MissMTS

I recently got a tank off of craigslist for my DP's. It was an 18g tall with an eclipse hood which I thought was really nice.....

On Saturday. I opened the hood to feed my puffs and the cord started sparking and smoking! I turned off the surge protector and the hood is totally shot. The problem with all-in-one hoods is that if it breaks, you have to replace everything. I don't have the money to buy a new hood, light, and filter at the moment, so I am stuck doing daily water changes and hoping that my puffs pull through.

Sorry to complain, I just think that its something people should consider before making a purchase.

Amanda

Someone just gave me an Eclipse hood, I haven't tried it yet, but I was tempted to. I'll watch out for something like that happening!

prairielilly

I've got a little bitty 3g Eclipse, not sure if it's the same idea? but on mine the filter part was a separate piece that fit into a slot in the hood, and the light is fully integrated. I chucked the filter a few weeks ago, it leaked out the side and water was running down the cords!

If one of your other tanks can spare some media, I'd get a cheap box filter, stick the media in and put that in your tank. Beats all those water changes!

MissMTS

I don't think it will be a problem if the hood is in good condition. I guess what I am saying is that down the line, when something breaks, be prepaired to replace the whole thing

I think it is the same idea. Unfortunately right now, none of my tanks can spare any media. I just used the extra to seed my 20 gallon and put some new media in my existing tanks. Once that stuff seeds in a few weeks, I could probably use a little bit of it to seed this tank.... I am gonna keep my eye out on craigslist for cheap filters.

prairielilly

Aquatech filters from Wal-Mart - dirt cheap and does the job in a pinch.

agabr123

yep, that's why i didn't get the 5 gallon eclipse kits. the replacement hood is $70!!!!!!!!

Lucy

I had gotten a hold of a 5g hex (rescued it and the gold fish that was living in it)
The filter was shot. My husband used a hack saw and modified the back to accomodate a walmart aquatech filter. It worked fine

MissMTS

That is a good idea. Too bad the lights, filter, and hood need to be replaced since they all run off of one electrical cord

I wish I had thought about that before I got this. I think the replacement hood for mine is around $90. I could seriously get a whole new setup for that much money!

Thanks for the info I will check them out tomorrow. Do you know about how much they cost?

Lucy

I really don't remember how much they cost. I want to say less than $15.00 for the 5-15.
To keep the fish from jumping out, you can use the plastic mesh craft sheet and just cut the area for the filter.
You wouldn't have a light, but it's a quick fix.

MissMTS

Thanks for the advice Lucy The plastic craft sheet is a great idea!

Lucy

I use it to cover gaps too ever since I found my ADF hopping across the floor!

MissMTS

OMG I would have freaked!

Lucy

LOL, I was shocked to look over and see him!
Poor little thing was covered in fuzz and cat hair. It's funny because his tank is behind the couch and he was hopping in front of the couch. He traveled a pretty long way for a little frog. Good thing he didn't go under the couch.
Thank goodness he survived.

Of course I just had post about it
Omg, Is that my frog??

Ps....sorry for the hi-jack

penance

This is actually some very good advice and didn't even occur to me when I bought my 12 gallon eclipse tank off craiglist today -.-

I plan on cleaning it up and reselling it - one reason because of the above and the second reason is because I have to take off the whole hood if I ever want to rearrange the decor and the slot to feed the fish is extremely thin :/

MissMTS

Four Words: I am so stupid.

The light and the filter do run through separate plugs. The plug that the light was plugged into is the one that started sparking. The filter plug is fine. I am without a light right now, but that's not the end of the world. I cannot believe that I have been doing these daily WC's and did not realize that.

However, I still would not ever buy another one of these hoods again. I am gonna still have to eventually replace the hood because I can't buy a new light fixture separately

penance

we always get one of those dumb dumb moments, brush it off

I think you didn't realize it at first because of the initial shock of seeing that little electrical zap and getting worried that it didn't even cross your mind that the plugs are separate.

BTW was this the 18 g tall eclipse tank you bought in studio city? I was interested as well but thought this tank was too big

MissMTS

I do think that it was the initial shock that made me not examine it carefully. I seriously got so freaked out that I made my husband turn off the surge protector. I ran out of the room, lol.

Its an 18 gallon tall eclipse, but I got it in Oceanside I am in San Diego county.

Indian_villager

For an all in one kit I'd put fuses in from the start.

MissMTS

What do you mean by fuses? Sorry I am not very savy when it comes to electronics

Indian_villager

Just little bits o protection so that if one bit fries all the bits dont.

prairielilly

If it's a short in the electrical wiring, what you could do is take it to a place that does electrical repairs and ask them if they can re-wire the light part (it likely got some water in it, corroded and shorted out, I'm just waiting for that to happen to mine). I don't know if they could definitely do this or what it would cost, but I'm betting less than $90

I did notice the last time I was at Petsmart that all the Eclipse stuff was about 20% cheaper than comparable tanks of the same size. Can't say as I'm very inclined to ever buy another one!

Thanks for posting about this, good info to have.

MissMTS

Thanks for the info Marsha I thought about that last night too. The rubber has worn away on part of the wire and the wire is exposed. I am sure that an electronics place could re-wire it, but I'm gonna have to price it and see. I'll go for it as long as it is cheaper than buying a new hood.