[RAILhead]

Hey

I'm thinking about getting my wife a simple little Eclipse System 12 aquarium. It's only 12 gallon, and all she'll want are small fish -- so the size is just right. I've heard rave reviews and overwhelming praise, but I thought I'd see if anyone here has one/has used one.

Aquarium Furniture & Kits: Eclipse System 12 Freshwater & Saltwater Aquarium Kit

[marden]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

Hey

I'm thinking about getting my wife a simple little Eclipse System 12 aquarium. It's only 12 gallon, and all she'll want are small fish -- so the size it just right. I've heard rave reviews and overwhelming praise, but I thought I'd see if anyone here has one/has used one.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...p;N=2004+62760

I think she's lucky to have you. That would be a thoughtful, fun, interesting, pleasurable, entertaining, soothing, absorbing, decorative gift that will keep on giving long after you spring it on her.

Hope she likes the idea as much as I do.

[Face Ache]

...integrated lighting and filtration...

I wouldn't.

[King Bob On The Cob]

It's fluorescent lighting and Penguin Bio-Wheel filtering designed specifically for the tank... Not too bad overall considering how messed up you can get a tank if you don't know enough and get too small of a filter or something.

[G4ME]

why not a simple 20 gallon tank? can't be that much more, ebay is your friend for heaters, air pumps, and other odds and ends

if she enjoys it as much as you think she will, then she would enjoy a slightly bigger tank oh so much more

[zerostar]

You setting this up Salt or Fresh? I think a 12 Gal is good, and they get rave reviews, but if you are doing salt she may outgrow it quickly! Also salt can get very expensive depending what she likes...

[RAILhead]

I should have said that I'm fairly knowledgeable when it comes to freshwater aquaria. I was mostly wanting to see if anyone had feedback about this specific tank. This will be one I won't have much to do with, and since she's not as adept, I want something simple, small, and inclusive.

[zerostar]

for freshwater I would go for it!!

[RAILhead]

I think I will.

Regarding salt, I've read a lot of good things about people using the 6 or 3 gal with live rock, and they live for YEARS! I may have to snag a salt version, too, just to experiment on my own, with a small, horribly basic, salt tank.

[kick52]

sounds very nice.

[osiris]

This is the same tank I've been looking at - a co-worker has it already and loves it.
(everyone has a fish tank in their office!)

Definately a nice gift!

EDIT: This tank is lighter and safer to move around, + the seams are really nice. The only downside is that it can scratch easily.

[Railroader]

I bought this tank in great condition with all of the packaging at a garage sale this summer. You do NOT want to know how little I paid. The previous owner used it to keep their pond fish in it during the winter. And the had some medium sized fish in there. Now that's not something I would do, but they did it successfully.

I am using it for a couple of small cichlids and it works perfectly. I added a small under gravel filter with a bubbler and it nearly maintenance free.

The light is very bright hits a lot of the light spectrum and the plastic of the tank is VERY clear. It looks nice on a small end table we have it on and our kids love it.

Highly recommended.

That site has some pretty good prices on the filter cart. as well.

I am interested in getting one of the marine setups and putting an anemone and a couple clown fish.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

I think I will.

Regarding salt, I've read a lot of good things about people using the 6 or 3 gal with live rock, and they live for YEARS! I may have to snag a salt version, too, just to experiment on my own, with a small, horribly basic, salt tank.

If that doesn't work out, you can always turn it into a lobster tank.

[powerbook867]

RH, you could do a SW nano no problem with this tank, but the lighting, flow and filtration may not be where you want to be...

If you do pull the trigger and start doing SW (which is extremely addictive) check out this forum..

Reef Central Online Community

I had a 65 gallon reef before I moved to the Midwest. Had to break it all down and sell it off before we moved 1200 miles. Broke my heart...

[RAILhead]

I LOVE the Reef Central forums, though I never post! And yeah, I'm totally wanting to try a SW if my wife will let me.

[kman42]

SW nano? I thought you had to go big with SW, but once it was set up and running it was actually easier to maintain than FW. Am I behind the times?

kman

[RAILhead]

You can force a small SW, but you're EXTREMELY limited to what you can place in it. Mostly, all it's good for is coral and stuff like that -- some shrimp or seahorses. But, mostly live rock/coral.

[powerbook867]

The main problems with a nano is stability. The margin for error is very low since the volume of water you are dealing with is low..Plus, if you have even a basic soft coral tank w/ live rock, you will definitely need some decent lighting (10k bulbs is what a lot of folks use) and you will want a good protein skimmer. Power outages can wreck a tank within a couple of hours and you really need A/C in the house if you have temperature fluctuations. The lighting generates a lot of heat which can be deadly during the summer months.

Also, any deaths in the tank (corals, fish, snails etc..) can have a fast and dramatic impact.

On a 12 gallon, plan on spending 500-600 dollars to start. Not including test kits for nitrates, ammonia etc.

On another more personal note, try and buy aqua cultured corals. The reefs around the world are in bad shape.

I will be setting my coral farm back up as soon as I buy a house in two months...