Tropical Fish Tank Lover

terrible wouldn't recoment
This product is terrible the bio filter doesn't even turn. Unfortunately I bought it but didn't set it up for awhile and now its too late to return it. It looks nice but dead fish don't and with out the wheel turning not enough air gets into the water. I've had the fish that are in there for over two years in another tank so its definately the tank thats the problem

Poor value
Within two months the light ballast broke, which cost .00 to replace, than the filter pump broke. That was it - this tank is going into the trash!

Awkward, poorly designed tank.
I am getting rid of this tank tonight. After putting up with it for two months, the filter finally broke down for good, and I think I'm glad. This tank has too many flaws for its few virtues to make up for.

The good: it is very handsome, and fits prettily into a corner. The curve of the front and sides makes viewing super-easy. Bio-wheel filtration really is that good.

The bad: where to start. The lid opens only on the back half of the tank, to reveal only the filter. There's no way to feed your fish or clean the gravel at all without removing the lid entirely (including the light).

The filter is far too strong, and does not have any control on strength of suction. Even my seven-dollar picofilter has that! I've had to set up driftwood to protect my cories from the intake. Finally, the filter has stopped working the last three times I've stopped it to clean out the tank. This time it wouldn't restart at all.

The filter cartridges are outrageously expensive, and have no option to not have activated charcoal in them. Want to medicate? You're out of luck.

I recommend getting a real glass 10-gallon tank (with a Penguin filter if you just have to have the bio-wheel), with a proper hood you can open to feed your fish and reach in through to clean up a bit.

Not as good as you'd expect
When I was in middle school, I was an avid tropical fish fan. I raised and bred all sorts of fish from easy to take care of goldfish to more challenging angel fish. That was years ago, but my fascination for tropicals has never really left me. I wanted to start up a small tank with a few fish, just for the fun of it, but without much of the hassle. I saw the Eclipse System package and tried one out. Here are my impressions of the kit.

The whole system is a complete package that contains all the necessary equipment that you'll need to get you started in keeping tropicals as pets. The kit includes the actual tank (which is plexiglass), the pump, filter, hood and light. The gravel and other accessories, you provide. Marineland boasts that the biofilter is able to eliminate much of the toxic buildup that occurs when you keep fish, thus providing a carefree, minimal amount of maintainence. Is it true? Yes and no.

Regardless of which filtration system you use, it takes about a month or more before beneficial bacterial builds up in the tank. These little critters are what is behind keeping the fish wastes under control. I found that the Eclipse system can do this, but only if you are very careful in keeping only a few fish in the tank. (Don't believe the photo on the box which seems to have 15-20 fish in the tank. In real life, they all would be dead if they were crowded this way.)

Added to this, the condition of your tank water is very, very volatile because the tank is so small. Overfeed your fish, or having a fish that is dead and hidden will reek havoc on your tank and most likely kill or make all your fish ill. The magnetic impeller motor can overheat and burn out easily if your water level becomes too low. The water moving through the motor also serves as a medium to cool it down. But what this means is your tank water will tend to heat up. During the summer months, this will be a very hard thing to control. The filter uses pre-assembled filter packs that are rather expensive and not very effective in trapping particles and debris.

The tank is made out of acrylic plastic, so the tank is very easy to scratch and mar. My tank had a hairline crack at the bottom and continued to grow bigger throughout the use of the tank. My fish, while alive, do not seem as healthy as they could be if they were in a larger tank. Although the Eclipse System is convenient, at least for the first few months of operation, the water quality, health of fish, and fragile tank material all outweigh it's positives. If algae starts to take hold of your aquarium, the algae is extremely hard to remove from the sides of the tank, if not impossible.

If you are truly interested in keeping fish as a hobby, it would be much better to spend it on a conventional glass tank with the filter of your choice. Retailers such as PetSmart sell 10 gallon kits that include everything you need to start an aquarium at a much more reasonable price. Marineland sells a larger version of the Eclipse, which is a twelve gallon model, but considering the price of the kit, it is way overpriced for what you could spend for a comparable standard setup. For my money, I will stick to the standard tank setup. Yes, initially, it is a little more hassle to setup, but in the long run, it will be the better choice in keeping you and your fish happy.

Nice Tank, but DANGEROUS
I've had this tank for 8 months now. The tank itself is made nicely. It has little feet to keep it from scratching surfaces you set it on. The filter is not perfect, but sufficient. I've had to restart it multiple times because the motor tends to overheat and stop working. There's room for a heater, a vital object you're going to need to keep your fish alive. In order to feed the fish, you have to take the top off, but that isn't that bad. You can feed them through the top flap if you take care to miss the filter, or just lift the top off at the corner and put food in.

The dangerous part about this tank is the light fixtures. There is no protection from it. In other words, there is no plastic barrier from the water to the lights. If you let the water level go down just a little bit (I like mine down because the waterfall from the filter oxygenates my plants), the water splashes up at the lights. My lights corrode very quickly. Sometimes, the light won't turn on and you have to scrape the corrosion off the lamp ends. I've had to replace the lamp twice in the past 8 months. If you aren't savvy with fishtanks, most lights only need changing once a year. It's especially dangerous if you are changing the bulb, because it's so damp and covered with water. There's even a warning up there in the canopy that says "Wipe dry before changing." It's very unsafe.

Overall, this tank isn't bad. But the light fixtures were poorly done. If you are good with making things, try making a plastic barrier to separate the lamp from the water. Otherwise, use caution when taking off the top or changing the light bulb.