Revamping an old eclipse 29

[scoobasteve]

Hi. Ive been on this forum for about a year now and i have an AP 12 g that has been running for about 7 months. Last summer i was given a 29 gallon eclipse 6 tank. I had terrible luck with it. The stock lighting said "reef ready" but it was a joke--36w of flourescent on a 24" tall tank. The filter really didn't filter very well and even with two oscilating power sweep powerheads i had very little flow. I added a 96w quad pc retrofit to the hood, but it still wasn't enough and ended up heating the tank too quickly.
I plan to start over with the tank, ditch the eclipse hood, drill the tank and run a 20g fuge/sump underneath. I was thinking doing the fuge almost like a seperate show tank, with the macro algea hidden from view using a painted piece of plexi. I plan to use mineral mud for the substrate in the fuge, along with cleaner clams and lots of LR rubble. I am thinking of using the old 96w quad as the fuge light, unless you guys think it would be too strong.
questions
1. would a 24" 4 bulb tek 5 light be enough for a 29?
2. how strong should the return pump be?
3. How much luck have you guys had with flame scallops? I have an electric in my 12g pod right now and he seems ok, but i was thinking of putting a couple in the fuge once i get it set up.
4. I wanted to keep a snowflake eel in the 29, but what kind of inverts can i keep in the tank with him besides snails? Would a lettuce nudibranch be lunch?

 

[scoobasteve]

bump. My main question was whether or not the t5 would be enough for a 24" tall tank.

 

[Bri Guy]

Should be fine, just keep the high light dependent corals towards the top (they won't know how deep the tank is)

I had a 12 nano eclipse, horrable salt creep, did the same as you (except i ditched the tank and hood) Pics in gallery 5mo. old

I have the eheim 1250 for my sump/return pump, and love it, it doesn't create great flow in the tank, so I add power heads, but keeps everything moving from sump to tank.

 

[cherubfish pair]

scoobasteve,
I think you have some good ideas for your 29 gallon, but ditch the idea of the eel. Here's a recent thread about eels in nanos:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1015394&referrerid=61488

 

[BlakDuc]

I am setting up a similar tank right now. I am using a 30 gallon though with a 20 for a sump. I am going to use a Mag 7 with a SCWD for flow and possibly a MJ1200(modded) if I need some more flow. I drilled the main tank tonight for an overflow. I put a 1" bulkhead in the center of the tank 4" from the top with a 90* pvc elbow and a strainer. Took all of about 5 minutes to drill the tank, super easy. I am going to do baffles in the sump and possibly a reverse lit refugium down there. I am going to run a Prizm skimmer modded with the meshwheel mod. I have had pretty good results with 3 of these skimmers before, so I am not worried about everyone saying that they are crap. I have a 2x96 PC fixture to mount on it, but will eventually upgrade to a 4x24 Tek fixture when $ permits. Should give you some more ideas. Have fun.

 

[mikellini]

The 29 gallon tank that comes with the eclipse system isn't 24" tall, it's about 18". I put a retrofit 24" 65w PC into the hood, no problem, and it's ok for my softies, but I could fit another 65w in there if I wanted to. I love the look of the hood, that's pretty much the only reason I still have it, and I was recently looking into a lighting upgrade as well... since the 4 bulb tek is 24" long, and the tank is 30", there would be some DIY, but that might be a viable option. Another that I was looking at was the new aquactinics 5 bulb 24" that comes with legs to fit a 30" tank, but as far as I know it's not available just yet, pretty soon though... And then, I started to think about scrapping the tank, and just using it for a sump on a larger one. So, to avoid that, i think it'll stay a 65w softy tank, with one LPS and possibly an anemone close to the surface in the future. I don't use the stock filtration, I modded the hood to fit an AquaC Remora on the rear of the tank at the left end... and I have a MJ 1200 for circulation, looking at a flow upgrade possibly when i get the anemone.

If ur really looking for t5 lights, the aquactinics fixture might be better. And cheaper, from what I hear. Plus it's made for aquarium use, not like the tek with an optional protective plexiglass shield and no waterproof endcaps that was made for hydroponic plant setups...