saltwater sam
New member
What substrate are the roots in?
Mangroves, aquariums and you!
- Thread starter Giga
- Start date
Giga
New member
This is a good point too
So, my tree has outgrown this small lighting. Hmmmm...What to buy? I've seen Julian Sprung's tank, he has 2 AI's over his tree IIRC.
Well, What do you suggest I dose? I checked out some info just in case I was missing something, as to what macro nutrients were. With this being such a small tank I don't know where to start to build up the nutrients. It has a fish that's been in there about 2 weeks now. It's always had snails. It's always had high nitrates. I've never been able to get a reading on the PO4 in this tank. So I dose PO4 occasionally. Mag levels, I'm not sure. I currently don't have a mag test kit. It ran out. I can dose the Iron as I have some. What level do you suggest? I have no way of testing it at NSW levels but, I can test it on my Hanna Iron checker. That will then be WAY above NSW levels. I don't have any of the manganese, or zinc that you mentioned in an earlier post.
They are in a shallow bed of sea floor special grade sand. No mud.
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saltwater sam
New member
I thought this was an awesome pic for people to see the different types of orange mangroves
Ldagger
New member
Those are pretty cool, i would like to get some myself- where did you purchase them?
On a different topic for some of the other posts on this thread I think it's worth mentioning that if you are trying to grow just mangroves, then using low salinity water is the way to go and not full strength salt water. Very low salinity in fact. Brackish water tanks are very interesting, nice and cheaper : )
Most mangroves prefer 5 to 50 % strength seawater. If you use them on your reef tank with cheapo lighting you are not going to have great success in general. Yes some people do have some degree of success over long periods of time, but this is pushing the plants to there limit. Just a reminder here. Great thread and awesome write up.
On a different topic for some of the other posts on this thread I think it's worth mentioning that if you are trying to grow just mangroves, then using low salinity water is the way to go and not full strength salt water. Very low salinity in fact. Brackish water tanks are very interesting, nice and cheaper : )
Most mangroves prefer 5 to 50 % strength seawater. If you use them on your reef tank with cheapo lighting you are not going to have great success in general. Yes some people do have some degree of success over long periods of time, but this is pushing the plants to there limit. Just a reminder here. Great thread and awesome write up.
saltwater sam
New member
Those aren't mine, unfortunately, I found that pic on the internet. However, I have a couple of the species. I imported them from Asia.
Ldagger
New member
oh i gotca. I saw in a different thread where you had to get a permit.
Very interesting trees. I just read thru again Hogarth's "Biology of mangroves and seagrasses", what an awesome book. If you know of some other books let me know. I think there is a biology of mangroves out there that i have not read.
Very interesting trees. I just read thru again Hogarth's "Biology of mangroves and seagrasses", what an awesome book. If you know of some other books let me know. I think there is a biology of mangroves out there that i have not read.
saltwater sam
New member
Hey Giga, I have a question about root pruning/repotting. My tree is starting to exhibit signs of chlorosis and the newer leaves are smaller so I'm thinking it's getting root bound. Do you have any tips on root pruning? I don't want to chop off some roots and have it die on me. Have you had any similar experiences? My big worry is that if I open the roots that it's going to let salt in, which obviously would not be good. Thanks!
Ldagger
New member
oh i just checked the date on the post. How are they doing now etc?
i setup a 55 gallon brackish tank about 4 months ago "shocker right", and the single mangrove i put in is doing well. i have very low salinity and some sailfin mollies that are breeding like crazy. The tree is at the top and has been sending out runners looking for some substrate. I think it would really explode if i planted it in some substrate. 55's are tall, so i need to figure out a hang on the side arrangement.
i setup a 55 gallon brackish tank about 4 months ago "shocker right", and the single mangrove i put in is doing well. i have very low salinity and some sailfin mollies that are breeding like crazy. The tree is at the top and has been sending out runners looking for some substrate. I think it would really explode if i planted it in some substrate. 55's are tall, so i need to figure out a hang on the side arrangement.
iiiTRiBEiii
New member
Greetings
Greetings
Hello all,
:wavehand:
This is my first post. I am lucky to have found the motherload of info here at Reef Central. A HUGE, giga if you will, Thanks to GIGA for starting this thread. I came here looking for help and advice with a brackish red mangrove setup.
