10 gallon “Caribbean” inspired, planted (reef?) tank!

TurbulentWiggles

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My first thread! I set up the 10 gallon aquarium in July 2021 and had it cycled by August 2021. Now it’s March 2022, so we’ve got 8 months of tank building to catch up on! (And a side story of yellow goby)
88E77295-D6A0-4603-BDFA-27A3903C78FA.jpg
photO by @bitts inspired me to get seahorses and macroalgae. My husband was setting up the 210 gallon high flow SPS tank at the time, so I knew if I wanted seahorses they would have to be in a small, separate tank.
Started building the aqua scape
24F36C3A-21EE-4993-90DE-7748829C6042.jpeg
I’m using a mixture of caribsea and pukani rock.
I was in no rush whatsoever to get the tank set up. It was pleasant.
introduction: yellow goby (yellow watchman goby)
A8EC6F71-5FD2-45FE-931B-913085288374.jpeg
He was noticeably thin in the 30 gallon tank and the next day his dorsal fin had been bit and his arm fin was bloody. We found out then that the damsel was a jerk.
CBA1D549-4E56-4A29-B63B-BD060F4971E7.jpeg

Yellow goby went to 2.5gal quarantine tank immediately because he could hardly swim and was being attacked by the damsel. Damsel went to the 210 gallon so he could have more room. Yellow goby recovered within a week in the 2.5gal qt. We reintroduced him to the 30 gallon and the female clownfish started biting his tail! I panicked and put him back in the 2.5. He was family at this point. I was running on emotion.
B6E359A0-1085-4A82-8AEA-12698BA7BF6E.jpeg
I don’t have a “while cycling” picture. But this is what I had come up with.
aquarium is a standard aqueon 10 gallon
substrate is caribsea oolite that I pulled from the 30 gallon because the husband wanted a shallower sand bed. And on the right is aragonite and seashells. I ended up taking the seashells out because cyano kept growing on them and it was a pain to siphon.
powerhead is aquaneat circulation pump. Cheapest 2 pack on Amazon.
Return pump is another cheap Amazon pick. 90 gph domica mini submersible.
sump is a 0.5 gallon hang on back fish breeder from fluval
Light is the Aqueon planted LED clip on fixture
918C775C-353B-475D-A301-1136A30787DC.jpeg
B4F9EB79-3B3F-4282-B359-0BE91F57263F.jpeg

Here is a couple pictures of my first macroalgaes. Since I wanted seahorses I knew I would need some hitching posts like gorgonians or certain macroalgaes but I want to start much simpler with caulerpa prolifera and my LFS threw in caulerpa taxifolia(?) for free!
Then yellow goby got a quarantine roommate…..
 

Eagle_Steve

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My first thread! I set up the 10 gallon aquarium in July 2021 and had it cycled by August 2021. Now it’s March 2022, so we’ve got 8 months of tank building to catch up on! (And a side story of yellow goby)
88E77295-D6A0-4603-BDFA-27A3903C78FA.jpg
photO by @bitts inspired me to get seahorses and macroalgae. My husband was setting up the 210 gallon high flow SPS tank at the time, so I knew if I wanted seahorses they would have to be in a small, separate tank.
Started building the aqua scape
24F36C3A-21EE-4993-90DE-7748829C6042.jpeg
I’m using a mixture of caribsea and pukani rock.
I was in no rush whatsoever to get the tank set up. It was pleasant.
introduction: yellow goby (yellow watchman goby)
A8EC6F71-5FD2-45FE-931B-913085288374.jpeg
He was noticeably thin in the 30 gallon tank and the next day his dorsal fin had been bit and his arm fin was bloody. We found out then that the damsel was a jerk.
CBA1D549-4E56-4A29-B63B-BD060F4971E7.jpeg

Yellow goby went to 2.5gal quarantine tank immediately because he could hardly swim and was being attacked by the damsel. Damsel went to the 210 gallon so he could have more room. Yellow goby recovered within a week in the 2.5gal qt. We reintroduced him to the 30 gallon and the female clownfish started biting his tail! I panicked and put him back in the 2.5. He was family at this point. I was running on emotion.
B6E359A0-1085-4A82-8AEA-12698BA7BF6E.jpeg
I don’t have a “while cycling” picture. But this is what I had come up with.
aquarium is a standard aqueon 10 gallon
substrate is caribsea oolite that I pulled from the 30 gallon because the husband wanted a shallower sand bed. And on the right is aragonite and seashells. I ended up taking the seashells out because cyano kept growing on them and it was a pain to siphon.
powerhead is aquaneat circulation pump. Cheapest 2 pack on Amazon.
Return pump is another cheap Amazon pick. 90 gph domica mini submersible.
sump is a 0.5 gallon hang on back fish breeder from fluval
Light is the Aqueon planted LED clip on fixture
918C775C-353B-475D-A301-1136A30787DC.jpeg
B4F9EB79-3B3F-4282-B359-0BE91F57263F.jpeg

Here is a couple pictures of my first macroalgaes. Since I wanted seahorses I knew I would need some hitching posts like gorgonians or certain macroalgaes but I want to start much simpler with caulerpa prolifera and my LFS threw in caulerpa taxifolia(?) for free!
Then yellow goby got a quarantine roommate…..
Looking good. Love macro tanks lol.

