how do i keep plants with an eclipse?

[keprydak]

hi! I'm about to invest in a new aquarium for my bedroom. A 25 gallon ( 24 x 12 x 20 ) with one of those Eclipse 2 hoods. I want to keep some very simple plants in there, preferably low-light foreground plants. Java Moss (for the carpet effect) and maybe some pygmy sword chains or maybe a *few dwarf saggitarria. I've heard the Eclipses aren't bright enough to keep plants and the filtering is detremental to them. Is this true? and is it all possible for me to keep plants in my new tank at all?

[scrimman]

I don't see why not.  There are quite a few plants that don't require lots of light to grow.  
Do you know how many watts the eclipse is going to put out?

[keprydak]

it's got 2 15 watt bulbs in the front of the hood.

[arcab4]

hi,

if it's 2x15..that means u get about 1.2 watts/gallon. it's good enough for low-light plants. if you want to grow any other type of plants, you have to increase the light wattage (not duration). the filter is bad only if you are adding c02 to your tank. the surface agitation removes the c02 in your tank.

but since your wattage is pretty low, there is no need to add c02.

i started out with an eclipse system. as i got more into this hobby, i found out that you can't really upgrade the eclipse system. but it's  a great system to start out with.

good luck!

[keprydak]

What do you mean you can't upgrade the eclipse? I know you can't change the filters or whatever... but in the future I could buy a Penguin Bio-wheel and a different hood if I so chose, right?

[arcab4]

if you look at the eclipse system, you'll notice there isn't any room to add anything..unless you cut a section off. i ran into that problem when i wanted to upgrade the light...so i eventualy ended up replacing the eclipse with a standard hood.

[keprydak]

hmm.. i see what you mean, lol. could you not just put some brighter lights in the tank? or can it only handle the two 15 watts?

[ryanp15]

With the lighting you have I would suggest some Java moss and Java ferns. I don't have an eclipse but I know you can't upgrade them very well. They are good if you don't plan on upgrades. ;D I don't know about the lights, like I said I don't have one. ;D

[SegaDojo]

See.. here's the thing w/ the eclipse system..

everything's jam packed into that good area (including the filter).  And this poses a slight problem if you are not satisfied w/ low light conditions.  Suppose you want medium/high lighting in the future.. then i would suppose the only way is to remove the two flourescent fixtures, purchase some power compact ballasts, sockets, and bulbs... perhaps even a three prong extension cord to do your own electrical wiring (meaning cut off the end of the extension cord, strip off 1/2" of the cord's insulator, identify the positive, negative, and ground wires, hook it up w/ your ballast.  Then drill some holes to attach your ballast (on the outside) and sockets to your hood, and potentially some extra holes for ventilation since the power compacts produce quite a bit of heat.  And even then, the new setup isn't perfect cuz we haven't waterproofed the sockets.

It sounds kinda complicated, but its do-able.  I haven't had any electrical wiring experience before and all i did was consult the helpful employees at the local hardware shop.