Easiest and quickest setup.

[Skippy]

My best friend talked to his brother and they agreed to get his young niece and newphew a tank for Christmas.

Asides from the obvious need to cycle the tank before adding fish, He was wondering about the easiest tank to do initial setup on for them.

I suggested the Eclipse 12 system since it's pretty "all in one" and should be fast and easy to setup and somewhat easy to maintain. I also suggested he can order that and have it delivered to his brothers house (in another state), then since he is going to visit them for Christmas he can get supplies and stuff there locally. And can also ask for some gravel of such from a LFS to kick-start the cycle.

Is there anybody around familiar enough with the Eclipse 12 to tell me what size biowheel it uses? I was thinking about the logisitcs of starting a Biowheel now on one of my existing tanks of the same size so he could have a well seeded one to take with him on his flight.

Any suggestions? Is there an easier route?

 

[Billy77]

You can't go wrong with the Eclipse system. I have the E2 on my 20 and just love it.

Go to Petsmart and check out the accessory bins for the size you need. All the information is on the package, or check the web site.

 

[Richer]

that depends on what you think is an easy setup...

personally, i think a 20 gallon tank with an AC200 on it is just as easy to maintain as the eclipse system.. if not more easy.

HTH
-Richer

 

[delmore]

I have a 20 Long w/ an AQ 200 and it is a nice setup. Add a glass top, and home depot strip light (lights of America is a good brand), heater and you're set for little $$$.

The reusable AQ sponges will save big bucks.

 

[Archer]

I agree with the eclipse.
It's the closest to "plug and play" in the aquarium world, IME.

You can also just seed a piece of a filter floss, or small filter pad
for him to use, and place that on top of the eclipse filter pad
when it's up and running.