I purchased some things recently from someone and this is one of the items I purchased. The guy modified his Eclipse 3 in his office to hold 2 Coralife mini PC bulbs, giving the tank 6.6 watts per gallon and very very bright for under 30 bucks. Here's how he did it (forgive me if I'm not good with instruction, but I'd be happy to answer any further questions).
First he removed the factory installed lighting from the hood. He purchased 2 ceramic bulb sockets and one lamp cord with on/off switch from Lowes or Home Depot. He glued silver mylar (available at hobby shops) to the hood above the lighting. He wired the sockets and fastened them with screws to the already existing holes from the factory lighting. He then inserted a Coralife mini PC bulb in each socket. The bulbs are rated at 10 watts each and give the tank 6.6 watts per gallon.
He said this tank has been running for over a year like this. When I purchased the tank he had some very small corals in it and lots of green and red coraline algea.
Below are some pics of the final project I took with my web cam. I also had an idea to turn this tank into a refigium. Below the pics are the information to do that. Forgive me but I haven't cleaned it up yet.
The bulbs in the hood.
A close up of the bulbs.
Tank with the lights on.
Another pic with the lights on.
My idea with the Eclipse 3 (since I don't want to keep such a small closed system) is to turn it into a refuge to sit on top of my 75's canopy. I purchased an Azoo 1200 to sit in my sump. I also purchased 2 bulkhead fitting kits (one is 1/2" and the other is 3/4"), a ball valve, mineral mud, and an 11" siphon tube with strainer.
My plan is to install the bulkheads into the Eclipse. The 1/2" in the top left back corner pointing forward, and the 3/4" in the top right back corner facing foward, both at the same height. I'm going to place the pump in the sump of my wet/dry, and it will pump into the 1/2" bulkhead in the eclipse. The water will be slowed down to about 30 gallons per hour or whatever I need to create water movement without disturbing the sand bed with the ball valve. The water will then flow out of the eclipse through the 3/4" bulkhead. The tubing will flow into a tube, down to the siphon tube which I'm going to shorten the shortest end and then into the 75. I got the longer siphon tube so whatever flows out of the eclipse has a better chance of getting to the bottom or some rocks before something snatches it. I should be able to grow lots of pods and algea/plants in this thing with no problem. Hopefully...
Also here's a list of items and prices if anyone wants to give it a try.
Eclipse 3 =$39.99
Azoo 1200 pump = $11.99
3/4" x 11" Siphon tube with strainer = $2.19
1/2" Bulkhead fitting kit = $6.69
3/4" Bulkhead fitting kit = $7.19
7' 1/2" Tubing (bought locally) = $2.85
4' 3/4" Tubing (bought locally) = $2.00
1 1/2" Ball Valve = $3.00
Mineral Mud (optional)= 19.99
2 Coralife mini PC bulbs = $20.00
Various electrical items (sockets for bulbs and cord) = $10.00.
Total = $125.89
First he removed the factory installed lighting from the hood. He purchased 2 ceramic bulb sockets and one lamp cord with on/off switch from Lowes or Home Depot. He glued silver mylar (available at hobby shops) to the hood above the lighting. He wired the sockets and fastened them with screws to the already existing holes from the factory lighting. He then inserted a Coralife mini PC bulb in each socket. The bulbs are rated at 10 watts each and give the tank 6.6 watts per gallon.
He said this tank has been running for over a year like this. When I purchased the tank he had some very small corals in it and lots of green and red coraline algea.
Below are some pics of the final project I took with my web cam. I also had an idea to turn this tank into a refigium. Below the pics are the information to do that. Forgive me but I haven't cleaned it up yet.
The bulbs in the hood.
A close up of the bulbs.
Tank with the lights on.
Another pic with the lights on.
My idea with the Eclipse 3 (since I don't want to keep such a small closed system) is to turn it into a refuge to sit on top of my 75's canopy. I purchased an Azoo 1200 to sit in my sump. I also purchased 2 bulkhead fitting kits (one is 1/2" and the other is 3/4"), a ball valve, mineral mud, and an 11" siphon tube with strainer.
My plan is to install the bulkheads into the Eclipse. The 1/2" in the top left back corner pointing forward, and the 3/4" in the top right back corner facing foward, both at the same height. I'm going to place the pump in the sump of my wet/dry, and it will pump into the 1/2" bulkhead in the eclipse. The water will be slowed down to about 30 gallons per hour or whatever I need to create water movement without disturbing the sand bed with the ball valve. The water will then flow out of the eclipse through the 3/4" bulkhead. The tubing will flow into a tube, down to the siphon tube which I'm going to shorten the shortest end and then into the 75. I got the longer siphon tube so whatever flows out of the eclipse has a better chance of getting to the bottom or some rocks before something snatches it. I should be able to grow lots of pods and algea/plants in this thing with no problem. Hopefully...
Also here's a list of items and prices if anyone wants to give it a try.
Eclipse 3 =$39.99
Azoo 1200 pump = $11.99
3/4" x 11" Siphon tube with strainer = $2.19
1/2" Bulkhead fitting kit = $6.69
3/4" Bulkhead fitting kit = $7.19
7' 1/2" Tubing (bought locally) = $2.85
4' 3/4" Tubing (bought locally) = $2.00
1 1/2" Ball Valve = $3.00
Mineral Mud (optional)= 19.99
2 Coralife mini PC bulbs = $20.00
Various electrical items (sockets for bulbs and cord) = $10.00.
Total = $125.89
