Cycling a mangrove lagoon

BurlyWizard · Feb 28, 2021

Hi all,

Today I picked up my (dry) IM 25 lagoon, which will be a mangrove invert only tank. I plan to buy XL mangroves with leaves and roots off ebay to increase the likelihood of some of them surviving. Would it be better to add these mangroves at the beginning of cycle, after cycle, or does it not matter?

I apologize if this has been asked, I couldn't find any threads on it.

Thanks!

xxkenny90xx · Feb 28, 2021

Hey burly, welcome to the club. I would cycle the tank first for the best chance of the mangroves survival

Azedenkae · Feb 28, 2021

BurlyWizard said:
Hi all,

Today I picked up my (dry) IM 25 lagoon, which will be a mangrove invert only tank. I plan to buy XL mangroves with leaves and roots off ebay to increase the likelihood of some of them surviving. Would it be better to add these mangroves at the beginning of cycle, after cycle, or does it not matter?

I apologize if this has been asked, I couldn't find any threads on it.

Thanks!

I second xxkenny90xx, I would add them after cycling. To be perfectly honest I have not thought about it in too much detail, but just off the top of my head I would suggest cycling first before adding, because as far as I am imagining right now there is no harm in that, versus a different choice which could perhaps have issues that admittedly I have yet to figure out.

Eagle_Steve · Feb 28, 2021

You want to cycle before the mangroves. This will allow nitrates to be present when you add them. Try to keep nitrates around 5-10 at most and po4 around .03-.08 once you get going.

Mangroves have to have food, so best after the cycle and maybe a water change if your nitrates get too high from the cycle.

Ichtha_yo Stuff · Mar 10, 2021

Wouldn’t ammonia also act as a fertilizer?

Eagle_Steve · Mar 10, 2021

Ichtha_yo Stuff said:
Wouldn’t ammonia also act as a fertilizer?

To an extent, yes.

Eric R. · May 30, 2021

I personally think they'd do fine either way as long as they have enough light. However, lots of light during cycling can promote algae growth, especially if you're starting with dry rock, so you may want to wait until after the tank is more established.