Mangrove, or cheato ?

[Allmost]

Hello all,

which one is more suitable and would remove more no3 and po4 if your opinion ?

 

[AtomHeart]

I run both. 3 mangroves and a 6-8 inch ball of cheato over a deep sand bed. I don't know which is the more effective, but with both my nitrates run at 0. When I pulled all out my nitrates rose to 25mg/l in two days.

 

[Allmost]

I run both. 3 mangroves and a 6-8 inch ball of cheato over a deep sand bed. I don't know which is the more effective, but with both my nitrates run at 0. When I pulled all out my nitrates rose to 25mg/l in two days.

Hmm interesting, do the mangroves need to be rooted in DSB ?

right now, I have the same, a DSB with cheato on top, was thinking of adding some mangroves to it instead. well I can just add it to the side of the Fuge lol

 

[KarlBob]

The consensus from my reading is that mangroves grow far more slowly than Chaeto, and take up much less NO3 and PO4 per day than a bundle of Chaetomorpha. If you want to add them, they won't hurt anything, and they're pretty plants, but they aren't as effective as macroalgae like Chaeto or Caulerpa.

 

[Agu]

The consensus from my reading is that mangroves grow far more slowly than Chaeto, and take up much less NO3 and PO4 per day than a bundle of Chaetomorpha. If you want to add them, they won't hurt anything, and they're pretty plants, but they aren't as effective as macroalgae like Chaeto or Caulerpa.

In addition mangroves are higher maintenance. In your sump they'll need to be misted regularly to remove salt creep which can suffocate the plant. They can also get big and outgrow the space provided in a stand.

 

[coralnut99]

The consensus from my reading is that mangroves grow far more slowly than Chaeto, and take up much less NO3 and PO4 per day than a bundle of Chaetomorpha. If you want to add them, they won't hurt anything, and they're pretty plants, but they aren't as effective as macroalgae like Chaeto or Caulerpa.

+1
Mangroves have more of an aesthetic appeal than a practical one. Especially with the smaller mangrove specimens routinely available. However, it would be interesting to learn if that would still hold true once the mangroves become more substantial.

Having said that, I have six mangroves starting in a 90G planted tank. They are super slow growers, but if you have the patience they can create a really unique biotope.

 

[spamreefnew]

i will go with mangroves in my next fuge only because the cheato breaks apatr and i find it in every pump,sock,strainer,pipe,rockpile,and more..cheato just adds to my cleaning chore IMO

 

[KarlBob]

Weird. My Chaeto mostly stays wrapped in its tight little spaghetti cluster. I rarely have small bits to remove.

 

[Allmost]

i will go with mangroves in my next fuge only because the cheato breaks apatr and i find it in every pump,sock,strainer,pipe,rockpile,and more..cheato just adds to my cleaning chore IMO

I would look into the trace elements if your cheato is breaking apart, or maybe the flow they are getting. I remember this happening in my smaller tanks, I removed cheato from them, too much work as u said cleaning it. but in my bigger system they grow nicely.