saltwater sam
New member
Repotted my smaller Bruguiera sexangula, leaving exposed roots, commonly referred to as "nebari" in bonsai. Had a nice long tap root to anchor it.
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Mangrove tank
- Thread starter saltwater sam
- Start date
Cool! I love that you're combining bonsai with aquarium keeping. What a great influence to bring to the salt water hobby! Adding artistic expression to our bag of tricks takes it to another level.
saltwater sam
New member
Thank you Michael, I intend to push the limits of mangroves as far as I can. I'm just getting started!
Here's a look at the Rhizophora apiculata prop roots, they're coming along nicely. I'm pretty sure I'm going to top this plant, and try to root the cutting. Hopefully I'll get two new branches forming from the cut.
Here's a look at the Rhizophora apiculata prop roots, they're coming along nicely. I'm pretty sure I'm going to top this plant, and try to root the cutting. Hopefully I'll get two new branches forming from the cut.
carmelpi
New member
Mangrove tank
Okay, your tank is gorgeous. Mind if i ask you a question or two?
My friend has three or four mangroves that are pushing 3 ft tall each. She doesn't have them planted. Bc of space constraints she will be giving them to me for my sump. My sump is a 100g rubbermaid trough that hold about 60g of water. It is attached to a 240g FOWLR that has very established LR (no corals, save some shrooms). The sump is behind the tank but otherwise there is nothing blocking the light. I want to put the mangroves into pots and put them in my sump. I'm hoping the indirect light from the 400w metal halides will be enough for them.
My next question is about water quality. Being that it is a large FOWLR with messy fish the water has pretty high nitrates and phosphates. Is there a point where the mangroves may suffer from the nitrates being too high? Iwould like to eventually go skimmerless by running remote DSB's and macro/mangroves. I did have some before tgat seemed to be doing okay but the floater they were on got flipped while we were on vacation and my tank sitter didn't think to flip them back over :/ so i don't know if the nitrates will hurt them.
Any advice on getting these guys potted?
Okay, your tank is gorgeous. Mind if i ask you a question or two?
My friend has three or four mangroves that are pushing 3 ft tall each. She doesn't have them planted. Bc of space constraints she will be giving them to me for my sump. My sump is a 100g rubbermaid trough that hold about 60g of water. It is attached to a 240g FOWLR that has very established LR (no corals, save some shrooms). The sump is behind the tank but otherwise there is nothing blocking the light. I want to put the mangroves into pots and put them in my sump. I'm hoping the indirect light from the 400w metal halides will be enough for them.
My next question is about water quality. Being that it is a large FOWLR with messy fish the water has pretty high nitrates and phosphates. Is there a point where the mangroves may suffer from the nitrates being too high? Iwould like to eventually go skimmerless by running remote DSB's and macro/mangroves. I did have some before tgat seemed to be doing okay but the floater they were on got flipped while we were on vacation and my tank sitter didn't think to flip them back over :/ so i don't know if the nitrates will hurt them.
Any advice on getting these guys potted?
saltwater sam
New member
Thank you! The nitrates and phosphates won't hurt the trees, they'll like it. Depending on how large the roots are, I would check out 8-10 inch net pots. For substrate, I use puka shell with mineral mud in the center.
saltwater sam
New member
They're going to need more light than that. Keep in mind that mangroves grow in direct tropical sunlight- they need fairly strong lighting to be healthy.
Maybe bring that third MH light back into service over them.
saltwater sam
New member
Update on my black mangrove. This plant has had issues for a while. It stopped growing for several months and started to turn yellow. I decided to take off the top leaves and repot with fresh soil. It is now recovering; it has turned green once again, and is sprouting new leaves from all nodes on the stem.
Right after repotting
Green again!
New leaves/branches emerging
Right after repotting
Green again!
New leaves/branches emerging
Great news! It's nice to hear success stories like these. It's encouraging for all of us!
saltwater sam
New member
Hopefully I can get this tree to get bigger, and possibly produce pneumatophores!
saltwater sam
New member
Love watching the aquascape shift between macros.
Black mangrove
Black mangrove
Nice pics! Tank looks great. So much to look at!
In the first pic, what is the big, pink mass below the clown fish? Kinda looks like a red macro, but also looks kinda gauzy.
In the first pic, what is the big, pink mass below the clown fish? Kinda looks like a red macro, but also looks kinda gauzy.
saltwater sam
New member
Thanks! I believe it's Acanthophora. Came in a variety pack and now it's sprouting up everywhere!
Here's another view of it
Here's another view of it
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I got that same variety pack-live-plants.com, right? I don't think I got that species though. Or maybe I did and we're seeing phenotypic plasticity. I'm definitely seeing it with the ones that have popped up in my tank!
You've got a nice variety of softies as well. If all goes well, you may need a bigger tank soon!
You've got a nice variety of softies as well. If all goes well, you may need a bigger tank soon!
saltwater sam
New member
I agree, Michael, it will be time to upgrade soon. Probably early 2016. I already know what I'm going to get: 80 gallon rimless frag tank! And yep live-plants.com has been where I've gotten the bulk of my macros including this one.
saltwater sam
New member
Few more? Why not?
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