Hey folks! 
My name is Van first of all. I've been into saltwater aquariums for about 3-4 years now. My first aquarium was a 90g which was torn down and sold last year for a variety of reasons but mostly because I was a n00b who lacked patience, discipline and knowledge. After that, I began planning a 50g rimless build and boy did I plan it out. Hours upon hours of research in builders/vendors, equipment, lighting, reef chemistry on top of detailed sketches and 3D graphics and what not. Well, that's on hold.
But now I've have something else cooking!
I decided literally overnight to build a nano in my bedroom. The next day I ordered a Mr. Aqua 7.5 gallon cube from Marine Depot. Here she is on the day of arrival:
Given my last tank, I've been forcing myself to be thorough and patient with this one. Fortunately, it's paying off very nicely.
Here's a giant list of all the bells and whistles:
Aquaclear 70 filter (modified)
RapidLED Par38 LED Bulb (6x RB, 2x NW, 2x CW, 2x V) + BoostLED Gooseneck
2x Hydor Koralia Nano powerheads (240gph each)
25-watt Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm heater
JBJ Auto-Top Off unit w/ Tom Aquatics Aqualifter
That's roughly how I planned it out. It's missing the overflow box of course.
I purchased about 5-10 pounds of dry Reef Saver rock from BRS and a 20-pound bag of Tropic Eden Miniflakes to go along with it.
This was taken after the overflow was built and siliconed in the top left corner.
I got a DI canister from Bulk Reef and attached it to my existing RO water filter system (0 TDS output). I got a small bucket of DD's H2Ocean and mixed about 10 gallons worth.
Here's Murkfest 2014 for you guys. Immediately after fill-up:
,,,, aaaand after roughly a day of running through the filtration ....
... much better.
Here's a shot of the overflow. I put filter floss in the corners where water spills over. I'm also hiding the ATO stuff in there, along with the probe for the electronic thermometer.
Well, as I said, this thing is in my bedroom but fortunately it is suuuuuuper quiet which I absolutely love! All of the equipment is dead silent and the water levels in the tank and overflow are perfect so there's zero splashing and bubbles. The only sound I really hear is the float sensor for the ATO occasionally tapping against the plastic housing.
Here's the ATO setup. Not the prettiest thing in the world but it'll do.
The only fail so far was when I went to the LFS to get a nice piece of live rock to seed the tank. I put the rock inside, went and watched the Superbowl game and came back to two enormous Aiptasia anemones happily hanging out on top. Tossed that rock out instantly.
It's cycling at the moment. Today the ammonia levels were 1.5 - 2.0ppm and nitrite was around 0.25 ppm. I occasionally dose ammonia chloride in there (Dr. Tim's) to keep it going. As soon as the cycle finishes, I will be ordering a clean-up crew from Reef Cleaners.
For inhabitants, there will only be TWO fish in here. I don't care what anyone else says! I will get a small Clownfish of sorts (maybe a Picasso or Snowflake) in the beginning and follow it up with a Yellow Stripe Goby a few months down the line. A Fire Shrimp and small Brittle Starfish are strong a likelihood.
Corals are a must of course. A nice Zoanthid colony will be introduced in the beginning and I'll work my way up from there to Mushrooms, Ricordeas and what not.
I would really like to keep SPS corals and clams in here as well. Hoping that the light will be strong enough to sustain them. If not, then I'm likely to upgrade it (maybe to a Kessil A150?).
So let me know what you guys think! If you have any suggestions, criticisms or whatever, let it pour out.
Thanks for looking!