29 g mangrove in progress.

[SeymourDuncan]

As I get more addicted to marine life due to tolerance buildup, I start to get ideas. Ways to increase my levels of intake and diversity.

This time I decided to finally use my mangroves for something useful. They didn't filter the water as much as I hoped even with 10 total trees.

I also had designed a Lego tank and housed an anemone in it and that got annoying because the tank was too small, only on at night since it was next to my sump to my other system.

Nems and groves can live together peacefully. So I turned to Lego tank into an algae scrubber, in progress as well.

This tank is going to be very simple.

It's not going to have a sump because I just don't feel like it! Instead I bought this perfectly shaped corner aquarium made of plastic and superglued it in the tank. I installed a pump on it and threw in some live rock and the gravel is just there for holding the mangroves before I styrofoamed them up.

Not much rock in the tank, helps to keep the anemone in a reasonable spot.

There is no way the thing can get sucked up either. No internal powerhead needed after i modded the pump.

I will at one point make some type of scape, but the water quality is pristine and all the stuff is mature, cycled, and pods have already become present and I set this up 20 minutes ago.

I'm still looking into inhabitants besides the anemone.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

 

[turbo21]

Great start. i have always wanted to add a mangrove type of filter to my tank

bob

 

[Singlefin]

nice, but i dont see any duncans in there!!!....haha is that an RBTA? thats what mine look like. bubbles not really present on the tips.

 

[fragmatic]

Diversity.. bring it brother. Keep us posted.. we think too much alike.

I'd like to hear from others about mangroves and if an additional refugium of them and some other life forms would benefit my tank eco system.

If fact, I think I'll do some google searches and see what turns up.

What tickles my thinking is we have nothing in our mini reef worlds that mimics the fact that the tide comes in and floods a beach area then recedes leaving that sand bed to sun dry cycle. There are life forms there that only exist on the beach areas. What could they do for our eco systems. Go think on that one will ya?

 

[Singlefin]

Diversity.. bring it brother. Keep us posted.. we think too much alike.

I'd like to hear from others about mangroves and if an additional refugium of them and some other life forms would benefit my tank eco system.

If fact, I think I'll do some google searches and see what turns up.

What tickles my thinking is we have nothing in our mini reef worlds that mimics the fact that the tide comes in and floods a beach area then recedes leaving that sand bed to sun dry cycle. There are life forms there that only exist on the beach areas. What could they do for our eco systems. Go think on that one will ya?

not to hijack this thread, but i think beaches are where all the bad (some good) stuff collects in the sand i.e.. sewage runoff, rubbish, sunscreen, stream runoff from humans on land. the sun and its uv rays help kill this not so good stuff. These mangrove forests grow on the shoreline hopefully helping to suck up this stuff and create protected areas for fish nurseries.

 

[fragmatic]

not to hijack this thread, but i think beaches are where all the bad (some good) stuff collects in the sand i.e.. sewage runoff, rubbish, sunscreen, stream runoff from humans on land. the sun and its uv rays help kill this not so good stuff. These mangrove forests grow on the shoreline hopefully helping to suck up this stuff and create protected areas for fish nurseries.

Absolutely right! However, I am thinking about pristine beaches without the nudists tromping about. You are talking about civilization beaches. You know, the ones where there is nothing civil going on anymore?

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Mangroves as a filter. Not efficient.
As a habitat: oh yes very. Te root systems become insanely tangled and create awesome caves and places to live.

The nem is actually just a condy! I'll pass on the compliment to it. Lol

Duncan's are definitely in my possession! Just not in this tank

And for the tides, I have actually implemented them into my previous system before

I did it to replicate the reef tops, unfortunately I moved and that project came to a hault.

Pretty much it was a tank with no overflow wall and the stand pipe was shaped like that in a Carlson surge device, only it went down only 1\3 of the tank so there was water always in it.

Maybe sometime ill see about rebuilding it. I have another thread started on my 75 g build, but I'm waiting on a few trades to go through, or not, which will alter my final plan with it.



Additional notes on the 29:

Lighting is 4x18w t5 bulbs, I am wiring up 2 more 6500k daylight 75 watts as well for the nem. The mangroves have grown well with ambient lighting so I just mist them with fresh water.

Filtration: nothin yet. If it needs anything then I am going to install an algae scrubber.

Sand: silica sand, works well for me, may not for you...

