Backyard Mangrove Experiment/Study

[Teebo]

Lets get the elephant out of the room, a commercial building I help maintain on the coast of Florida has mangroves that grow up to the buildings edge. They are legally allowed to clear a 6' buffer zone between our building and the groves which has not been done in over 5 years therefor I plan on bringing home one of each type to study in my backyard, and release my findings to various forums for educational purposes.

So with that out of the way, I am trying to setup my experiment but have some thoughts on how I am to house these, I was thinking about just using simple Tupperware with powerheads but an open body of water is going to create a habitat for mosquitoes to breed in my backyard. I read there are a few species of saltwater mosquitoes found along the coast but what are the chances they will find my backyard over a dry land buffer zone with only freshwater pools?

I want to compare the growth rates and patterns between freshwater and saltwater, as well as between species alone (red, black, and white). If they were ever released into freshwater environments I think they could potentially become invasive. To keep things cheap I was just going to use table salt and slow release fertilizer such as Osmocote. I am not sure if mangroves rely on the cal/mag traces in ocean water as much as nitrates and phosphates. The salinity level is something I am not sure about, should I use brackish or 1.021 to 1.026 gravity?

I do not have room inside to dedicate to this with artificial lighting, not for all 3 species so I will be relying on natural sunlight.

 

[FartyParty]

Dont think of mangroves as "needing" anything from the ocean. These are trees that simply tolerate salt water. ive done them in both fresh and marine tank with equal success, as well as grown in my backyard in pots with dirt. Nitrogen fetilizer will grow them just fine in dirt. Is there a reason why you want to grow them in standing water? Putting them in a fish pond, perhaps?

 

[wowkingjames]

Cool I didn't know you can grow them in pots with dirt thanks for the information. :)

 

[FartyParty]

Cool I didn't know you can grow them in pots with dirt thanks for the information. :)

Keep in mind i started all of mine from seedlings collected off of southbeach. Also note that, i tried to put a few freshwater ones in the marine tank at one point and most of them died, so acclimate one slowly to salt over time if you raise it in fresh.

 

[Teebo]

I have read acclimation of salinity goes both ways, even when trying to adapt them to fresh water. I wanted them to grow free standing in water because that is how they grow in aquariums, and that was part of my study. However I am being told that supposedly black and white mangroves require substrate and will not grow free standing in water, and that is why reds are favored in the hobby. I thought all substrate is a buffer to maintain a certain humidity level, provide nutrients, and act as a foundation for the plant, anything grows hydroponically with the right amount of care so I am a little confused.

I will admit I do not own a marine tank yet, I just do constant research on starting one to save from learning with living things lives. Therefor I have not bought a refractometer yet, BRS was sold out last time I went to buy one. Many on amazon say they do not hold calibration or are not best for marine tanks so I just figured I would wait it out and buy from BRS. With that being said, I still want to begin playing with these mangroves! Can someone please help me with a water to salt ratio to mix marine water using table salt to ocean salinity? I would rather be safe and mix slightly lower than ocean water since I do not have a refractometer yet, can anyone give me somewhere to start? I read 1/2 cup per gallon, I see no reason why table salt will not work if I am also using a fertilizer. Should I get non-iodized? I really do not feel like paying for marine salt just to play with trees in my backyard.