Mangrove in fuge question

[Soehl]

I bought some mangrove plants to put in my fuge. They are not as tall as my fuge and I am wondering how to grow them taller... Can I plant them fully submerged and let them grow out? ...or will they die if they are planted fully under water?
Thanks!!!
Cory

 

[jedimasterben]

They'll die. The tips need to be exposed above water. They grow incredibly slowly, so it will take at least a few years to outgrow your fuge area most likely.

 

[Soehl]

Thanks!

 

[monkiboy]

Growing Guides

i don't find that mine grow slowly at all. under proper lighting and enough nutrients, they should grow quite nicely and have leaves and visible growth within a couple months.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Take a square of styrofoam and cut holes for the trees. They can float and the roots will stretch to the sand and eventually support the tree this allowing styrofoamic removal

 

[SeymourDuncan]

You can "quarantine" them and feed them miracle grow. If you treat it like copper and allow it to be flushe out of the trees system once they are desired size you can put them back in the sump.

 

[Soehl]

Great suggestions! Thanks!

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Let us know how you went about it when you do. And the results!

 

[Ron Popeil]

spraying with fresh water daily and a good amount of magnesium always kept mine growing reasonably fast.

 

[Singlefin]

Do they really sell for $5 a piece? They are a nuisance along shorelines.

 

[bluwinghawk]

I thought is was a bad Idea to grow mangrove in fuge being that the roots have been known to crack the glass? is this possible? or a myth?

 

[bjledbetter]

I have five in my fuge and they have growed really slow. They are under t5 lighting. I've had them about 4 months. When I got them there was no roots and no leaf or stem growth on them. First they developed rather long roots and now two of them have sprouted a shoot and a couple leaves

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Here's what I am doing with mine during a tank rebuild. They are planted in gravel. In the water the pot is placed about 3 inch deep on a sand bed I am also "storing".

I have a pump with a piece of air hose stuck in it to blow water into the pot. It fills about an inch above the gravel and flows out of the bottom.

The trees are positioned to receive the morning hours of sunlit until noonish. Then they get stray light from the 2 reef tanks next to them. They are growing, I may add a small lamp for them but they do fine as is.

I read somewhere that I your hand casts a shadow on them then you have enough light. Ambient light can be sufficient as far as I have experienced.

 

[madehtsobi0109]

interesting.i have like 5 in my sump...2 have leaves and the other 3 look "dead".. i cut off the tips and they just turn brown and dry up...should i just toss them out?

 

[gar732]

From what I have read mangroves have to be pretty large to be an efficient means of nutrient export, also they use up mag in your system so additional supplementation may be necessary. I've also read when they get well established their roots can cause leaks from burrowing into the silicone. I think there are plenty of other macro algaes that are better suited for a fuge.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Yes as far as efficiency you need a large one of quite a few smaller ones. I use 5 and they grow fine. If they brown out then yeah. Toss em. May even look into giving it to a dog as a chew toy.

I have em for the fun of it mainly. They are great in upside down jelly fish tanks. I'm planning a tank with a mountain waterfall tht I plan on implementing the groves into some day. I've seen a few awesome ideas for amphibious invertebrate habitats.

If you purely want these for "efficiency" look into algal turf scrubbers. I had one on a 75 gallon and literally never changed the water. Never tested high for anything. I dosed all my stuff regularly though as the scrubber tends to eat everything. My skimmer would not even foam with the scrubber installed. I'm actually working on an upflow version in a 55 g trash can.

These are submersed rather than a suspended waterfall. Air bubblers are placed below the screens and there's a light. Nothing all to technical. As long as its proportionately lit/sized to your regime.

 

[gar732]

I have a few that I'm growing in my macro tank since I hope to make the root system part of the aqua scape. The root system on a mature tree looks very cool and provides plenty of hiding places for fish. I'd love to see what you end up doing with yours.