 

[fragmatic]

Seriously though, I think the beach is "supposed" to play an important part in the reef eco system. Which gets into the discussion of receding reef life.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Beaches smell. If you can handle that in your house or can implement one in a basement sump or somewhere out of smell, along with keeping the eroded sand from reaching any pumps then that would be a great idea. I tried to have a beach for the groves that didn't even change tide and it was very good as far as water quality, however it smelled like death. Amphibious creatures would always stir it up and unleash its deepest odor and. The sand developed a nasty salt creep and I'm sure that wasn't good for anyone.

 

[fragmatic]

My thoughts, half baked they are, is a tilting shallow tank, with a trickle feed like a refugium back into the main system. However, let me be clear, I am a long ways from doing the research I think such a project deserves first. Some fiddler crabs, clams, and such is my driver to wanting to do it.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

No need to do the dirty work, google amphibious marine tanks and there's a guy with a volcano tank who pretty much describes every aspect as far as life forms suitable and filtration and what not.

And. To also help you a tilting tank would be dangerous lol, plus scare the bejesus out of the animals and be hard on the tank. A small one wouldn't be large enough to do much of anything with. You should research ebb and flow or other type of hydroponic type plumbing. All what you want can exist in a static box that does not have to weeble wobble and one day explode lol.

 

[fragmatic]

No need to do the dirty work, google amphibious marine tanks and there's a guy with a volcano tank who pretty much describes every aspect as far as life forms suitable and filtration and what not.

And. To also help you a tilting tank would be dangerous lol, plus scare the bejesus out of the animals and be hard on the tank. A small one wouldn't be large enough to do much of anything with. You should research ebb and flow or other type of hydroponic type plumbing. All what you want can exist in a static box that does not have to weeble wobble and one day explode lol.

Stop that, I have enough irons in my fire that aren't getting their share of my brains now, as it is. No, I'm passed the weeble wobble stage. We are only talking about really slow in phase with the real moon. I need to stop talking about this or I will loose track of my real world and up and do some version of it. That is the last thing I need right now. Retirement is too much fun.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Sounds like it! Haha.

You can make an air powered tide changer too. Basically a balloon that fills and empties underwater. Idk though.

Start up a thread dedicated to your madness, lol. I am interested I More insanity

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Man! Groves grow slow. I figured after 20 minutes they'd be big enough for a couple seagulls.

In fact, these have been growing for 5 months now. Healthy propagules but leaves take forever and they have only grown 2 inches, one grew 4 but that's it.

This is evidence of their inefficiency at filtrating water. Unless your whole tank Is packed with roots then you really just have a decoration that is living. However this is also a very good thing. Tangs don't grow slow, so that gives mangroves a +1 for that. But a tang will eat hair algae faster than a mangrove will absorb enough water to compete.

Tangs are more efficient than mangroves? Are your retirement side effects rubbing off on me? Should I not retire? Should I find a job so that I have something to not retire from? What are w2s? 401k is a color spectrum, probably

In the meantime, Condy rice is plumping up like a balloon, she must like the t5s or not like them. Salt is a little low, not enough to kill it it maybe it is. I'm moving a hyper concentrated solution to up the salt w/o using too much water drip it into the overflow with my useless aqua lifter that I have. I haven't even opened it yet. Ato went a whole other direction so it sat.

I just found my e-tape and wire nuts. Time to make the high newner lights. )

 

[SeymourDuncan]

I'm not a republican or a democrat or any other thing unless I actually vote right?

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Would this falco hawk be fine around an anemone? He really sucks as a friend and needs to be sent away, i don't want to kill him or give him to someone to terrorize their fish either though. He is a complete spaz. Not nippy, but he side swipes everything that moves, even coral! Haha.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

 

[gar732]

I have a few mangroves growing in a few different tanks and the root system seems to grow faster than the leaves which is fine by me since the root system is what I want anyway. I have a fluval spec 5g macro tank that I'm hoping to make the root system part of the aqua scape. I just have to think about how to manage the root system since I've read that the roots can dig into the silicone and cause leaks.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

I have also worried about the roots capabilities. Ideally I am hoping to have a rotation of groves going on. As they grow I will remove them and probably pot them then replace with smaller ones. Mine are far from outgrowing the tank so I have plenty I time to hear other people's mangrove mishaps and prevent my own as best I can.

One tree hasn't had leaves since it came in, but grows taller and has new roots all the time