gpalasz

Hello..Im a rookie and have an eclipse 12 that is currently cycling. I have some java moss...a little bit of thorn wart and an "umbrella plant" from Petsmart. All seem be doing well....but then again it has only been 2 days. I relaize they are low light-low maint. plants(thats why I got them) Question...the lightbuld equipped is 13W...so...a little over 1watt per gallon. Is there a larger wattage buld I can use? Any eclipse 12 users out there? Thanks!

gpalasz

The room I have my aquarium in...I also have several reptiles so..the room is usually pretty warm. I noticed when I removed the lid...the buld was failry warm. Any increase in wattage will add more heat to the water. It seems to be staying around 80 or so. In the winter it wont be a problem...but come summer...I think any additional wattage will increase temps over 80. Guess its fine where its at. Guess Ill just have to get a big tank for the living room

jsalemi

The wattage of the bulb is limited by the size of the hood, so you can't really go higher without changing the hood. And you can't change the hood, since it also has the filter built-in (one of the reasons I've decided I'm not fond of the Eclipse systems).

gpalasz

Ok thanks. I like the eclipse. Yes its only a 12 but...it does the job for a small school of glow lite tetras and some horn wart and java moss. I will get a larger tank for more of a display in the living room. This one is just in my study w/ my reptiles.

jsalemi

The Eclipse systems aren't bad, and they're really good for someone who wants to setup a small tank without a lot of fussing over equipment. But I'm a fusser -- I like to be able to change this and that occasionally without having to trash perfectly good equipment.