All in one aquarium kits

Originally posted by Sunny
The kit highly recommended here at our Pet store is Eclipse. Considering how much it is it should be good.
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I bought the eclipse 12 on sale mainly because I wanted a tank for work and needed everything to be contained in a neat, easily accessible unit. I still haven't had a chance to set it up yet because I'm switching offices soon. What I did see in terms of quality was that its a good but not great tank. The acrylic tank itself looks nice with the curved bowfront and rounded edges and the hood has everything neatly tucked away. The couple of complaints I have is related to the lid access for feeding and accessing the filter media. The opening is very small so you really can't do much else instead of feeding and changing the filter. You'd need to completely remove the entire hood unit for cleaning and such. The hinge for the lid is also basically non-existant.

The standard lighting for the eclipse unit is also not suited for a moderately planted aquarium, its only a 13 watt CF bulb. A little DYI wiring work has converted it into a 30 watt monster, so we'll see how well plants take to it now :cool:
 
hi danielb
i have had a jewel rio 125 for 3 weeks now and it was easy to set up , i have loads of plants in it and they are growing well and i have 6 danios .
the filter seems really easy to clean and it was easy to set up . good for a beginner .
good luck
 
Like Phanmc, I also have an Eclipse 12g and share similar views about its pros and cons. It's an attractive tank, but not the best equiped for plants if that's your interest. In addition to having only 13 watts, the filter under the hood blocks a bit of light for the back of the tank. My low tech solution is to put a compact flurescent desk lamp, which happens to have the same kind of 13 watt bulb as the Eclipse, behind and above the tank. Not ideal, but it helps the plants in the back of the tank quite a bit.

By the way, Phanmc, would you mind describing your 30 watt modification? Sorry, I didn't mean to hyjack the thread. Perhaps you can respond in a new thread.

Thanks.
 
I bought a 12g nano cube a couple of months ago. It didn't come with a heater. Which brings me to the only complaint I have about it. Its summer here in Michigan with temperatures that range from 50-90. My house stays somewhere in the 67-78 range and I can't keep the cube below 80 F. That's without a heater. On the plus side, it has lots of current.
 
I have a nano cube too and agree about it's insulating qualiteis. Darn thing doesn't need a heat temp never drops more than a degree or so. I've kept Eclipses as well. They are not bad all as long as they aren't over loaded and I got good deals on used ones :D

The first kit you linked to looked interesting, but as far as the boxed kits in pet shops go, skip 'em! They are junk! They usually come with a cheap filter, bad lighting in a full hood (harder to upgrade), bad heaters, and under powered filters. This is a broad generalization now, but the only kits that I liked were in catalogs, not shops.

Now this is a kit that looked cool: http://www.eheim.com/aquariums.htm
 
When i set up aquariums, i go to walmart and get the cheapest aquarium kit that i can find. (i aim for 29 or so) if you want some thing bigger, go to a discount petstore. after i get it home i look at the equipment. i know the filter that they come with is cheasy most of the time, so i get a new one if thats necasary. (bio-wheel 280 is great! i started with that and it'll keep any tank clean). if you want something cheaper, aquaclear is really good to. the heater (if it comes with one) is usualy okay and you can't go wrong with a thermomitor. Most systems will have an incandesant hood, go to Lowes or something and get the flouresent bulbs that go into standard desklamps and stuff. there are usually a wide selection of spectrums. go for a light thats a plant light or simialar i go out and buy some gravel and fake plants to start with. i also get some rocks and stuff. Cycle the tank and then start fazing in your plants. red ludwigia is cheap and easy to grow. also try money-wart and banna plant. they don't need a lot of light. in the end, your system is cheaper and better than it usualy would be. try shopping online. look Here for some great deals.
hope this helps :)
~:cool:

EDIT: also get a good book on the hobby. "The simple guide to fresh water aquariums" is great. the details on it are Here.
 
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Originally posted by Hydro


By the way, Phanmc, would you mind describing your 30 watt modification? Sorry, I didn't mean to hyjack the thread. Perhaps you can respond in a new thread.

Thanks.
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I'll start a new thread in the DIY folder.
 
I'd say look into a Marineland kit. From what I've seen of them it's pretty much the setup I have now. I like the filters in the kits and as such I think you could save afew extra bucks by hunting one out. I doubt you have Wal Marts in Scotland but they sell Allglass aquaium kits. I'd avoid those. The tanks are good but the equipment isn't that hot! I definately wasn't happy with what they included , i.e. the filter heater and such,I bought two of them early in my addiction. I ended up replacing the whole lot in the end which just cost me more money in the long run. So the best advice I can give you is read into what you need and want to run and buy from there. A "do it your self" (DIY) setup can actaully save you more money for the quality in the end and I'd say go that route. If possible buy online, you can find some real nice deals that way on everything other then the tank it self.
-Neo Sithlord
 
I am looking to uphrade my 5 gallon tank to a 10 gal. I saw a kit by AquaCulture at Wal-mart that had everything except the gravel and decorations. It was one of the few kits I saw that came with a heater. I have a tank full of guppies that keep having babies...I know my tabk is almost overcrowded...gonna keep the 5 gal. tank for the babies prob. and put the rest in the 10 gal tank.
 
We have a Juwel Rio 125 at work. It's a really good setup. If you want live plants then I'd recommend getting better light bulbs than the ones that come with the kit though.
 
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