Landshark18
New member
I was thinking about getting a small mangrove plant for my 35 gal hex to "soak up" some nitrates. Does anyone have any experience with this? And if so, does it work?
mangroves for nitrates
- Thread starter Landshark18
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Samala
New member
Are you planning on putting this in a sump/refugium, or just straight into the tank? Mangroves need a lot of light to grow well.. a number of PCs, MH, sunlight would all be ideal. The trouble with placing them directly into the display is that your lights will often be too close to the leaves of the plant, and can burn them before the plant gets off to a good start.
The effect they can have on NO3 in your tank is debatable. Because they grow very slowly, one would imagine they export NO3 very slowly as well. Chaetomorpha, Ulva, Gracilaria, etc. would be better choices for export, though various degrees of suitability for each in a display environment.
These links are pretty good threads on mangroves that were done well in a large overall setup. They are not, however, the only means of export, more for aesthetic 'show' purposes.Mangrove set up and Mangrove?.
>Sarah
The effect they can have on NO3 in your tank is debatable. Because they grow very slowly, one would imagine they export NO3 very slowly as well. Chaetomorpha, Ulva, Gracilaria, etc. would be better choices for export, though various degrees of suitability for each in a display environment.
These links are pretty good threads on mangroves that were done well in a large overall setup. They are not, however, the only means of export, more for aesthetic 'show' purposes.Mangrove set up and Mangrove?.
>Sarah
Landshark18
New member
Thanks for your response. I was planning on just puting 1 small plant directly in my tank. Its almost 3 feet tall and my 35gal lights arent high output but if you think it wont make that much difference then it may be kinda pointless. I was just curious bc i saw an article on it and have had some nitrate trouble in that tank lately. In all honesty, would it be worth a shot or would i be wasting my time and possibly causing myself more problems?
Landshark18
New member
On second thought, what would be another plant better suited for export that i could place directly in my tank?
Samala
New member
Right, I think of all the marine plants (and seaweeds) available, that mangroves are a poor choice for this application. They are also a bit finicky with regards to needs for light and space and such. They are beautiful in a dedicated tank of a refugium, just not in a typical reef display.
The calcerous macros - Halimeda (cactus algae), Udotea (mermaids fan) and Penicillus (shaving brush) are all nice accent items for a display. They will modestly help out with nutrient levels.
For lots of nutrient export you might consider Chaetomorpha (spaghetti, or brillo pad algae). This has some drawbacks in a display - mainly it can get clogged with detritus and needs to be shaken out to clean every few weeks, and small strands of it can break off and start new colonies elsewhere in the tank. BUT, its one of the easiest, least demanding macro's to grow.
Truly, though, Chaetomorpha does its job best in a refugium setup. You could also try Ulva (sea lettuce) in a fuge for export.
I hope that helps!
>Sarah
The calcerous macros - Halimeda (cactus algae), Udotea (mermaids fan) and Penicillus (shaving brush) are all nice accent items for a display. They will modestly help out with nutrient levels.
For lots of nutrient export you might consider Chaetomorpha (spaghetti, or brillo pad algae). This has some drawbacks in a display - mainly it can get clogged with detritus and needs to be shaken out to clean every few weeks, and small strands of it can break off and start new colonies elsewhere in the tank. BUT, its one of the easiest, least demanding macro's to grow.
Truly, though, Chaetomorpha does its job best in a refugium setup. You could also try Ulva (sea lettuce) in a fuge for export.
I hope that helps!
>Sarah
kenny77
New member
Red mangrove is not a good choice to lower your nitrate. to aclomplish this with mangrove you will need to setup a small tank with a mud sand bed and at least 5-10 plants and even with this they won't export nutrient like other macro algae. They also need a lot of care. You need to clean the leaves with fresh water everyday to take out any saltcreep thay can have. Also for a 35g HEx tank you will need an intence light since this type of tank are tall and light doesn't penetrate all the way to the bottom like it looks.
If you rally want to export nutrien setup a fuge tank and get some chatomorpha and then you can get some caulerpa but after you get some expericence with macro since caulerpa can go sexual and crash the tank.
If you rally want to export nutrien setup a fuge tank and get some chatomorpha and then you can get some caulerpa but after you get some expericence with macro since caulerpa can go sexual and crash the tank.
