Palm trees?

[DudeBruh]

In the process of tank and equipment shopping, planning whats going in and all the fun stuff.....and noticed what I think to be small palm/bamboo growing from an external sump or/ refugium. What are these plants? Thought it was algae only in there usually.... benefits that differ from just algae?

 

[WV Reefer]

In the process of tank and equipment shopping, planning whats going in and all the fun stuff.....and noticed what I think to be small palm/bamboo growing from an external sump or/ refugium. What are these plants? Thought it was algae only in there usually.... benefits that differ from just algae?

Probably mangroves.

 

[tdileo]

In the process of tank and equipment shopping, planning whats going in and all the fun stuff.....and noticed what I think to be small palm/bamboo growing from an external sump or/ refugium. What are these plants? Thought it was algae only in there usually.... benefits that differ from just algae?

A picture always helps.

 

[Mikedawg]

In the process of tank and equipment shopping, planning whats going in and all the fun stuff.....and noticed what I think to be small palm/bamboo growing from an external sump or/ refugium. What are these plants? Thought it was algae only in there usually.... benefits that differ from just algae?

Most probably a mangrove used to export nitrates and other organic matter outside of the main tank

 

[DudeBruh]

Thanks gents, looks like that’s most likely it. Do those do a better job than algae? Has anyone experimented with other coastal plants in there sumps?

 

[cristata.reef]

I've never grown them but I've heard that mangroves are not as efficient as algae (surface are are smaller so less nutrient uptake). The main reason people use them instead of macroalgae is a personal aesthetic preference. But don't get me wrong they're still cool and will get the job done

 

[DudeBruh]

Why I ask, I is owned a massive koi pond at my last house and first few years had just some Lily and other plants that the fish stores sold that remain submerged and always battled algae. Then later added normal plants that could live in the shelf areas from Home Depot and boom crystal clear and no more chemicals. So wondering what plants people messed with in the refugium s

 

[Zeal]

I had one and it looked nice but I feel it would look nicer on a lagoon style tank, also if you do buy them make sure to spray RODI water on them every single day the salt creep on the leafs kill the mangroves quickly. Also its nice seeing the roots grow through the rocks and watching the hermits and fish swimming around the mangroves

 

[Jesterrace]

As mentioned, definitely not a palm but a mangrove tree. Honestly I have never seen one as a hitchhiker in a tank before.

 

[Ron Reefman]

They do export nitrate and phosphate, but at a much, much slower rate than any macro algae. If you have room for them, in the right situation, they can provide some habitat for pods or other small critters. I have one growing in my 50g cube. But being in Florida, I can pick mangrove propagules up off the beach. So as mine gets too big (they are trees after all) I can pull mine and start a new one.

And to address your question, no, I can't think of any plant other than algae that is cheap and grows fast enough to do a worthwhile job as a nitrate & phosphate exporter.

 

[EW_Fish]

They do export nitrate and phosphate, but at a much, much slower rate than any macro algae. If you have room for them, in the right situation, they can provide some habitat for pods or other small critters. I have one growing in my 50g cube. But being in Florida, I can pick mangrove propagules up off the beach. So as mine gets too big (they are trees after all) I can pull mine and start a new one.

And to address your question, no, I can't think of any plant other than algae that is cheap and grows fast enough to do a worthwhile job as a nitrate & phosphate exporter.

This is spot on. Chaeto does a fantastic job at exporting extra nutrients in the water column. Mangroves do export extra nutrients but at a much slower pace then other macro algae .

 

[lejeune981]

There are alot of macro algaes you can get that look quite wonderful.. I have some calderpa that looks like large fern leafs that started recently in my fuge.. my lfs has dragons tounge and dragons breath.. both algae s look amazing and are in his big display

 

[Ron Reefman]

If your system is low enough in nutrients some of the macro algae will grow slow enough that it can be quite decorative in a tank. But some macro algae will still grow like weeds on steroids!