Am I the only person that thinks mangrove tanks are hideous and trashy looking?

[ThePurple12]

mighta been her.

whoops;Facepalm

 

[skydirt]

Mine is attached to the main in the other room but I'm growing coral including sps.

 

[blasterman]

The problem with mangroves is they have abysmal nitrate uptake due to their slow growth. So, the reason for mangroves is for looks and not function.

I've seen some shallow mangrove fuges also running macros and set up more like fresh black water tanks that were really cool. Guy who did it plumbed it so the tanks were on opposite of the room with no visible plumbing . It was really cool , but its nice to have that kind of money.

Otherwise a couple mangroves shoved in a sump. Yeah, not much going on there.

 

[Tamberav]

I mean if you just jam one in the corner and it’s a baby mangrove it might look weird.

but for those that grow it out to an actual tree (takes years) and incorporate into their scape... with proper bonsai techniques... it looks amazing and certainly a lot more time needed than growing corals.

Huge respect to those that are able to complete such a project.

I mean imagine a new build starting with some baby mangroves... hey this is my mangrove tank... now check back in 5 years for what it will actually look like. That is patience.

 

[Crevalle]

No mangrove tanks look that I’ve seen look like any real mangrove estuary that I’ve been around. The water tends to be hit the bottoms muck silt in most of them. The roots covered with sponges and oysters. Plus crabs running around everywhere.

 

[ThePurple12]

No mangrove tanks look that I’ve seen look like any real mangrove estuary that I’ve been around. The water tends to be hit the bottoms muck silt in most of them. The roots covered with sponges and oysters. Plus crabs running around everywhere.

That is true, a lot of beautiful mangrove tanks aren't exactly natural.

 

[laverda]

No mangrove tanks look that I’ve seen look like any real mangrove estuary that I’ve been around. The water tends to be hit the bottoms muck silt in most of them. The roots covered with sponges and oysters. Plus crabs running around everywhere.

I would love to have sponges, oysters and crabs running around mine. I am still looking to add more life to mine but not sure what. I has some sun corals, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 dottyback with a pistol shrimp, several nasal IOU’s snails and 3 different crabs, that I almost never see. I have seen a lot of tanks with them just sitting ther like a stick out of the water, and agree I don’t like that at all. I tried to do mine a little different, but didn’t have a lot of room. You can see mine thread here Mangrove Lagoon. The water level changes but only about 1” every 15 minutes.

 

[davidcalgary29]

No mangrove tanks look that I’ve seen look like any real mangrove estuary that I’ve been around. The water tends to be hit the bottoms muck silt in most of them. The roots covered with sponges and oysters. Plus crabs running around everywhere.

Not to mention the many fish and turtle species that use them as nurseries. I'd love to do a mangrove swamp build, but I'd need a truly massive tank for it; I'd only be able to approach a gross aproximation of one; and its lighting bill would be enormous. I think it's much more fun just to explore them in the tropics.

 

[snorklr]

i guess i consider the entire tank an experiment and everything that survives and grows is a win...i grabbed a couple floating seed pods behind my friends house in florida...brought them home in a zip lock bag with a wet paper towel...they actually sprouted and are still alive a couple years later....would i have gone into a LFS and actually bought them? of course not...i'm cheap and they probably really dont do much good...

 

[ReefBeta]

Even the mangrove tank in Waikiki aquarium, the best one I ever see, looks pretty meh. It's like a mediocre planted tank / paludarium. It's educational, but not very artistic. Most others don't look nearly as good as this.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Even the mangrove tank in Waikiki aquarium, the best one I ever see, looks pretty meh. It's like a mediocre planted tank / paludarium. It's educational, but not very artistic. Most others don't look nearly as good as this.

That does look surprising awful for an actual aquarium exhibit. The thing that impresses me most when I kayak through them in the wild is the amazing abundance and variety of life swimming through the roots. This build just makes me a little sad.

 

[Mike from TN]

I like Mangroves but my tank is too small to pull it off. I still wanted plants above the water line so I did live air plants.

 

[GlassMunky]

The WWC Mangrove Lagoon is pretty nice

 

[triggerBill]

I think people from Indiana are weird.

How dare you say I'm from Indiana. Lol

 

[Shorebreak]

The Florida aquarium in Tampa has an impressive mangrove fringe exhibit. It is huge.

Mangroves | 25 Years in the Making - The Florida Aquarium

Walking through the Mangrove Tunnel at The Florida Aquarium’s Wetlands Trail exhibit, visitors couldn’t be blamed for believing the bizarre surroundings were sculpted for dramatic effect. Nicknamed the “walking tree,” the red mangrove’s tangled roots do indeed look as if...

www.flaquarium.org

 

[Aiden Graves]

Sometimes I see people focus more on growing mangroves than their actual corals...every time I see a mangrove tank it's always some sump on the floor or off the the side that completely takes away from the reef tank and often gets more focus than the actual tank (which usually has like one coral in it).

The only time I have seen ones that really caught my eye is when they are in a fresh water or amazon style themed tank (one that usually takes up the entire wall with extremely large growth.

Am I being too critical here? They just look so ugly to me... sorry if that comes off too negative.

Different people enjoy the many different aspects of the hobby. That’s the beauty of the saltwater aquarium hobby is the mass diversity in the many different ecosystems we own and enjoy.

 

[Casket_Case]

I think you’re one of the few. I’m going after a Floridian reef so having mangroves looks better to me as in it’s more realistic. Mangroves are a very important part of the marine ecosystem. I still haven’t gotten any because I can’t find them but I think they’re better than a reef without

 

[Paul B]

I am Baby sitting a couple of mangroves now for my friend in the Keys. He comes up in the summer and takes them.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I think you’re one of the few. I’m going after a Floridian reef so having mangroves looks better to me as in it’s more realistic. Mangroves are a very important part of the marine ecosystem. I still haven’t gotten any because I can’t find them but I think they’re better than a reef without

Not to be a killjoy, but I've never seen mangroves on a reef, in Florida, or elsewhere. I think corals are pretty rare in mangrove swamps or thickets -- the plants are very efficient in spreading to capture all available sunlight, and areas under the leaves are dim and full of interesting algal growths and sponges instead of coral (along with other flora and fauna). Their habitat's a problem, too: lots of mangroves grow in brackish water. But your tank build sounds interesting! Are you planning to build an automated mister for the plants, or just spray them by hand?

 

[Casket_Case]

Not to be a killjoy, but I've never seen mangroves on a reef, in Florida, or elsewhere. I think corals are pretty rare in mangrove swamps or thickets -- the plants are very efficient in spreading to capture all available sunlight, and areas under the leaves are dim and full of interesting algal growths and sponges instead of coral (along with other flora and fauna). Their habitat's a problem, too: lots of mangroves grow in brackish water. But your tank build sounds interesting! Are you planning to build an automated mister for the plants, or just spray them by hand?

I’ve seen plenty of coral around mangroves especially in the keys. Mostly Gorgonians, Zoanthids/Palythoas, Rock Flower Anemones, et cetera. And thanks I’m looking at an automated system... I’ll have to do some tweaking and messing around with it but I’d like to figure something out. I think heavy mist and lightening as well as thunder would be cool...