Eclipse Tanks....

[BettaSCHmacK]

hello all. im planning on buying an eclipse 5 hexagon next week and have a couple of questions. ive notice that the eclipse tanks are very popular with betta owners which is why im choosing that brand for my betta.

even with this type of tank and its filtration system and all that it comes with, are there any little bits of info i need to know before i put my fish in. do i still need to do frequent water changes and how often. what is the best kind of water treatment to use. lets say i fill the whole tank with bottled water, how will that change the water changing process.

i know its alot of questions but i dont want mess this up and end up with another dead betta when i thought i knew what i was doing with a 10 gallon tank. thanks for you help.

[1fish2fish]

First off you will be cycling your tank so for the first month or so you will probably be doing small changes every day.. there isn't really anyway to avoid a cycle unless you don't use the filter. Look up "Tips for Fish In Safe Cycling" for a full explanation of cycling.

Once you are cycled you will only have to do 1 50% a week. (But 2 50% changes would be better).

The best de-chlorintator IMO is Sea chem Prime.. its definitely worth the money as you only use a tiny bit.

I wouldn't use bottled water.. waste of money IMO.. just make sure you de-chlorinate your water during every water change.

[dr2b]

When I first got my 5 gallon eclipse, I was told 25-35% water changes once a week were suffice. Sometimes I do more than that... it depends though. I was also told when doing cycling in mine, do 10% water changes daily. I agree with 1fish2fish, Prime is the best IMHO.

I tried bottled water for the first month or so. It was EXPENSIVE. Using tap water with de-chlorinator is all you need.

[Eolith]

I definitely love the Eclipse tanks... I've got two five gallons. Mine are cycled. I usually change out about 2 gallons a week and that seems to keep everything perfectly in order.

Tap water is arguably better since it's got minerals and trace elements that distilled water doesn't. Spring water does, but seriously... it's sort of crazy to be putting spring water in your betta's tank. My boys have always been fine with their dechlorinated tap water.

[Jill0]

Just throwing this out there in case it's good food for thought.

I have two Eclipse tanks, the 12g one and the 6g one. I hate them. They were our first tanks and they are in storage now. I'd only pull them out if we needed another quarantine tank.

They are awkward to get in and out of and I don't know if it's the lighting or what, but mine seemed to grow algae way more than any other tanks I've kept.

If you'd be open to this idea, you might like it better (I do)... What about a 10g kit (with light, filter and heater) and a divider screen or two? We have 2 10g tanks going with 2 dividers in each (so three compartments) and keep six bettas in them (3 in each tank). It would probably cost about the same or maybe a little less (as the Eclipse system doesn't come with a heater, and the 10g kits do (look and pick one that does if you go this route)).

Another thing I like about this is I can put permanent / non consumable media in the filters on the 10g's, which I couldn't for the Eclipse tanks (couldn't find anything that was the right size). I used some small ReeFresH2O (formerly called Cell Pore) cartridges in the 10g filters. I had to break up a little to make them fit but now the tanks never need new cartridges and have tons of space for good bacteria to live.

Good luck and enjoy whatever you go with


PS this is what we did instead of the Eclipse tanks and the 2.5g mini bows we had previously used:

[dr2b]

The Eclipse 6 and 12g tanks have a different lid than the Eclipse 5 gallon tanks. That is why they were awkward to get in and out of.

[Eolith]

Yeah, my 5g has never been a problem. Very easy access. The whole lid just flips open... I'd say it's easier to get to everything with my 5g Eclipse than it is with my 10g.

[Elaina]

I have the Eclipse 5gal Hex tank and I love it. It is so easy to take care of, and it's like the perfect size. I have my betta Midas and 2 otos in it and they are all doing great. I change around 20% every week or so. If it's a cycled tank, there is no reason to do more than one water change per week. It's just more work for you, and more stress for your fish.
It's actually my avatar picture!

[BettaSCHmacK]

Thank you all for your help. Im gonna go with the eclipse. Im still gonna keep the 10g for a future project. thanks again