Are eclipse filters pretty good?

[Firethorn]

I have 3 eclipse filters - one on my 20 gallon and 2 on my 60. They
SEEM pretty good - but I wanted some more feedback. Should i also use
an UG filter? Does the eclipse move the surface of the water enough
so I dont need to airate? Im haveing a hard time finding good
insturctions on aerating. Is it the bubbles or just the movement of
the water surface they cause?

[Dances With Ferrets]

Firethorn > wrote in message >...
> I have 3 eclipse filters - one on my 20 gallon and 2 on my 60. They
> SEEM pretty good - but I wanted some more feedback. Should i also use
> an UG filter? Does the eclipse move the surface of the water enough
> so I dont need to airate? Im haveing a hard time finding good
> insturctions on aerating. Is it the bubbles or just the movement of
> the water surface they cause?


Greetings,

I've used eclipse filters a lot in the pet shop and we have a 25G
tall planted demonstration tank set up with an eclipse system hood...
I love the concept of having everything integrated into one unit.
The Bio-wheels are great for reducing ammonia, and the filter seems to
produce more than sufficient aeration for most typical
properly-stocked tanks. My only gripes with the eclipse are as
follows:

a: The lights are located at the extreme front... I generally prefer
them to be in the middle of the hood so as to provide more even
lighting to all the plants. Many other folks who use eclipse systems
have echoed this same point.

b: The filtration pads are rather small and seem to get clogged
quickly (this is easily remedied by rinsing the pad in a bucket of
dechlorinated water or tank water as needed).

c: The starters within the flourescent units are hard-wired in a
proprietary manner... They cannot be replaced if one does not have the
correct parts as well as a general knowledge of electrical wiring (I
replaced one by disecting a new starter for a standard flourescent
unit and flattening all the components so that they would fit under
the Eclipse hood when it was screwed back in. If you do this, just be
sure that your connections are well insulated and no wires are
inappropriately crossed.)

Regarding your aeration concerns... I frequently run into folks who
believe that you NEED air bubbles to properly aerate the water. This
seems to be a myth left over from the older days of aquarium-keeping
when air pumps were the only form of aeration available and waterproof
filter-pump motors were either not in existence or were rather
expensive. If you like the look of bubbles in your tank, by all
means, get an air pump, but it is not necessary. Anything that moves
the water and agitates the surface of the water will aerate it.
Eclipse hoods seem to be more than sufficient in this case.

I believe that an undergravel filter would be unnecessary in your
case.

[surewest]

I aggree with firethorn on all points. If you think that the
eclipse combo is not providing enough oxygenation, then
you cal always add a powerhead with an air injecter. This
inject a little air before the impeller thus macking micro bubbles.
The smaller the bubble, the faster it will disolve in the water before
breaking the surface. Most air stones create bubbles that are too big
to disolve before they hit the top.

John


--


Dr5000

| ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
| ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

If you can't be kind,
at least have the decency to be vague.
_______________________
"Firethorn" > wrote in message
...
> I have 3 eclipse filters - one on my 20 gallon and 2 on my 60. They
> SEEM pretty good - but I wanted some more feedback. Should i also use
> an UG filter? Does the eclipse move the surface of the water enough
> so I dont need to airate? Im haveing a hard time finding good
> insturctions on aerating. Is it the bubbles or just the movement of
> the water surface they cause?
>
>

[Firethorn]

On Tue, 03 Aug 2004 00:33:18 -0700, Firethorn >
wrote:

>I have 3 eclipse filters - one on my 20 gallon and 2 on my 60. They
>SEEM pretty good - but I wanted some more feedback. Should i also use
>an UG filter? Does the eclipse move the surface of the water enough
>so I dont need to airate? Im haveing a hard time finding good
>insturctions on aerating. Is it the bubbles or just the movement of
>the water surface they cause?

Thankyou so much for the info! Very helpfull. One thing i really
dont like about the eclipse - the uptake tube is 4 inches from the
side and 2 inches from the back - making it VERY conspicous. I wish
it were more in the corner.

