Modding an Eclipse System 12 Help! o_O

[johnsonlee42]

Hey guys,

So I'm a relatively new to reefing, but I have an enthusiasm for the hobby that I definitely want to grow. I only have the space for a nano reef, and would love some advice on the best setup.

I currently have a Eclipse 12 System (I chose this aquarium because it is the perfect fit in the space that I have), which I have already modded to accomodate more lighting (36W 50/50). I have the standard filtration system that comes with the aquairum, along with a heater and a powerhead.

I'm thinking of getting rid of the hood and getting more advanced lighting. I've come across the Sunpod 20" 150W 14K HQI-MW - which is apparently a good fit for nano systems. Am I being a little too ambitious here? Specs can be found here: http://bit.ly/16vcJK. I would need to play with the brackets a bit so that they fit the Eclipse frame, but I'm worried about heat - this thing is advertised as being relatively cool, but I wanted to see if anyone out there has had experience with the Sunpod systems. Thoughts? Should I go with something completely different? I have also never had an open-air system before - are there any drawbacks, other than suicidal gobies?

I'm also thinking of getting a new filtration system, as the built-in filtration system is bulky and takes up a ton of space. I'm thinking of a hanging filter, but I don't want to move my tank too far away from the wall due to how much the filter needs to extend from the tank (right now it's 1" from the wall). Any recommendations? I'm thinking of attaching a surface protein skimmer (http://bit.ly/40ogYu) to this as well to help the system in general, and I'm going to have two powerheads.

I would love to hear your thoughts and what you guys think I can do with this kind of setup. I would get a bigger system if my space wasn't so limited, so I'll have to make due somehow. What do you guys think? I am indeed with stupid iamwithst), so any nuggets of knowledge you guys could share would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Johnson

 

[aznt1217]

I'll give a quick response and go in depth later when I am at home.

Ditch the stock hood. The sunpod is perfect for that tank.
Ditch the hang on filter and use Live Rock
Buy a protein skimmer. a Tunze 9002 is really good/Aqua C Remora

 

[johnsonlee42]

So would the entire Tunze protein skimmer be just inserted into the tank?

 

[aznt1217]

Yea, it's a magnet mount

 

[johnsonlee42]

Ah okay thanks - is this the one? http://bit.ly/3Jw0jo

Thanks so much for the advice - I really appreciate it! Any more information or tips you can think of providing would be awesome.

 

[emmanuel]

I am in astoria dont do anything till you see my kids eclipse I installed 6 led lights that will support most any reef life without any heat issues and I cut the back of the tank and installed a remmora skimmer but its alot less work to go with that tunze unit I had the remora so I put it to use, if you would like to check it out one day send me a pm

 

[johnsonlee42]

Haha - Emmanuel, are you offering to build a custom LED solution for my Eclipse System 12?! :splitspin Just kidding of course. I did consider LEDs, but I (a) don't really have the knowledge or the time to build it myself, and (b) I don't have the workspace to do it. In my research the Sunpod seemed to have good reviews, so I wanted to throw it out there as a potential option - of course, I am here to soak up the collective advice available on MH.

Is there still any sort of debate still of the effectiveness of LED vs. MH, or are the two pretty much equivalent? I'm open to all your ideas...

 

[Chraddam]

Hey Johnson, you can mount the sunpod, and place a clear piece of acrylic above the tank to prevent any escaping fish and deflect some of the heat. You can also get a small desk fan to clip on or near the tank to keep things cool. You saw my tank, I run MH, Actinic, AND LED's with no problems and great results, so you should be able to figure out a system that works best for you. Manny has a really nice little tank at his place, you should go check it out( and his main tank is UNBELIEVABLE!!!).
Good Luck!

 

[Chraddam]

And oh yeah, POST PICS!!!

 

[aznt1217]

Okay now that I am finally at home and not work. Let's give you some in depth advice haha.

- Emmanuel gives great advice and I would definitely go the LED route. If you want to modify the hood meaning... chop it up so that there is a compartment for the skimmer cup to stick out of. I think it would look cool. Like a finnex unit.

