Capture's 7 Gallon

[capture]

I'm back. The itch has returned in full force and I have realized there is no stopping it.

 

After about 2 years I've decided its about that time. I've been perusing the forums and keeping up with things on Twitter lately. My last tank was up and running in some form or another for almost 3 years and then, abruptly, it ended. Caring for and living with 7 high school boys for a couple years will shift your priorities a bit.

 

I've covered a wide range of corals. LPS, SPS, zoas, clams, etc. I've decided that this time will be deliberate, planned, and most importantly, simple.

 

My last adventure, a 16 gallon bow front, began simply. Some rock, a light, and plenty of flow. It morphed over time. I drilled it, installed a sump, added a skimmer, more light, more rock, coral and fish. It quickly got out of control. It was a 16 gallon Franken-reef. It was loud, smelly, and took up a bigger footprint than I originally envisioned. Then, as quickly as it started, it whirled out of control and ended.

 

My wife and I moved into a home to run an academic program and the tank was somewhat self-sufficient with auto-topoff and every-other-day feeding. After about a year and a half, I walked down to the basement where the tank lived to find it completely orange and dead. Someone decided it was the right call to dump a whole container of food into the tank. That was it. I took it down and have since moved on. All the bits and pieces now live in a closet or in my current basement. Some items need to be sold. Other items will be used for this build.

 

Here is how I envision this build:

 

Tank

Deep Blue 12x12x12 rimless cube.

Cleanly built, simple and good looking. I plan to keep the tank minimalistic. I quite like the aesthetic of Sonny Harajly.

 

Aquascape

Minimal rock.

My last tank felt so empty at first that I continued to add rock to the point of having far too much. Mistake learned.

Not sure if I will include substrate on this build. If I do it won't be much.

 

Lighting

A 150 watt metal halide pendant.

I have had this light since the previous build and I have had a lot of success. LEDs have seemed to come a long way in affordability and quality since I took my hiatus from the hobby so that will be a possibility for the longer term. Research continues.

 

Flow

EcoTech MP10

I have experimented enough with all sorts of other pumps and such but I'm doing it right the first time. This pump is simple, external (at least mostly), and efficient.

 

That's it. No sump. Regular water changes. Easy on the livestock. I will be picking out the inhabitants more selectively than in my previous runs. I want to pick more vibrant inhabitants. In the past I picked things out willy-nilly and bought things that were sort of, flavor-of-the-month. This time I will pick from reputable sellers in which I know the quality will be on par with what I'm looking for.

That's it for now. I will have more on decisions and progress soon. I hope you check back for the build and other updates.

I'm also keeping a blog. Check it out. Not sure if I'm keeping Tumblr or going with Blogger.

 

-Capture

[JR!]

nice to see another 12' deep blue

 

tagging along

[Zer0]

Nice cube. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

[millerman]

Following along

[capture]

Thanks guys.

 

JR, read through your build thread. How you liking the Boost LED light?

Never tried LEDs but I'm reading up what I can. I'd like to keep a nice mix of mainly SPS and LPS. I'm just sure that my MH will do the job.

[JR!]

love the leds a ton. really glad that i went with them. cant wait to see how your tank goes.

[capture]

I went to the basement yesterday to pull out my old rock. It really isn't so much "live" anymore as it is just rock.

 

My last venture in a reef started with a 10 gallon tank, about 10 pounds of live rock and a compact fluorescent hood. I hated the look of an empty tank and it quickly gained about 10 more pounds of live rock. Next tank was larger yet with even more space and I filled it up quickly with, you guessed it, more rock.

 

This go around the idea is to let the corals take shape, grow and be the center piece. Not the rock.

 

Here is what I had to choose from...

 

 

Here is what the sketched out 'scape looks like...

 

Now comes the scrubbing and curing of the rock. I'll be doing it in a 5 gallon bucket in the basement. Not sure if that's interesting enough to make pictures of.

 

I'm still struggling with whether or not I want to deal with a substrate. If I do decide to add some substrate, how fine or course should I go? Damn decision making.

 

Stay tuned.

[JR!]

kinda reminds me of my scape. really wanna see this going

[capture]

JR, I put the photos up and clicked on your thread just cause and realized the same thing.

Could I keep SPS with that LED you have?

 

Have any links to good info on those things?

[JR!]

i think you might be able to do some.

 

here is the link to the boost led website

http://www.boostled.com/

[capture]

I'm resurrecting this thread and this tank setup. Its only been 3 years and some change. Same tank, same focus. Since this last post I picked up a used MP-10 W and there is actually water and rock in the tank.

 

Since last I posted I've bought a new house and I have a 10 1/2 month old little boy. I'll post more shortly. Feels nice to be back. Sorry for the delay.

 

-Cap

[capture]

So I'm stuck at the moment with what to do... I'm currently running my 150w MH to cycle the tank with an old Radium bulb. I'm debating an AI 26 pendant, a DIY LED setup or just buy a new bulb for the 150?

 

Would love to hear some of your thoughts on the LED and if DIY is best or not. The AI pendant is more than double what I would pay for the DIY light. I'm also not entirely sure that if I go the DIY route I'd now what combo of lights to use for my 7gal tank.

I would like to keep SPS, LPS and zoas. SPS including Acros and Montis.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I'll add some photos this evening if anyone is interested.