Minibow vs Eclipse?

[1fish2fish]

The minibow I just bought must be pre 2009 then bc it has the gigantic filter. I'm looking into getting the RSDN filter like Scienceluvr8 (and its on sale at petco.com now :D)

Once I get a fluorescent light and the small filter it should be a great little tank.

[leesamurmur]

I spent a lot of time recently debating this in-store. I went with the eclipse simply because I heard the filtration (and Bio-Wheel) were great. I really like it - I got the Corner 5 - and it fits perfectly on my desk here in my dorm (and I can see the entire aquarium). I also liked how it looked much better than the Minibow, but that's just personal preference.

One qualm I have though is the aforementioned filtration. My male betta doesn't seem to like it much, and spends more time hiding away from the current. When I turned off the filter earlier, he was zooming around and having fun. Obviously I don't want to turn the filter off completely, because I love WHAT it does. So how does one "buffer" it, to perhaps make the flow lighter?

Thanks! And good luck with your decision!

[1fish2fish]

Can you put up pics of your filter? The way I buffer my eclipse 3 is to buy a new aquarium sponge.. boil it. then cut it so it covers the out flow and just barely touches the water. Then take rubber bands and attach it to the filter making sure they do not interfere with the bio-wheel. Make sure you cut notches into the sponge where the rubber bands are so it doesn't wrap around the out flow but just sits against it straightly.

I hope that makes sense LOL I can put up pics if you like.

[sunset]

Yes please, pictures would be useful!