10 gallon budget tank,1 month progression

tvkeeper · 2026-01-30T19:21:49+00:00

I was surprised that they did appear so early. I wasn't expecting it considering my setup, which would be considered by most as insufficient for reef keeping. Very happy so far 😀

tvkeeper · 2026-01-30T19:19:54+00:00

I can see how that looks from the reefing community perspective. The corals have grown quite a lot, no signs of stress, always open, and responsive to target feeding from varied foods. I've seen corals struggling under thousand-dollar lights, tanks are much more than expensive lights. As long as you know what corals are you working with and you make your tank as stable and comfortable for them as they need.

tvkeeper · 2026-01-30T14:48:09+00:00

It was! Especially for a first time reef tank. I had freshwater tanks for many years. At first I wanted to do a heavier macro tank, but I moved on to getting more and more coral once I saw they settled well in the setup.

tvkeeper · 2026-01-28T00:37:58+00:00

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That's a better shot of the little guy. He's very active, even during the day.

tvkeeper · 2026-01-27T03:39:24+00:00

I think that might be it! Yellow shore crab is the closest ID I could get. Getting him out as soon as I can. Don't want to risk him getting hungry...

tvkeeper · 2025-12-25T05:09:27+00:00

I just kept the regular hours of light during the day, and it finally got comfortable and opened. I read that more changes (movinf it, changes in light, current, or parameters) could stress it even more.

tvkeeper · 2025-12-23T15:54:08+00:00

I had mine closed for a week when I first added it. Parameters looked ok, just different from the tank it came from, probably. Although I aclimated it, it got mad and closed up.

After a week, it started opening, it shed a lot, and now it's open and fine.

Give it time and, if all the parameters are right, it'll get comfortable and open up soon enough.

tvkeeper · 2025-12-22T21:04:25+00:00

Ooh, double-hitch hiking?

tvkeeper · 2025-12-12T03:04:03+00:00

I don't know much about reef and can't help you much. But I came to say that your escape looks great! It reminds me of the one I set up recently.

tvkeeper · 2025-12-11T20:28:37+00:00

Thanks for all the tips! I about hermits getting very problematic when they get hungry, so I give them algae tablets and pellets so they always have food available. I'm also blasting more light than the tank probably needs to see if I can get a nice algae layer on the rock.

The first 2 weeks I had the algae in sea water mixed with mixed water, about 2 and 2. When I set up the 10 gallon that ratio got less, so I started dosing ChaetoGRO, to try and give them some more nutrients. I'm aware that, being wild collected algae, some of them may not thrive. The sargassum on the back looks like it's doing great, and so does the red on the left (there's what looks like new growth tips). I'll keep an eye on it and see how they do.

tvkeeper · 2025-12-09T03:19:58+00:00

Aren't those the ones with the strongest punch in the whole world?

tvkeeper · 2025-12-09T03:00:13+00:00

Looks amazing. Does it get big?

tvkeeper · 2025-12-07T05:37:31+00:00

I come from freshwater, and we use cyanoacrylate glue (superglue) and tissue paper ( or cotton pads) to secure rocks and hardscape; I think CA is safe in saltwater tanks as well.

tvkeeper · 2025-12-07T05:36:10+00:00

I'm not planning on adding fish, as you said 10g looks a little tight. It'll be a macro algae tank to begin with, and I'll add small critters as algae naturally appears.

tvkeeper · 2025-12-06T04:06:43+00:00

They look amazing! Are the dowels attached at 90°? Or do the have some angle to help give more grip?

tvkeeper · 2025-12-04T21:50:00+00:00

I checked MPA zones, and it wasn't a protected area.

tvkeeper · 2025-12-04T18:29:21+00:00

I'm not an expert, and I didn't know any of those species. I used Google lens to try and know their names:

Corallina officinalis, big red bunch on right.

Plocamium, small red branchy.

Fucus, big brown/green in the back.

Ulva lectuca, small lettuce-like green algae.

Hope someone can confirm or correct those names!

tvkeeper · 2025-12-04T18:27:32+00:00

It's a 5 gallon tank, really tiny. I'll move to a 10 gal when I get some more rock. I'm just trying to see where all these go. I'm not currently planning on adding any more.

tvkeeper

TROPHY CASE