Mangroves

[Chris]

Plain and simple, has/does anyone use them and if so do you think they are useful at all... any tips or requirements that would be helpful to keeping them alive/ making them more effective.

Thanks!

[Heidi]

Ask Rosebud she is using them in her nano and I am pretty sure has used them in past.

[ZOOmanSPS]

I have 6 in my refuge for a 55g.. I think they are helpful in filtering the water. They absorb phosphates nitrates through there roots and secrete the bad through there leaves. You need to wipe off or spray there leaves 2-3 times a week. I also use iron and magnese( spelling check) to supplement there high demand for those elements. Once adappted to your tank water and lighting they grow IMO quick. Lighting for me is CPF I have two in my display tank that are getting MH lighting and the ones in my sump that are getting CPF lighting grow faster. When there leaves turn brown pluck them off as u do not want them to fall in the tank. I use styrofoam with holes in it to support them up and keep the main stalk and leaves out of the water. About 2 inches of the stalk and roots are in the water. It's pretty cool to watch them grow u know your doing something right then. Any questions PM me GOOD LUCK

[tankdude]

I had them in my sump under my main display and they grew like weeds. They got so tall they over took the light they were under. Be aware that the leaves will fall off into your sump, and the roots will grow all through the sand and potentially into the seals of your sump which could cause a leak. Overall I liked having them, the main reason I got rid of them was they took up to much room in my sump.

[rosebud161616]

I posted some info on them in my nano contest thread in post #92. The link to my thread is: Rosebud161616's 15 gallon custom built nano

I have used them in the past and am using several in this nano. I use them because I think they are fun and I like the look. As far as nutrient export, they don't do much until they get massive. You would pretty much have to pack your fuge full of them to do much good. For nutrient export you're better off using chaeto. But if you want something different and fun, mangroves are cool!

[Chris]

Originally Posted by ZOOmanSPS

I have 6 in my refuge for a 55g.. I think they are helpful in filtering the water. They absorb phosphates nitrates through there roots and secrete the bad through there leaves. You need to wipe off or spray there leaves 2-3 times a week. I also use iron and magnese( spelling check) to supplement there high demand for those elements. Once adappted to your tank water and lighting they grow IMO quick. Lighting for me is CPF I have two in my display tank that are getting MH lighting and the ones in my sump that are getting CPF lighting grow faster. When there leaves turn brown pluck them off as u do not want them to fall in the tank. I use styrofoam with holes in it to support them up and keep the main stalk and leaves out of the water. About 2 inches of the stalk and roots are in the water. It's pretty cool to watch them grow u know your doing something right then. Any questions PM me GOOD LUCK

Thats kinda interesting that yours grow better under the CFL then the MH, I was under the impression they liked the higher light How tall are the trees you have? Do you have any pics of your set-up for these?

Originally Posted by tankdude

I had them in my sump under my main display and they grew like weeds. They got so tall they over took the light they were under. Be aware that the leaves will fall off into your sump, and the roots will grow all through the sand and potentially into the seals of your sump which could cause a leak. Overall I liked having them, the main reason I got rid of them was they took up to much room in my sump.

How long did it take for them to "take over the light"? Quick growers? I'm not overly worried about them growing into my seals, since I am using a 100g rubbermaid that is open top so they have plenty of room to grow height wise as well When the leaves fall off did u have any issues with that or were you able to catch them all before they caused any kind of problem.... obviously in the rubbermaid they may be harder to find (especially since I dont check it daily).

Originally Posted by rosebud161616

I posted some info on them in my nano contest thread in post #92. The link to my thread is: Rosebud161616's 15 gallon custom built nano

I have used them in the past and am using several in this nano. I use them because I think they are fun and I like the look. As far as nutrient export, they don't do much until they get massive. You would pretty much have to pack your fuge full of them to do much good. For nutrient export you're better off using chaeto. But if you want something different and fun, mangroves are cool!

I think the guy I am looking at buying the mangroves from is the same one you got yours from, were you happy w/ his service and the mangroves... would u order from him again if you needed more??

I plan on ordering like 20 or so for my system if I decide to use them for sure.... mostly for the look but figured the extra nutrient export wouldnt hurt since I waaaaaaaaaaaay underskim I think they would be kinda cool to try and watch grow.... do u test/ have to dose for anything as far as their consumption of nutrients (mag/iron like mentioned previously)?



Thanks guys/gals for the help and input so far

[rosebud161616]

Originally Posted by chort55

I think the guy I am looking at buying the mangroves from is the same one you got yours from, were you happy w/ his service and the mangroves... would u order from him again if you needed more??

I plan on ordering like 20 or so for my system if I decide to use them for sure.... mostly for the look but figured the extra nutrient export wouldnt hurt since I waaaaaaaaaaaay underskim I think they would be kinda cool to try and watch grow.... do u test/ have to dose for anything as far as their consumption of nutrients (mag/iron like mentioned previously)?

The guy I ordered from was OK. If you were to order right about now, you might have a better experience than me. The problem was that I ordered when it was barely above freezing and he doesn't use any insulation on them. Mangroves can live for quite some time out of water, so it's not as big of a deal as I had originally thought that he doesn't wrap them in plastic to keep them moist. So I guess the answer is yes, I would order from him again if the weather was warm. No, I would not order from him again in the winter. I wish he made it clear to everyone that he doesn't us insulation in the dead of winter...

One suggestion that I would make is to completely submerge all of your mangroves that you receive immediately after getting them. This really seemed to help mine recover from the shock of shipping. They can stay submerged for several months. They will grow a pretty large root system before they ever shoot off leaves. The leaves will need to be out of the water so that they can export the salt out of their system.

Well after having them reshipped because several from the first order didn't make it, I have quite a few in a 15 gallon system. I haven't noticed any huge drops in parameters even though I feel like I have the tank pretty overstocked with them. However, I do change 30% of the water every 2 weeks, so that could be part of it. Also, I don't test for iron. You would have to have quite the low range iron test kit to be able to test for iron. It's only in minute amounts in saltwater. As far magnesium, I haven't seen any large drops. I do try to keep my mag closer to 1500 though also.