Should I ditch my Eclipse 12 for the sake of my plants?

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willoughbyhun

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Apr 26, 2007
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I'm a newbie who bought an eclipse 12 a little over a month ago as my first tank, thinking I would just plant a few low-light plants for my tetras and guppies and african dwarf frogs. Now I'm getting worried.

I didn't understand lighting at the time. Now realize that 15 watts is probably way too low for anyone's needs. Some of my plants look unhappy despite my use of Seachem's Flourish etc., so I looked into retrofitting the hood, but I can't seem to find one that will fit and is appropriate for a planted tank---not a reef.

I considered CO2 as a way to make my plants happier, but the way the tank hood is designed, it's not clear how I can buy a system that'll work with the hood. I could replace the hood, but I can't find anything else out there will fit. I'd try a DIY hood option, but I am lousy at building stuff.

Any suggestions? I'd rather not ditch the Eclipse and buy some expensive new tank equipment.
 
I had the same problem, I purchased the 12 gal and put plants in, not knowing the light wasn't enough. Here's what I did:

Take off the top flap on the hood (easy to remove). Go to walmart and buy a fluorescent strip light (in the hardware section) and place it on top. They cost less than $10. The two lights combined will give enough output for plants. OR get a full spectrum reptile light from the pet store (make sure it's not a heat lamp) and place the clamped light above the opening in the good. Either way you're adding enough watts for the plants. There are retro fit kits but they cost as much as the tank did so I opted not to do that.

I got this Co2 system and it works wonders: http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...1179341173463&itemNo=3&In=Fish&N=2030065&Ne=2
 
PPMN- what a cool idea re: lighting. Saves me tons of cash. What kind of plants are you able to grow now? Can you do plants that require high amounts of lighting or did you have to stick with medium-to-low light plants?

And did you have trouble getting the hagan system installed in yr tank" The hood of the Eclipse doesn't seem to allow for much room for extras.
 
willoughbyhun, are you in NE Ohio? I'm in Mayfield.

If you can double your light you may be able to grow more light demanding plants, but other factors are involved, CO2, substrate, ferts. When you double, you're still looking at 2-3 watts per gallon, which seems to be just enough for most of my plants in tanks of different conditions. You have tons of options though, even if you stick with "medium" plants.

As for CO2, you simply need to get the tube (similar to airline size) in the tank, to connect to the diffusion ladder. I"m assuming the eclipse allows for airline access, correct? If not a Dremel'll do ya.
 
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This is the Eclipse 12 complete system and not the Eclipse hood system right?

If you stick with the hardy low light plants you should be ok but the Eclipse 12 is not an ideal tank for plants. Due to the hood configuration and filter placement, the light is located in the front of the tank with very little reaching the back area where most plants are placed. It is also very hard to fit additional lights into the hood, I've tried to retrofit it myself and barely managed to squeeze 30w total in it but it required gutting the existing light. I eventually trashed the setup and went with a nanocube.
 
i have 15 watts of light in a 20 gallon high and my plants grow great (java moss and java fern). If i am correct eclipse uses PC lighting?
 
Hey all. Thanks for the help. Yeah, it's the Eclipse 12 tank, not the hood system. Lordy, this is so much more diffuclt than I thought it would be!

I have no idea what a Ddemmel is, I'm sorry to say. But I'm willing to learn. Eventually, I might have to go for a nanocube, but I might stick to a cheap fix for the next few months.

PS: Geofield....no, I live in the south. But I do know of Willoughby, Ohio...people ask me that all the time.
 
I have the same tank as you and it was my starter tank as well. In it I have Anacharis (which I plan to ditch soon) a java fern, two anubias and a brazilian pennywort. The anubias (anubiai?) are doing great, both have gotten much bigger and have been sending out new leaves about once every 3 weeks. This is with a base of gravel and laterite but no co2 system.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for the laterite suggestion. I have it already, tho. So what I have isn't working. My crypts seem very happy, but other plants don't. They're supposed to be plants that tolerate low light, but I think they need a little more light than I have.
 
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