Mangrove plants for fuge

[turbois300]

I've been thinking about doing a larger fuge in my next set up and I've seen some folks with small mangrove like plants in their fuges. Is this something that is doable. I'm not talking full trees or anything but smaller 12" stalks. I'll see if I can post a pict of what I'm talking about.

 

[surfn]

theres allot of information about this method out there. couple things........you need a DEEP sand bed in order for the mangroves to root.

also, if the leaves fall back into the water and decay.....that is gonna mess up the purpose of having a mangrove in there in the first place.

also, strong lights are needed i believe...

this is what the lagoon over the reef tank looks like at the georgia aquarium

 

[shred5]

Sure why not. Here is a picture of my fuge which is no longer in use. It is several red mangroves that were bought as pods. That growth is less than a year. I also had a deep sandbed in there with various types of algae. I had no lighting except what they got from the windows which had blinds that were mainly closed most of the time. The mangroves seemed to grow rather fast for me but most people claim they grow slow. I think maybe this is due to the fact I gave them pretty low light and in nature the pods would also start in low light under the canopy and need to grow fast to make it to the light.

Dave

 

[turbois300]

WOW!!! That again is awesome. I gotta take my girls down there. It seems to be unbelievably cool!!! Yeah I figured that it would be a bit difficult to do. Also I have no idea where to get one. I have been thinking of doind the 100 galon rubbermaid sump/fuge with some partitions in it to keep things all separated and thought it would be cool to have one of those in the sand chamber. We'll have to see how it all plays out. Any ideas of a vendor or individual that would have access to them. I imagine that someone in Fla would be able to get them fairly easily???? Thanks for the pix again!!!! They are awesome. Did you take those on your tour??

 

[turbois300]

Dave - thanks for te pict. That is exactly what I was thinking about. Do you mind providing some more info? Like where did you get the pods and just how deep was your sand bed. Also why did you decide to take that fuge down?

 

[turbois300]

surfn - in your pix are those hydroids or aptasia arount the edge in that bottom pict?? They look like some sort of polyp sorta????

 

[Teeka]

I am in fl. Mangrove pods are in abundance here. I got about 5 or 6 growing in my sump now. They are free floaters, but they are at a point I am going to have to get some sand in there for them to grow more. If anyone wants them let me know. Maybe we could do some trades.

 

[surfn]

WOW!!! That again is awesome. I gotta take my girls down there. It seems to be unbelievably cool!!! Yeah I figured that it would be a bit difficult to do. Also I have no idea where to get one. I have been thinking of doind the 100 galon rubbermaid sump/fuge with some partitions in it to keep things all separated and thought it would be cool to have one of those in the sand chamber. We'll have to see how it all plays out. Any ideas of a vendor or individual that would have access to them. I imagine that someone in Fla would be able to get them fairly easily???? Thanks for the pix again!!!! They are awesome. Did you take those on your tour??

ask Chris at UA to get a couple of small ones in. I'm sure he can easily get ahold of some. be sure to write it up on the white board (if he still has it), so he doesn't forget about it.

yeah, i took those pics on the behind the scenes tour.....was worth EVERY penny!

surfn - in your pix are those hydroids or aptasia arount the edge in that bottom pict?? They look like some sort of polyp sorta????

those were aptasia........they had a major infestation in the lagoon area.....but i imagine they play a natural role in filtration. i only saw them in the VERY shallow areas....near sand....didnt see any down in the reef shelf where most of the corals were.

 

[turbois300]

Sweet!!! I am always up for trades. As I get closer to completion on the new system I'll be intouch with you!!! Have you had much trouble getting them acclimated to tank/fuge life?? Any info/pix would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again!!

 

[turbois300]

Whatdya know I got one right!! Woo Hoo!! Yeah I definately gotta get down there to see that! It just blows my mind that they have a whale shark tank with 5 or 6 of those monsters in there......the webcam is pretty sweet but I gotta see it in person!!!! I could spend an entire weekend in there. open til close!

 

[shred5]

Dave - thanks for te pict. That is exactly what I was thinking about. Do you mind providing some more info? Like where did you get the pods and just how deep was your sand bed. Also why did you decide to take that fuge down?

Sand bed was like 6 inches deep of very fine sand but they actually rooted into a pile of rocks though, not the sandbed. I took it down because I took the tank down. They are easy and really require no care except it is good to wash the leaves once in a while. I just spray them down with a water bottle. I honestly wanted to keep them even without a tank and put them in something more atractive and put them in my living room... They are neat.

There are lots of online vendors that sell red mangroves. I have seen them on ebay and are really cheap there, good place to get them.
Liveaquaria has them sometimes. Reefscavengers has them for like 5 for 8.99.

Dave

 

[turbois300]

Thanks for the info mang!! I am definately going to look into this for the next setup. I should have a nice fish room and that will add some extra dimension and color to it. It'll be cool if I can get a batfish to live amungst them like they do in nature....or atleast that i swhat I've read.

 

[killingseed2000]

i like mangroves, i have some i have collected from another local reefer and they where doing great till we moved my tank and the sump fall though my stand "crash". i still have them not doing as good. but i had someone on ebay making me a new sump 36x15x15 and i had him section off part of the refuge as i can add a deep sand bed 10L x 5W x 10H and my mangroves should be sweet! i will try to post pictures when i get it in. hopful this week.

basic sketch

 

[shred5]

Surfn you have anymore pictures of that reef tank....

Dave

 

[reef-lover]

I have been running a red mangrove sump for about 10 months. The only negative is that you have to really monitor your magnesium levels. They slurp it up quick.

 

[turbois300]

Thats good to know. Any particular additive that you are having success with? Brand?

Kill - that is super sweet. I'll definately want to see pix when you get it going!!! I was thinking also of having a separate area for them in the fuge. Should the flow be slower around them?? How are you working that out in your design?? If that is even a consideration or a requirement.