MMoore0324

After getting settled in to the new house I decided on the perfect space for me next reef. While wanting to take a little more time off, I just couldn't help thinking of how great my next reef would be.

I was planning a 300g in wall build with large fishroom in half of the garage. While the idea was just perfect in my head, my wife had other ideas. You see, she has been very tolerant of my reefing addiction over the years. She is actually the one that got me into saltwater but she just couldn't be convinced that cutting into our new home was a good idea. After some reconsideration's, I agreed. But a reefer is never without ideas... right?

This reef will be a bit smaller than I had planned. It will be a standard 180 gallon. In the back of my house, between the hallway and a bathroom, I have a media type area that has been unused. The tank will be in this area. I am really excited about this because I will be able to have my fish room in the back bathroom which we really don't use. Also, across from the tank I will build a built in bench for tank viewing. So from a planning stand point here are a few requirements that I have... hopefully these will help to start paint a picture of what the finished product will be like:

• Very clean exterior look
• Not many visable wires
• Lagoon/Bonsai aquascape
• Maintain contemporary/moderen style
• Less is more (minimal equipment, natural approach, great husbandry)
• Keep it simple!!

Aquacape
I am going with a minimal aquascape for this reef. The reef structure will resemble a lagoon/bonsai hybrid type of look. I want plenty of room for my fish to roam and corals to grow. I also want no rock or corals touching the glass. I want to be able to clean all view-able glass.

My last two reefs have been bare-bottom. While I think bare bottom is be suited for longevity and stability of the reef (JMO) this reef will have a very thin, .5-1", layer of live sand for aesthetics.

Stand
I am going to be building the stand. This is actually my first time building a stand for a reef. While I am pretty sure on the structural design that I want, I'm still up in the air on how I'm going to finish the stand. I don't really need any doors on the stand as sumps and equipment will be in the fishroom, but I would like access to under the tank plumbing. I'm thinking of having the plywood skin of the stand be, floating or hanging, in some way. Maybe using a french cleat or something. For the design of the stand, I want it to have a contemporary look. Think IKEA.. same look, better quality. I will be using an acrylic paint and urethane so that I can get a high gloss, metallic look. I don't want it to look like painted wood. I'm thinking of doing either a white or light cream color. More to come on this later...

Stock
This is where this reef will be the most different than any other tank I've done. You see, for the past 10 years I've been just obsessed with coral. All coral, from SPS, LPS, softies, etc. I am just mesmerized by their shapes, colors, growth, and ability to survive on a primitive food source. My previous tanks have been filled with coral and have had very few fish. While I love fish, my focus has just been coral.

I moved to SWFL just one year ago. Before I moved here, I had been snorkeling in Mexico but hadn't really spend that much time in the water in a marine environment. Since I've lived here, we have been snorkeling and diving in the Keys about seven times. Having now spent a good amount of time viewing natural reefs, I have a much larger respect for the fish of the reefs. We were diving in Islamorada a few weeks ago on the "Hens and Chicken" reef and a 13" Queen Angel swam right in front of me, about 5" from my face. About a minute later a large school of Atlantic blue tangs. At that point I just had such an appreciation for the reef fish, I decided that my next reef will have a large selection of fish.

I am planning on having a few large angel species, not sure which yet, groups of smaller schooling fish, and a tang or two. For coral, I will have mostly SPS with some LPS on the bottom. I will focus on collecting nicer corals though. No more "LE Brown stags" for me. lol

Equipment
I am going to attach an Excel, equipment list to this post. I know I've left off a few needed items but this list will give an idea of what I'm going with. I'll update the list as the build progresses.
Matt's Reef Build_Product Sheet.zip

Right now the build is planned on taking place in February. I don't want to call this a budget build, but it wont be super high end build either. I really wish I didn't sell everything I had when I moved to FL last year as I now need EVERYTHING!

This build may start a little slow and probably wont have many photos until I start acquiring equipment, etc. I am working on a few 3D renderings of the tank and stand. Hopefully will have those done in a few days to share. I look forward to all of your comments and suggestions.