The tank has been established for just over a month. Only contains substrate, mangroves, bubblers, CO2 feed etc...no fish or bivalves. Salinity is a steady 1.005 and the Koval light/some afternoon natural light is doing the job, I think.
My main question is about getting stilt and pneumatophore roots to develop. Seems to happen naturally, when there is tidal current and dense sand. Is is possible in a tank? I could be completely wrong, that's why I came here @_@
Second question, should I plant the roots into the substrate? Seems dumb to even ask but will the roots work their way down naturally? Am I harming the trees?
Greetings
Hello all,
:wavehand:
This is my first post. I am lucky to have found the motherload of info here at Reef Central. A HUGE, giga if you will, Thanks to GIGA for starting this thread. I came here looking for help and advice with a brackish red mangrove setup.
The tank has been established for just over a month. Only contains substrate, mangroves, bubblers, CO2 feed etc...no fish or bivalves. Salinity is a steady 1.005 and the Koval light/some afternoon natural light is doing the job, I think.
My main question is about getting stilt and pneumatophore roots to develop. Seems to happen naturally, when there is tidal current and dense sand. Is is possible in a tank? I could be completely wrong, that's why I came here @_@
Second question, should I plant the roots into the substrate? Seems dumb to even ask but will the roots work their way down naturally? Am I harming the trees?
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saltwater sam
New member
They must be planted in substrate. Stilt roots develop after 3 years of healthy growth.
Ron Reefman
Active member
Mangroves are not good exporters of nitrates or phosphates. They grow way too slow to be worth the effort if you are looking for that kind of help. Just find a good macro algae like Chaeto.
We find mangrove propagules on the beach and I regularly bring a few home and grow them out. But strictly because I can and they are free. They do next to nothing for the tank. I wouldn't pay a dollar per propagule to have them.
Hi thanks for this thread was looking for information like this! So i have some mangroves pods coming in and I was wondering what's the recommended substrate to use (you mentioned sand, soil, or silt in the OP) Some forums have recommended aragonite sand, mineral mud, or even mixes of the two. what type of substrate do you successful mangrove growers use?
Ron Reefman
Active member
I have 2 mangroves in the overflow of my frag tank for 6 months now and they are doing just fine with bare roots! I have one in my shallow reef tank and it has put roots into the sand. I had one tied up on the back glass about 6" off the sand and it grew roots down into the sand and looked like the typical proproot mangrove we see at the shore.
The red mangrove is very adaptive and will grow in just about anything. I assume (I know, a bad thing) that the better the soil, the better it will grow. But to be honest, unless you have a high mounted grow light, you may not want your mangrove to grow too fast. I let mine grow until the reach the light fixture and then start over. But then I get free mangrove propagules off the beach.
The red mangrove is very adaptive and will grow in just about anything. I assume (I know, a bad thing) that the better the soil, the better it will grow. But to be honest, unless you have a high mounted grow light, you may not want your mangrove to grow too fast. I let mine grow until the reach the light fixture and then start over. But then I get free mangrove propagules off the beach.
sEaLiFe4LiFe
New member
Hey peeps came hear for the reasons as many lol BIG THANK YOU to Giga for the knowledge. I have a 150g DT recently re established with 40g sump where I’ll be adding my red mangroves. Luckily I live in Florida so my mangroves are also free lol �� I was at the beach in Jupiter and walked around the lagoon and picked up about 50. For now I have them in a Home Depot bucket with fresh water. Since I was worried about nÃtrate for growth I’ve added a bunch of leaves and decomposing leaves to help. My tank has been running for about a a little over a week now with 3” substrate and plenum setup and dry rock. I will be leaving the mangroves in the bucket maybe for months till roots start to grow and then slowly acclimate them to salt. All in all am I doing this right? Lol any help would be appreciated.