FIrethorn
>

[surewest]

I agree but they may have done this so you could still
add a powerhead if you had decided to include a UGF.
What I found strange was that Marineland's FAQ's
suggested 2-3w of light per gal, yet their covers come
with 18w bulbs... Over all I love their products.

My tank 37gal show tank with Eclipse 3 hood... I have it over stacked
and run a Penguin powerhead and a Magnum 350 to keep up. The power
head is set to create a small amount of micro bubble of air.. My CO2
output goes to a bubble counter situated below the intake. As the CO2
works it's way up the diffuser, it ends up being sucked into the powerhead
which helps diffuse what's left even more.

Hope that helps!
PS In my humble opinion, I wouldn't run a UGF unless I reversed the flow
to downwards, forcing fresh water and oxygen up through the gravel. This
would
make the gravel more hospitable to bacteria and would not allow for harmful
gasses
to accumulate and bubble up later to maybe stress or kill the fish.


--


Dr5000

| ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤° `°¤ø,¸¸,ø¤°`°¤ø
| ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·.¸. ><((((º> ·´¯`·. , .·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

If you can't be kind,
at least have the decency to be vague.
_______________________
"Firethorn" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 03 Aug 2004 00:33:18 -0700, Firethorn >
> wrote:
>
> >I have 3 eclipse filters - one on my 20 gallon and 2 on my 60. They
> >SEEM pretty good - but I wanted some more feedback. Should i also use
> >an UG filter? Does the eclipse move the surface of the water enough
> >so I dont need to airate? Im haveing a hard time finding good
> >insturctions on aerating. Is it the bubbles or just the movement of
> >the water surface they cause?
>
> Thankyou so much for the info! Very helpfull. One thing i really
> dont like about the eclipse - the uptake tube is 4 inches from the
> side and 2 inches from the back - making it VERY conspicous. I wish
> it were more in the corner.
>
> FIrethorn
> >
>

[chas good]

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 08:23:32 -0700, "surewest" >
wrote:

>I agree but they may have done this so you could still
>add a powerhead if you had decided to include a UGF.
>What I found strange was that Marineland's FAQ's
>suggested 2-3w of light per gal, yet their covers come
>with 18w bulbs... Over all I love their products.
>
>My tank 37gal show tank with Eclipse 3 hood... I have it over stacked
>and run a Penguin powerhead and a Magnum 350 to keep up. The power
>head is set to create a small amount of micro bubble of air.. My CO2
>output goes to a bubble counter situated below the intake. As the CO2
>works it's way up the diffuser, it ends up being sucked into the powerhead
>which helps diffuse what's left even more.
>
>Hope that helps!
>PS In my humble opinion, I wouldn't run a UGF unless I reversed the flow
>to downwards, forcing fresh water and oxygen up through the gravel. This
>would
>make the gravel more hospitable to bacteria and would not allow for harmful
>gasses
>to accumulate and bubble up later to maybe stress or kill the fish.

I have the Eclipse 3 hood on a 37 gal too. The filter cartridges are
to small I think. I did 2 minor mods.
First I bought a coarse foam block made for AquaClear filters. cut a
circle a 1/4 inch deep and slipped it over the intake in place of the
plastic strainer. This is my pre filter.
Next I cut the blue poly media out of the plastic cartridge frame.
Dumped the carbon and put a layer of the white poly filter floss on
the frame and put it in a net bag.
It filters smaller particles now but with the filter so small I have
to rinse it out every week.
On the plus side I like the fact that it draws water in from one side
and dumps it back in on the other side of the tank. Unlike so many hob
filters that dump the water right above or next to the intake.
I also run a Hagen Quick Filter on a 201 powerhead making bubbles. I
use floss in this filter as well.
I read somewhere on the net that T8 bulbs like used in the Eclipse are
more efficient so the T8 18watt bulb equals a T12 20watt. But it could
still be better. The same hood will fit on a 20gal long tank so gives
a higher wpg.