What do I do with my new mangroves?

[Erik765]

I just bought 10 mangroves from that guy who sells them on eBay. 10 w/ leaves for $18 shipped. Not bad. They look great. Just wondering where to put them in my refugium. It is probably 16ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ to the gravel, so what Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve done so far is, I took a bucket cut off the top so Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s only about 8ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ tall, drilled about 20 holes in it and put about 2ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ of substrate (mostly Garf grunge). I then planted the mangroves in the substrate and suspended the bucket higher up in my ref. so the tops of the mangroves come up about 2ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ from the surface. Will this work? I really donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t like the way I did this, for one reason the bucket blocks a lot of light from the bottom of my refugium. Is there a better way? Should I just let them float around or what?



E

 

[The_Nexis_One]

I've had luck with suspending them with Styrofoam or thread.

You want the top to be above the water so you can use a flat square of styrofoam with a hole just large enough for the seed pod. Push it in until secure and float it in the Refugium... Once the roots drop down and secure the plant to the rock/substrate, you can break away the foam and Viola! Mangrove!

I've also used a thread strung from front to back of the tank with a rubberband holding the pod to the thread. This keeps the plant in the exact location you want in the refugium.

Best of luck,
JB