Major difference in mangrove growth.

[CHSUB]

August video…

Mangrove Reef August 2025

 

[CHSUB]

Today I added a third (middle) light to the Lagoon in an attempt to get move growth in the lower parts of the mangrove. Hopefully the mangroves in the two tanks will become one large canopy…

 

[CHSUB]

Some shadowing on my corals below a fast growing bird nest, so I added a ReefBreeders 15 watt light, seems to give some much needed light on some corals

…also add a nice Scoly Coral, I don’t think they are worth the cost but really like it. With the 2 added lights, seems I got a slight bump in pH, hit 8.25 yesterday.

Full parameters test this morning:
35 salinity
7.7 alk
395 cal
1200 mag
.12 no3
.04 po4

 

[CHSUB]

Trying to encourage some additional growth with my mangroves….not sure if this does anything? Haha….

October 8, 2025

 

[BristleWormHater]

Trying to encourage some additional growth with my mangroves….not sure if this does anything? Haha….

October 8, 2025

 

[Subsea]

Trying to encourage some additional growth with my mangroves….not sure if this does anything? Haha….

October 8, 2025

TLC is always good. Tender plant stalks are strengthened by swaying in the breeze.

 

[vlangel]

Hi @CHSUB, I read through your thread because a few days ago I added 2 red mangrove shoots to my reef. I have them gently rubber banded to rock near the top so that the top of the shoots are just above the water surface. I was careful but I hope the roots don't get damaged from the rubber band. Anyway, this is my 1st attempt at growing mangroves. Do you think that I should plant them in a small container until they are large enough to reach the deep sand bed and then grow there? I will include a video of my reef to give you an idea of my set up.

 

[CHSUB]

Hi @CHSUB, I read through your thread because a few days ago I added 2 red mangrove shoots to my reef. I have them gently rubber banded to rock near the top so that the top of the shoots are just above the water surface. I was careful but I hope the roots don't get damaged from the rubber band. Anyway, this is my 1st attempt at growing mangroves. Do you think that I should plant them in a small container until they are large enough to reach the deep sand bed and then grow there? I will include a video of my reef to give you an idea of my set up.

That looks near perfect, imo. I did the same with two of my mangroves, in rock vs in soil, and growth is much slower in rock, which was the point of my thread. Haha! So while, imo, growth will appear very slowly and you will need to be patient, it will likely work very well. My only concern is lighting. Typically reef light with high blue spectrum is worthless and will, imo, kill mangroves. You must have daylight 5000 k lights or at least turn the blue low and blast the white.

Pictured is one of my very healthy mangroves. The leaves are at the bottom and one of the leaves gets light from the reef lights. You can see over many months the leave turn black and died, but the leave just across is fine and not getting this blue light. So must have proper lighting and not typical reef lighting.

 

[vlangel]

That looks near perfect, imo. I did the same with two of my mangroves, in rock vs in soil, and growth is much slower in rock, which was the point of my thread. Haha! So while, imo, growth will appear very slowly and you will need to be patient, it will likely work very well. My only concern is lighting. Typically reef light with high blue spectrum is worthless and will, imo, kill mangroves. You must have daylight 5000 k lights or at least turn the blue low and blast the white.

Pictured is one of my very healthy mangroves. The leaves are at the bottom and one of the leaves gets light from the reef lights. You can see over many months the leave turn black and died, but the leave just across is fine and not getting this blue light. So must have proper lighting and not typical reef lighting.

Thank you for answering me. I have a ReefBreeder Photon V-24 light so I can reduce some blue and increase white and red. Can I leave blue in the the morning and evening as the tank is ramping down for the night, or is blue light bad no matter what? How many hours of peak daylight would you suggest for the mangrove? Right now I have about 5hrs.

 

[CHSUB]

Thank you for answering me. I have a ReefBreeder Photon V-24 light so I can reduce some blue and increase white and red. Can I leave blue in the the morning and evening as the tank is ramping down for the night, or is blue light bad no matter what? How many hours of peak daylight would you suggest for the mangrove? Right now I have about 5hrs.

Blue light is probably not bad, more like worthless; but not completely sure? You could experiment, like you suggested. My mangroves, however, get blasted with light. 3 different lights on 11 and 9 hours per day at about 200 watts total. To give yourself the best chance, this is my smallest light and it works well; it is very adaptable with little light spill.

Amazon product ASIN B0CP8TP7N9

 

[Grallster]

Thought I’d add a couple pictures of my 2 year old red mangrove 10 gallon. I’m growing them in a layer of Caribsea’s mud topped with Sprung’s refugium substrate.

