Eclipse or Nano for new planted aquarium

[Trumper]

Ahoy Mateys.

I'm going to get a 12g tank for a planted aquarium and a few fish. I've had a 29 gallon for a few years in the past...I went back to school and had to give it up. Now I'm ready for a small tank in my living room once again (yeah, I must go 12g...long story so no "get a big one!" demands pls).

I'm at a toss-up between the Eclipse 12 and the JBJ Nano Cube (also 12g).

- The Nano seems to have better quality parts and 24w lighting. Plants will like that....
- The Eclipse just never states the wattage on the lamp...but I'm guessing it's 12w?
- Price is about the same (Nano = ~$10 more)
- Eclipse has ~150gph flow...Nano is about 105gph

Otherwise, these are about the same. Does anyone have preference/insight/experience with both?

I'm guessing it would be easier to find/obtain parts/filters for the Eclipse.

The Eclipse is 20" x 11.5" x 17.5"
The Nano is 16" x 14" x 15"

I'll prolly be adding eco-complete for substrate as my focus this time around will be the plants. I'll just be adding a few smallish fish...

Thanks in advance for helping me decide....

[phanmc]

I have the 12g Eclipse system and the light that comes with it is a 13w power compact, sufficient for low light plants but not great. The all in one hood setup is nice in that it's easy to reach any component in the tank.

The JBJ nano cube packs more light under the hood, which is good for medium light plants. The deluxe version doubles the lights giving you 48w of CF lights, which is excellent for high light plants. If given the choice again, I'd select the deluxe nano cube for a planted tank. The filtration system for the nano cube is a traditional wet/dry system hidden in the back of the tank.

[gourami]

I haven't owned either of those tanks but have heard many stories anbout the nano cube cracking.

[Emg]

I would probably go with the nano cube because of the better lighting options. Echo-Complete is an excellent choice for substrate ! You might want to look into some flourish Excel for a carbon source. Lot's easier than the CO2 units. With a tank that size a bottle would last you quite awhile.

All the best with your new tank ! Have fun and show us some pics when you get it all together ! :D

Do you know what fish you will be adding ??

[mooman]

If you're going to do planted, then get the one with the most light. (sounds like nano deluxe is your only option).

Another option is this. A 10g with an "economy" incandescent hood, fitted with two cf screw-in bulbs (made for the eclipse 5g tank). You would get 11w per bulb, but in a 10g and using cf the watts per gallon rule is not applicable. I have this set up with flourite and my plants grow like crazy.
Tank- $10
Hood- $13
Lights-$12 each
Filter- $20.00

Total-$55.00 Pretty sure that's way cheaper than either the eclipse or the nano.

[cohazard]

If you're going to do planted, then get the one with the most light. (sounds like nano deluxe is your only option).

Another option is this. A 10g with an "economy" incandescent hood, fitted with two cf screw-in bulbs (made for the eclipse 5g tank). You would get 11w per bulb, but in a 10g and using cf the watts per gallon rule is not applicable. I have this set up with flourite and my plants grow like crazy.
Tank- $10
Hood- $13
Lights-$12 each
Filter- $20.00

Total-$55.00 Pretty sure that's way cheaper than either the eclipse or the nano.

I agree with mooman, I had that same setup before, and it was flat out gorgeous. I did run into algae issues, but that's because I wasn't supplementing with co2 or nutrients, plus I was using plain gravel.

This is what it looked like at it's best, and it would've looked better if I knew how easy co2 and adding ferts/nutrients is...

http://www.aquaticphotos.com/data/media/8/10g_full.JPG

The lights can also be found in 10w versions for $4 at some walmarts in the fish department. If you can't find those, go with the ones at petsmart in the aquarium lighting section.

HTH

[tricksterpup]

Trumper,
I think I know where you are going with this, you want an all in one tank setup. And actually the best way to go is the nano cube, I got a start of a nano reef going for me and they are a really nice tank. I would also look into the 24 cube if you are interested, they are not that much bigger and look pretty nice. Just go ahead and compare at your local petshop if they have any. I have a shop here which displays both styles of tanks and hands down, nano is a much nicer setup.