Mangrove tank

[saltwater sam]

Hi guys just thought I'd throw up a pic or two of my mangrove setup. It's basically a tank devoted to the mangroves. The fish are 3 spot and 4 stripe damsels and there are hermit crabs. The fish and crabs are there to provide nutritional benefit of the plants, however, they live pampered lives themselves. The two big ladies are Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), the small pot resting on them is a Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) that I collected on a recent Florida vacation. The pot on the right is a Large-leafed Orange Mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorhiza) propagule that I recently acquired. I'll be throwing up some update pics periodically! I'd be happy to answer any questions.


First signs of life on the Avicennia germinans

 

[saltwater sam]

First branches forming on my younger Red.

 

[saltwater sam]

First leaves appear on black mangrove.


Foliage on the reds

 

[packman90]

hi there, what are you doing for filtration?

 

[saltwater sam]

I have a small in tank filter. The plants take out nitrogenous waste and phosphates completely.

 

[saltwater sam]

Just moved these guys to their new home. This is my happy place during finals week

Here's a couple updates on my baby black mangrove... they grow up so fast!

 

[saltwater sam]

Added some green and red macros today!

 

[saltwater sam]

The black mangrove is doing great. My camel shrimp actually compromised the lining of its old smaller pot, so I repotted it last night in a bigger one.

 

[saltwater sam]

Sorry for the pic dump today, but not really.

Here's some closer shots of macros

 

[Tiki God]

Sweet! How long has it taken your mangroves to grow that big, and get branches?

 

[firemountain]

I have a spare tank that is just waiting for something to go into it. What's the planting media that you have filled in those pots?

I was originally going to use the tank as a refugium, strictly for copepods and chaeto production...I want mandarins. But I think that a HOB may be better suited for this.

What type of filtration are you using....a HOB type, canister?? Reason being that I have a spare Fluval 306 that I could use. Suggestions would be helpful.

Can you recommend a good resource for growing mangroves.

Thanks!

 

[saltwater sam]

Tiki God- The bigger one is a little over 3 years, the smaller one is about 2 years. It took a little over a year for the big one to start branching.

Firemountain- The inside of the pots have refugium mud thats held by a filter sock, the roots of the plant are mostly contained in there. The rest of the pot is filled with regular aquarium rock. The reason I have it like that is so the mud doesn't pour out of the pots.
The filtration is just a Whisper 40 in tank filter, which has carbon to keep the water clear and not stinky. The rest is taken care of by the plants.
I would highly recommend checking out this thread by Giga: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2328018
This guy knows his stuff.
Some personal recommendations I would make would be to definitely grow your mangroves with the roots in a medium: whether it's in substrate, growing into rock, or in pots like mine. Growing mangroves with their roots dangling in the water column does not get the best results and the plants certainly don't appreciate it.

 

[G_Sanab922]

Good growth in there. how many gallons is the tank?

 

[saltwater sam]

40 gallon breeder

 

[firemountain]

Saltwater Sam......thanks for the info. Once I get my DT cycled, then I will work on the mangrove.

 

[saltwater sam]

Hey, no problem! Good luck. I look forward to seeing how it works out for you!

 

[G_Sanab922]

Can they grow without mud/sand etc.. ? Thinking of putting one floating to let the roots grow down. I would start with a fresh seed. Have them all over my house lol

 

[MarlinDreams]

Thanks for the post, I have been trying for the longest time to figure out how I was going to transfer my 10 mangroves that I've got growing to my little refugium tank in my fish room. The little bucket idea is absolutely perfect.:bounce1:

 

[saltwater sam]

G_Sanab922- You can suspend them but I would not recommend doing so for a long period of time. When you take a seed and force it to grow roots like that, it takes energy away from the growth of leaves, which the plant needs to make food. The roots that get produced are thick and don't absorb nutrients, only small hair-like roots can do that which are only produced when the plant is firmly secured in a medium. It is a common misconception that if you grow a mangrove outside of medium you can make it grow prop roots faster. The truth is, the only way a plant is going to produce prop roots is if it's healthy and established. It takes two years minimum for them to start dropping aerial roots. A good rule of thumb is that the stem will not be green, but brown, before it will start producing aerial roots. Secure the roots in media, or attach them to rock. Giga's thread "Mangroves, aquariums, and you!" is a very good reference for growing mangroves, I would recommend looking at his methods.

MarlinDreams- You're welcome! Growing in pots is very convenient, it allows you to move plants between tanks, and even just to rearrange them in the tank they're in!

 

[saltwater sam]

Here's a pic of my true percula who seems to enjoy "hosting" in this algae. Love this little guy, think I might find him an RBTA, but I haven't decided how I'm going to stock my tank as far as cnidaria goes.