help......eclipse vs. mini-bow for nano

[Patman]

Anyone have any opinions, I was hoping to start a second tank, a 5-10g nano....both tanks seem to have some great features and be highly adaptable...

Thanks

Pat

[MaDd HaTteR]

Patman,
I have done what you are thinking.. I have a 7 1/2 gallon nano reef which started out in an Eclipse Six, I was having to many problems keeping my levels up and my tank clean. The filtration on the Eclipse was not efficient enough for my tank to stay at its best. I was always having to constantly check it everyday. It was getting to be to much work.. granted my tank was just getting started and you need to keep on top of things. Another thing I didn't like was the clarity of the tank, there were areas in the acrylic that were fuzzy and unclear and when you don't have much viewing area it has an effect. I switched over to a 7 1/2 gallon Bow front after 2 months and couldn’t be happier..just the overall health of the tank which I contribute to the use of a hang on filter and the fact that I can clean the glass front much easier. If I had to do it all over again I would go straight to the Glass Bowfront tank and save myself a lot of trouble.




http://communities.msn.com/MaDdHaTte.../reeftank.msnw

[fishguy622]

I was wondering if you need a skimmer on the bow tank or not? Is a standard power filter for water flow only & live rock the main filter? I was thinking of doing a small reef w/ l/r , inverts and maybe a small clown or gobie. What type of light do you use on such a small tank? Right now I have a 75g fwlr and it's doing great but would love to have a small bow tank on my bar. Thanks for any info.

Fishguy (Mike)

[beach bum]

Hi FG, power compact lighting is probably the most popular choice. www.ahsupply.com has some options I think, also CSL retros can be wiggled into tight spaces. Some crazy cats even use MH on tanks that small! Can you picture a hanging pendant bigger than the tank?

Check out www.nano-reefs.com , they have a forum just for nano info.

hth

oh yeah, alot of people do it skimmerless with excellent results.