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Hey guys I have a question on the lights on an Eclipse System 2.

I have been having a so much fun working with my little ten gallon that I have been thinking it would be nice to plant my 25 Gallon tank. It has an eclipse system 2 hood with the bio-wheel filter. The problem is that the max light I can have is 30W so that only leaves me with 1.2 WPG.

Is this enough for me to have success planting anything other than anubias or crypts? Namely could I grow any nice looking stem plants like wisteria or my hygro agustophilia.

Or would I have to replace the whole hood and filter set up? That would require a filter, glass top, and light fixture. Naturally that would get a bit pricey.


Rick
See all my pictures at Google Web Albums

Hi,
I did a search on the the Eclipse System 2, and could not
find anything. What is it, and what type of light does
it have in the hood? If it is incandescent, then you can
easily purchase a screw-in flourscent bulb to replace the
incandescent bulb, and gain more watts/gallon.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Rick,

Wisteria and Hygro do not need loads of light, but they certainly would do better with it (and all the other goodies).

Here is my prediction:

Because you enjoy your other tank so much, and because you have seen what can be done, you will either trash the whole top at some point or even go ahead and replace this tank with a new one (most likely bigger anyway ).

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Frank here is the info on the hood.
http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_eclipse.asp

I have the Eclipse 2. It comes with two 18in (T8-15Watt) florescent tubes. The factory lights appear to be 3000k, but I have 6500K lights available locally. Unfortunately I can not find any light that will fit the 18in T8 that is greater than 15W. Thus I'm limited to 30W or I replace the whole hood.


Ingo,

Unfortunately as much as I would like, a bigger tank is not an option for the time being. I could scrap the top, but that seems like such a waste to me to have a perfectly good top lying around doing nothing.

I guess I am hoping that I can have some success with the current lighting. The plastic plants bother me a lot more now that I have planted the 10 Gallon.


Rick
See all my pictures at Google Web Albums

Hi,
I would purchase the 6500K bulbs. Be sure that they are
DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT rated if you purchse them from a
hardware store. If you get them from a LFS or aquarium
supplier, then they will be fine too.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--