Eclipse Corner 5

SinCrisis

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone has used an eclipse corner 5g tank? Or any eclipse systems? I am considering the 5g for my betta but i do not know if the filtration is too strong, or if there are other design flaws in the tank since i cant ever find them in stores and need to order them online.

Thanks,
Sin

M496

HI!

I have used the Corner 5. I think its great. I have scratches on it because my cat tries to catch the fish ahha. The water stays really clean and clear and I don't think that the filter is too strong. If you want plants, I'd recommend getting a florescent lamp. One thing that has caused me to get into another aquarium(I'll tell you about this in a sec.) is the filter on the corner 5. It works great but about 6 months into the set up it started breaking down and then finally stopped functioning. I couldn't find the exact filter (because the aquarium is a set/kit) so I had to substitute another filter. This filter did not fit the tank and so the water level went down atleast 2 inches.

Here is the aquarium I am cycling now! It is also 5 gallons and is from marineland, too!! Go to this site( 5 Gallon Newly Planted) and you can see my aquarium pictures I uploaded about 3 days ago. This tank is called Marineland 5 Gallon Crescent. It is better than the corner because of the filter and other things. First off, the filter. You can get this same filter if it breaks down. Also you can set the power/flow to low/medium/or high. Also, the aquarium looks better. There is a clear acrilic top that you can take off and not a black top that you have to lift up and stuff. Also, the LED lighting system has worked for my plants so far and looks good! Finally, this tank is the same size as the corner tank, it will fit in a corner!

I hope I helped:)

SinCrisis

M496, Thanks!

I do love that tank and I looked at it before, but I was hesitant because of the LED lighting and they do not specify what spectrum the LEDs run in. My current tank is LED and the light is very weak, not suited for plants. Its good to hear that your LEDs are working with your plants. However, I do notice that your post says its exposed to sunlight? That worries me a little because your success with plants may not be from the LED fixture. I was planning to grow some higher-light plants. Also for the filter is it powered or is it air pumped? One of the things i really need to not have is more air pumped filters, they make too much noise and bother me >.<

M496

I am growing low-light plants in my tank currently (water Wisteria, Ludwigia, Java Fern, etc.) and because you want to grow high-light plants the LED will most likely not work that well. Maybe you can find another light to work with the tank? Though it seems dificult to find one that would fit and everything! B/c of the lighting, it may be easier to just look into another tank. THe eclipse corner is really great other than the filter! Like I said before, it runs great but when it breaks down you can't replace the exact replica (atleast, I couldn't find it about 6 months ago. There may be one out now?) But, if you find a filter that would work as a replacement, etc. filter than I reccomend you buy the tank! I am not sure about the filter, it is a Whisper Micro Filter by Tetra.

So all in all, the crescent aquarium would be great other than the LED lighting. If you can find a different lighting fixture that works with the tank than this setup is perfect!
For the corner aquarium, it is great other than a possible filter break down. If you know that there is a filter out there that wouldn't make you bring the water level down 2-3" than this is a really good aquarium. Maybe an undergravel aquarium?

Hope this helps you in the decision making!! :)

M496

woops, not undergravel aquarium but undergravel filter.. haha sorry!

SinCrisis

So the filter on the crescent is a air pump driven filter? I can always replace it with a duetto or something i guess. I already have 3 tetra air-pump filters so getting more for me is just having way too much stuff, not that t hey're bad but that im just collecting them and not using them.

mixtaplix

I had the eclipse hex 5. i agree filter is too weak. i hack sawed the top frame a bit to accept an aquaclear 20, and voila, better filtration. I don't know about the depth of the corner, but the lighting for the depth of the hex was way too weak to grow anything but low light plants. Mine came with an incandescent hood though, not LED.

SinCrisis

well, if im not mistaken, the eclipse systems have bulbs that are way powerful that you can buy for them, which is why i was initially drawn to them. However, i do really like the crescent and from the images, it looks like its shaped to be a corner tank as well. It also loses the ugly hood on the corner 5 so thats a definite plus. A friend of mine bought the eclipse hood for his 20g and it was too powerful. He later fit it on his 40g tall and it was still too powerful so I was worried about the smaller tanks using eclipse filters since their larger systems are too strong.

With the crescent, 50 bucks for 5 gallons is hard to swallow though :( especially with the additional cost of replacing some parts like the filter and possibly having to DIY a light in there...

redchigh

Another tip, sincrisis- When comparing tanks of equal volume, go for the shallower one. The lighting will be more efficient.

SinCrisis

well for 5gs, once you fashion a goof cfl on there it doesnt make much of a different how deep it is unless its a super narrow tank like a vase. I think the depth matters more for large tanks, but for small tanks, its not as much of an issue, at least in my experience it hasnt been. If im using CFL for both it wont matter, if ones LED, then it might be a problem.