Just wanted to mention this, in case you are not aware. Both of those macros will need regular trimming in order to prevent them from going sexual. In a tank of that size, them doing that would make for a bad day for all critters in the tank.
 
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TurbulentWiggles

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40B51524-A7FF-4DF0-9069-4018663602FB.jpeg

In December I lost the taxifolia to cyano. But the Christmas tree sprouted! At this point I was siphoning out super strands of cyano every other day. This is when I took most of the tiny shells out. I added them because I wanted a natural look, but I decided I’d rather them get there naturally ;Facepalm
E12F4C64-F537-4C7F-80E9-CAF19EEBB2C8.jpeg
 
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TurbulentWiggles

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6AD7F40E-B9CD-4474-8564-EE89EBC48513.jpeg
In January 2022 I had tons of these ghost flatworms.
B45251E3-AF95-456A-9C76-67C1FFA4690F.jpeg
So I got a six line wrasse and he cleaned up the flatworms within a week. After that I moved him to the 210 gallon for more swimming room. The pulsing Xenia was getting large so I cut off a piece to put in our 30 gallon LPS tank.
D8D508AC-ACF5-43C9-B3DF-370CAB9E1222.jpeg
And I found out how fast these caulerpa grow! Sometimes I swear I see the prolifera growing in real life.
 
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13FF1746-B2BF-421E-AADE-C6FF79E3BC65.jpeg

See!!? Plus there’s an aiptasia that I chose to keep. Until it had babies and I introduced two peppermint shrimp. Successfully acclimated 3 mollies. Goldust, Dalmatian lyre tail and albino maybe?
53A7D9B8-3959-48E6-9C53-785C73A81E63.jpeg
I’ve heard multiple different experiences with mollies but mine, fortunately, LOVE the nuisance algae that grows on the macro algae.
3038B627-B853-4BC6-BE56-37AB05E1DFB3.jpeg

the emerald mithrax (emerald weapon) in his glory. I keep a rock of some sort of turf algae that he smothers himself in.
 

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13FF1746-B2BF-421E-AADE-C6FF79E3BC65.jpeg

See!!? Plus there’s an aiptasia that I chose to keep. Until it had babies and I introduced two peppermint shrimp. Successfully acclimated 3 mollies. Goldust, Dalmatian lyre tail and albino maybe?
53A7D9B8-3959-48E6-9C53-785C73A81E63.jpeg
I’ve heard multiple different experiences with mollies but mine, fortunately, LOVE the nuisance algae that grows on the macro algae.
3038B627-B853-4BC6-BE56-37AB05E1DFB3.jpeg

the emerald mithrax (emerald weapon) in his glory. I keep a rock of some sort of turf algae that he smothers himself in.
i like those mollies, i might get some for my tank. im thinking pair of cardinals, (i have em but they aint caribean) 3 mollies, pair of small gobies, seahorse (mabye)
 
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TurbulentWiggles

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Current livestock are shark nose goby, yellow watchman goby, 3 mollies, 2 peppermint shrimp, emerald crab, dwarf cerith snails , blue leg hermits, and large baby brine shrimps that I have formed emotional bonds with
Sump I ended up swapping out the hang on back breeder for a marine land power filter. I just took out the filters, filled with live rock and filter floss. The return that I was using before was meant for a fountain so it was very weak. Power filter is so much more reasonable for me for a small tank
Plants and corals grape caulerpa, caulerpa prolifera, gracilaria, chaeto, mermaid fan, pencil cap, halimeda, and pulsing Xenia
 

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Just came across your thread on your build. I am interested in seeing your current filtration setup. I am going to be setting up a 10 gallon macro tank underneath my 90 gallon fish only tank. Was looking for filtration ideas. Thanks in advance.
 
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At first I went with a hang on back breeder box and attached a small water pump.
Sealed up the holes on the separators and put filter floss in one section, and rocks in another. It worked fine but it started leaking. And it was a pain to remove the pump to clean it.
so I switched over to the marine land filter.
Took out the bio wheel and the filters. Filter floss in the intake compartment and rocks and chaeto in the filter compartment. Change out the floss every day or two. Light may overflow onto the return lip and create a little built-in algae scrubber
 

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mrjohnreed

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At first I went with a hang on back breeder box and attached a small water pump.
Sealed up the holes on the separators and put filter floss in one section, and rocks in another. It worked fine but it started leaking. And it was a pain to remove the pump to clean it.
so I switched over to the marine land filter.
Took out the bio wheel and the filters. Filter floss in the intake compartment and rocks and chaeto in the filter compartment. Change out the floss every day or two. Light may overflow onto the return lip and create a little built-in algae scrubber
Thanks for sharing...I'll be working on getting this new tank setup in the new year.
 

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