 

[CHSUB]

Thought I’d add a couple pictures of my 2 year old red mangrove 10 gallon. I’m growing them in a layer of Caribsea’s mud topped with Sprung’s refugium substrate.

Very nice, just looked up Sprung’s refugium substrate, didn’t realize he made this…probably would have used it instead or organic potting soil.

 

[vlangel]

Blue light is probably not bad, more like worthless; but not completely sure? You could experiment, like you suggested. My mangroves, however, get blasted with light. 3 different lights on 11 and 9 hours per day at about 200 watts total. To give yourself the best chance, this is my smallest light and it works well; it is very adaptable with little light spill.

Amazon product ASIN B0CP8TP7N9

For whatever reason, the light is not showing up. Thank you for the info that you have given me. Hopefully i can tailor my fixture to the correct spectrum. If not, I will buy a clip on fixture and buy a grow bulb for it.

 

[Grallster]

Very nice, just looked up Sprung’s refugium substrate, didn’t realize he made this…probably would have used it instead or organic potting soil.

Actually the Caribsea mud seemed and smelled a lot like potting soil.

 

[Subsea]

Thank you for answering me. I have a ReefBreeder Photon V-24 light so I can reduce some blue and increase white and red. Can I leave blue in the the morning and evening as the tank is ramping down for the night, or is blue light bad no matter what? How many hours of peak daylight would you suggest for the mangrove? Right now I have about 5hrs.

White light contains all spectrum. As white light enters water, the lower energy spectrums of red & yellow are filtered out leaving higher energy spectrum of blue.

Dawn,
While it is true that you can’t see the blue in white light, know that it is there. I would not change the present light spectrum in your tank.

 

[vlangel]

White light contains all spectrum. As white light enters water, the lower energy spectrums of red & yellow are filtered out leaving higher energy spectrum of blue.

Dawn,
While it is true that you can’t see the blue in white light, know that it is there. I would not change the present light spectrum in your tank.

Thanks Patrick, so exactly how does that work on these LED fixtures that have a remote that controls 6 different color diodes and the intensity can be set for each color every hour? Before i saw your post I had already made the change, oops! I just reduced the intensities of the blue channels and increased the intensities of the white and red. The tank does look more white so I am thinking that is good. The backround is so blue that the blue does reflect into the tank.

 

[CHSUB]

For whatever reason, the light is not showing up. Thank you for the info that you have given me. Hopefully i can tailor my fixture to the correct spectrum. If not, I will buy a clip on fixture and buy a grow bulb for it.

Yes what subsea stated is correct white light has complete spectrum, however, for me without heavy blue I don’t like the look of the tank, but that might be because I’m using lots of white light for the mangroves. That last picture looks very white, so it is probably ok. Imo you need about 9 hours minimum for the mangrove.

Just from reference:
https://a.co/d/4Qmy1Aw

 

[Subsea]

Thanks Patrick, so exactly how does that work on these LED fixtures that have a remote that controls 6 different color diodes and the intensity can be set for each color every hour? Before i saw your post I had already made the change, oops! I just reduced the intensities of the blue channels and increased the intensities of the white and red. The tank does look more white so I am thinking that is good. The backround is so blue that the blue does reflect into the tank.

I don’t know enough to discuss the value of each spectrum. What I have experienced is that most photosynthetic organisms adjust to varying environmental conditions. I find the spectrum that pleases me is best. At present, I like a color spectrum 6K to 10K.

 

[CHSUB]

I don’t know enough to discuss the value of each spectrum. What I have experienced is that most photosynthetic organisms adjust to varying environmental conditions. I find the spectrum that pleases me is best. At present, I like a color spectrum 6K to 10K.

I also don’t have great knowledge about spectrum, but I’m nearly positive that blue spectrum does nothing for mangroves and might even be detrimental. Here is the leaf pictured previously that was receiving blue light only. It deteriorated differently than typical yellowing that mangrove leaves do regularly. You can see the brown tip that almost appears to be “burnt”.

 

[Subsea]

I also don’t have great knowledge about spectrum, but I’m nearly positive that blue spectrum does nothing for mangroves and might even be detrimental. Here is the leaf pictured previously that was receiving blue light only. It deteriorated differently than typical yellowing that mangrove leaves do regularly. You can see the brown tip that almost appears to be “burnt”.

When I read your scenario, I don’t deduce blue light as a culprit.
The lack of yellow, orange and red light was the downfall of that leaf.