up man i'm here if you need anything.. also..i cut the filter to make it a bit shorter to get some more live rock in there..and didn't change much, keep everything going man...
 
Thanks, Tyler.

Ironic that we share a name and a tank...lol

I found a 10k/Actinic 03 50/50 that is supposed to fit the fixture in the Eclipse 12 at this website, so I plan on ordering that and switching it out. The 10k sounds a lot more appealing than the 5500k it's got in there.
I'm also probably going to be buying a 30lb bag of Aragamax sand. I only need 15 pounds of it, but they don't sell smaller bags...lol Can't hurt to have some extra substrate sitting around, right?

I've been looking around for live rock, and of the LFSes I've checked so far the cheapest I've found for the quanitity I need is $6/lb. I really don't want to end up paying $75+ on rock, so I'm gonna keep looking around, and try to buy some off of a local reefer for cheaper.
 
i pay between 4-5 theres a local board in ottawa canada for me where i can pick it up for that cheap which is good. i got extra substrate here too but i'm gonn be setting up 40 gallon probably...in next 2/3 months maybe more so..i'mma gonna have to get more rock and substrate...but i have a different bulb then that mines a t8 fixture but i wanna rip it apart and fit it for 2 or 3 bulbs cause theres the room for it but..yeah if you need any help let me know my msn is ice_digity69@hotmail.com if you need anything

peace

keep everything up
 
I don't know if you've seen these, but the doctors have retrofit kits for your Eclipse hood. Might be something to look into.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much that I can do to upgrade my tank aside from custom-cutting my own acrylic cover and getting a completely separate fixture. Something I'm considering doing in the future, as it would allow me to add a protein skimmer more easily.
 
LOL

Thanks for the advice, GSMguy...I think I'm gonna have to put that upgrade off for a while, though. I'm worrying about the expense of buying live rock...lol

All in all this was not a convenient time for a tank to fall into my lap...I just spent a little over $1000 on a new TV (in fairness mine died...so I had to go big.) and on my airfare to Boston. I leave ridiculously early tomorrow :)

Although, I must say that if I had known this tank was gonna fall into my lap, I would have bought the cheapest TV I could find and used that money on my tank!
 
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