mangroves vs skimming

[dustbust_1]

Is it possible to due away with a skimmer using mangroves and macro algae?
40 gal breeder

 

[SALT WATER CRAZ]

If I remember right I dont think that mangroves take that many nutrents out of the water.

 

[parkpark]

sure, just make sure your macro and waterchanges keep up with your bio load, although I recall reading that mangroves don't do much for nutrient export, just remember that certain (most) corals require pristine water conditions

 

[Saltz Creep]

Mangroves grow slower than facial hair. You need a fast growing macro like chaeto.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

In any case, skimming removes organics that yellow the water and may be toxic and cause other problems, while macroalgae and mangroves remove inorganic nutrients. Macroalgae will actually contribute to organics and yellowing in the water. So they do not really do similar things, although they may have some outcomes in common (like reduced inorganic nutrients).

I'd recommend skimming for most any reef aquarium, and growing macroalgae is my primary nutrient export method, although others also work fine too.

 

[chimmike]

I've got mangroves and they seem to be thriving....however my macro isn't growing at all. Hasn't grown in probably 3 months now. But my corals and fish are thriving, and I'm able to control algae blooms by keeping my lights on only 7hrs/day......

i'm wondering what the deal is with my macro!

fwiw, I'm skimming too, a little prizm skimmer, but the macro wasn't growing even before I put the skimmer on.

 

[Aadler]

mm i love mangroves. granted it is more an asthetic thing for me than any actual help, they prolly hurt as much as anything, rotting plant material etc etc.

 

[Jay180reef]

I would keep skimming in a 40gal, seems like you may encounter a lot more issues with such a small volume.

 

[Mark]

I have always questioned the idea that mangroves don't help. When measuring export, we should consider dry biomass. If you remove and dry the additional growth of algae, it's pretty light and not much there. If you theoretically remove the additional stem,branch, and leaf growth from a mangrove in the same time frame, there's a lot more mass there. Less water and more dense biomass.

That said, I think there have been studies where mangroves were added, and there was little change in nitrate.

Either way, I wouldn't rely on either for filtration alone.

 

[greenbean36191]

Simply comparing mass change per unit time wouldn't really be a fair comparison either since most of the mass of the mangrove is cellulose derived from atmospheric CO2. You would really have to do a chemical assay or measurements of uptake rates to get a good comparison.