- Let's just say hypothetically you don't go with LED's. You put that stock hood in storage and you went for the Sunpod. It would work fine, but yes you might run into heat issues depending on your home. I honestly would go with a T5 unit with LED supplements so you get the shimmer effect.

- It really depends what corals you are going to keep as well. T5 safe to say it will keep sps if you buy the 4 bulb unit. You might even get away with if it you kept the 2 bulb unit and put LED's on the end of it.

- Filtration: Liverock/Live sand is THE BEST way to go my friend. Make sure you have a cleanup crew as well.

If you really want to add on extra I would get a small hang on back refugium (don't know what your budget is). If you don't go with the refugium just be prepared to stay on top of your water changes... this will also depend on your bioload.

- Protein Skimmer- I have had many skimmers a berlin turbo xl, euroreef es5-2, remora pro, remora, tunze DOC 9002, and now my reef octopus. For nano tanks I would absolutely go with the tunze DOC 9002 (the one you linked). It's SUPER quiet and once dialed in, it's phenomenal especially on a 12 gallon.

- If you want to see other 12 gallon builds there's many floating around on nano-reef where the customization maniacs did some great work.

- If you buy a powerhead... I believe a Koralia 1 or 2 Koralia nano's is fine. Heck I would throw a Vortech MP10 in there. Like I said... depends on your budget.

 

[johnsonlee42]

Hmmm thanks for the advice guys! I might just reach out to Emmanuel about LED lighting, haha.

As for filtration, while I have plenty of live rock and live sand, would this along with a skimmer truly replace the benefits of a filtration device that provides mechanical and chemical filtration? I do have about 3 fish on top of my corals in there so I have a decent bioload, but I am also pretty diligent with doing 20% water changes once to twice a week. Other than dissolved organic materials, do skimmers also filter out biological debris? Sorry I'm such a newbie at this.

Would one Vortech MP10 provide a good amount of circulation in the Eclipse tank? I don't know what would be better - one powerhead that can provide up to 1500 gph (if needed I guess) or two powerheads that provide 240 gph each? I just want to make sure that there is no dead space in the aquarium in terms of flow - does the skimmer provide some flow as well with its pump?

THanks for the advice!

 

[emmanuel]

go with the vortech
remember on such a small tank you have to keep heat in mind 2 or even 1 power heads would add more heat than a vortech
Try to think in the long run led's are the way to go the initial cost is high but in the long run it's much cheaper : No annual bulb changes , less electrical consumption , less heat ...
If you really want to get fancy you could even go with 4 blue and 4 white led's and 2 buckpucks to control the color of the light by dimming the whites for a bluer color or vise verse
I would also get a quote from Wingo he has more experience in the field

 

[johnsonlee42]

Hey Emmanuel,

Sent you a PM, haha.

So what's the concensus on filtration? Would just a skimmer be enough? I have around 15-20 pounds of live rock and a sandbed that is about 1.5" thick, so I definitely have the organic filtration covered...

Johnson

 

[aznt1217]

Liverock and a skimmer is fine.

One Vortech is way more than enough. Please remember it is adjustable so you dial it all the way down. I say get one if it's in the budget. If not, go with 2 Koralia nano's. The Vortech has a wide range of flow which is great for corals.

 

[johnsonlee42]

Thanks for the advice! I'm probably going to go with the Vortech, it sounds like one of the best powerheads out there...

While I am splurging on upgrading my tank (which makes me feel like I should have just gone all out equipping it in the first place - oh well now I know better for my next tank! :splitspin), what would be a good heater for me to get? Right now I have a 75W Visitherm which has performed adequately, but I've heard too many horror stories about heaters with internal monitoring devices. Additionally, my apartment has electric heat so it's off when I'm not at home - in the winter the temperature could very well drop to the 40-50s (but not lower than 40 simply because of the heat from surrounding apartments and insulation), depending on how cold it is outside. Consequently, I think I'm also going to need more wattage - anyone have any ideas on this one?

Emmanuel, sorry we weren't able to meet up today, I still need a consultation from you haha

 

[Master Shake]

well i dont think you are going to be doing sps in that tank so i would go with a 75w mh instead of the 150 that might be overkill. or try to find a small t5 ho fixture