My 6 gallon eclipse

[dallast1]

this eclipse 6 is essentially "stock" except for the lighting and filter media. After over 2 years of the wimpy 8 watt light it came with (BTW, I had extraordinary coraline growth with 8 watts), I finally switched it over to a 32 watt Custom Sea Life retrofit 50/50 setup. What a difference! This lighting is on the same timer as the daylight bulbs in the 60 gallon. And after spending nearly a year battling hair algae, I switched the standard carbon/floss packet with Chemi-pure. I also had a Mini-Jet 404 for additional circulation, but rose BTA got sucked in, so I removed. Perform a half gallon water change every other day.

tomato clown
a few various snails and hermits
very small brittle star
Rose bubble tip anemone
Xenia
various colored mushrooms
1 blue ricordia
leather coral
hammer coral
red with lime green center Blastomussa

 

[investigator1]

I really think that your tank is composed very well. I also think that you take extremely good care of your tank and it shows.

 

[dallast1]

thanks for the complement.

i almost gave up on this tank.... but glad i didn't! it and my 60 gal. are finally thriving. although more light in 60 gal. would be nice!

if i can get some more coverage on these rocks in the nano...some zoanthids sound like an idea...or more mushrooms, i would be very content.

 

[brandon4291]

zThat is two years old?!?! Wow you have great maintenance discipline. Really, mine get dirty within a few months because I tend to get lax on scrapings, exports etc. Really great job, Ill keep this one in mind for an upcoming suprise.

B

 

[reefann]

I agree with Brandon you are disciplined, thats for sure.
Do you ever do any drastic cleaning to the tank? Such as removal of most rock and cleaning of the sides very well. Or totally vacuming the sand bed?
So Brandon whats the suprise??
JJ
_________________
united states economy

 

[dallast1]

thanks brandon and reefann!
well, i have to admit my maintainence on this liitle tank was getting lax....i was so frustrated with the hair algae! and just to keep it to a minimum, i had to pull all of the rocks out every 2-3 weeks and scrub them with a toothbrush. also got as much algae out of sand as i could too...usually brought a lot of sand with it. so that sand is only a few months old.

brandon, your bottle reefs are phenomenal! i like your more natural look...i guess that may come in my tank now that i don't have to take the rocks out every other week!

any suggestions for new additions?....anyone????......

 

[PeeJ]

Add a little more salt water. Those water line gaps bug me

 

[Anonymous]

dallast,
I was curious if yours is an older eclipse or newer model. A friend did the light retro and the lid won't close all the way. And how did you keep from having salt creep on the lights? Her light sheild won't go back on. Any help for her would be great.
Thanks,

 

[dallast1]

peej, those gaps bug me too. but i need a little gap for some flow! i took the powerhead out after rose bta got caught in it, so the gap gives me just a little more flow in the tank.

as far as the light goes, my eclipse is about 4 years old, so i guess an older style. but no matter really, because i had to gut the entire old light assembly anyway. you have to to get the new retrofit csl reflector and light in there. and to protect light from salt/water, i cut some plexiglass to fit the opening and cover the light...very cheap and not too pretty way to go, but works. lets me close top completely.

thanks again for the interest everyone!

i will post some pics of my hammer's budding attempts.

 

[Anonymous]

if it aint broke dont fix it...but nice tank...it looks good and it reflects the care you put into it...

 

[brandon4291]

Suprise! Focus thread qualifier.

 

[Anonymous]

<deleted>double post

 

[Anonymous]

Triple post...dammit :evil: <deleted>

 

[Anonymous]

sorry you lost me brandon

Suprise! Focus thread qualifier.

 

[brandon4291]

Well they wanted to know what the suprise was. Dallas do you have any current pics? If I ever double-post anyone to the focus thread you guys be sure to inundate me with pm's. Its getting hard to remember all of them as time goes by.

B

 

[Anonymous]

Looks nice, my first foray back into saltwater after a long absence several years back was an eclipse 6 ! Neat little tanks but a pain to retro any real lighting without spiking the temp.

Keeping the acrylic coralline / algae free and not scratching it ends up being a chore too.

 

[dallast1]

brandon,

i shall endeavor to take some more photos of my nano. i fear the hammer coral will have to move down to 60 gal. tank! getting too big!

yeah....i am seeing some noticeable scratches in the plastic from so much scrubbing....may have to get a new eclipse 6 in future.

 

[dallast1]

still trying to get the camera working again! :x

the xenia is now climbing the side wall. i think this form of xenia makes a nice nutrient export!

hey, where's a good place to zoos? good quality ones!

 

[brandon4291]

GARF has some nice zoos, and many have dealt with them and were happy.

Xenia is nice, it is one of the most eye-catching corals for people to see that don't know about reef aquariums. Most people appreciate the color of LPS/SPS but I think the pulsing of xenia makes them really start to see the corals as living, active animals.

 

[dallast1]

here's a link to both my tanks http://lvmas.org/lvaquariasociety/WayCool/Members/Pics/D_Tippie.html, which can be found on the local las vegas marine aquarium society homepage. and a little description about myself and the tanks to boot!

if you live in las vegas, please join the lvmas and support local reefers!

thanks,

dallas