Mangle lagoon

[CHSUB]

Yes those leaves don’t look great. I use a root tab from Seachem that has a slight amount of copper, with other similar ingredients and some other ingredients. Have used them only twice and mangrove still died over a few months. Not sure how much they can do?

 

[Mangle lagoon]

Favorite spot.

 

[Osprey223]

Love this build you have going! I'm starting some mangroves now and will certainly be checking here for inspiration.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

Got this little beauty as a hitchhiker from TBS. I believe it is oculina robusta, but I welcome any input.

This is what it looked like 6 months ago when I got it in. I thought it was just a skeleton for a while.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

I’m starting to get some substantial growth in new leaves/buds since using the root tabs. I’ve seen no more yellowing or decline in current leaves, but no improvement either. The new growths look healthy and all three plants are firm and happy.
The first pic is the middle tree, the second one is on the right. The third is just moving slowly.

 

[Osprey223]

I’m starting to get some substantial growth in new leaves/buds since using the root tabs. I’ve seen no more yellowing or decline in current leaves, but no improvement either. The new growths look healthy and all three plants are firm and happy.
The first pic is the middle tree, the second one is on the right. The third is just moving slowly.

Glad to see the growth! I have five mangroves currently growing out in a small acrylic container with some miracle mud and aragonite along with a couple of guppies. I have been surprised how much growth I've seen in a few months.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

It’s been a few months since I’ve updated. The mangroves are growing great, but I’ve been battling a bad case of dinos for a while now. Nasty stuff.

 

[Osprey223]

It’s been a few months since I’ve updated. The mangroves are growing great, but I’ve been battling a bad case of dinos for a while now. Nasty stuff.

Got some nice ramification going on!

 

[Mangle lagoon]

Exciting times. The tank is in place and I’m starting to collect plumbing pieces. I set the external overflow at only 10 inches because there are numerous stress marks or crazing in the seams. That’s what I get for buying used. I water tested it for a month on the back porch with no increase in panel defection or other cracks. At this point I’m willing to take the chance. It’s kind a blessing in disguise, hopefully it’ll keep the fish from jumping since it’s going to be an open top. Still lots to work on until it gets wet.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

Here is another hitchhiker coral that came from TBS. No idea what it is, but fairly certain it’s NPS.

Here is what it looked like upon arrival 9 months ago.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

It’s starting to come together. The plumbing and sump are finished. I went with 3 400gph Jebao 12w pumps as I have another running on the grow out setup that can serve as a backup in the future. One pump is hooked up to a closed loop since there were already two holes drilled near the bottom of the tank.
I used a Modular Marine 1200gph external overflow that is dialed in with a gate valve, bean animal style. Also, all the plumbing is secured with stainless steel pipe clamps for extra security and to take off any stress on the bulkheads.
This is going to be the extent of my water flow. No powerheads, as I’m going for a clean look over the top of the tank. I wanted a low flow aquarium with the top down view being one of the highlights.
The float valve isn’t hooked up yet, but will be used for a gravity fed ATO. I’ve ordered two Quanta Helix tropic suns 36” that will be hung from the ceiling, but I’ll probably get one or two more for even more light for the mangroves. I wanted a blanket of light that traditional fixtures couldn’t offer for the price of the Quanta’s.
It’s been running with tap water for close to a month and I’m very pleased.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

The mangroves are growing well with new roots shooting out to stabilize. The growth tips have decided to split themselves this time with one or two new branches.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

I finally got the lights mounted. I ended up going with 2 Quanta Helix Tropic Suns and 2 Reef Crest Daylights. I think this will give me a nice crisp white light for the mangroves and a little bit of pop for the corals. I still have a little cable management to clean up, but the back wall is open as I wanted. I mounted the 4 drivers to an aluminum plate as suggested by Luca, the owner of Quanta Lights.

 

[SaltyWalty]

Tank looks good! What are you planning as far as substrate?

 

[CBonito]

Very cool thread. Impressive how well you've got the mangroves to grow.
And I love the idea of this whole system/environment.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

Tank looks good! What are you planning as far as substrate?

I’ve got Caribsea special grade in the current grow out setup and 75lbs of the same brand new waiting to go in hopefully next weekend when I transfer everything over. I’ll wash the old sand really well except for a few cups to seed the sand bed. I’m hoping for 4+ inches around the mangroves and then less than an inch throughout the rest of the tank.

Very cool thread. Impressive how well you've got the mangroves to grow.
And I love the idea of this whole system/environment.

Thank you. I’m super pleased with how well the mangroves have grown this past year and the no skimmer/filter idea has worked pretty well so far. I still have a few rocks with some stubborn turf algae, but my nutrient levels are pretty low. Phosphates run less thank .1 and I have to dose neo nitro every other day so it doesn’t bottom out. I’m excited to give the mangroves some proper growing space and start adding some corals. I’ve be holding off buying new livestock since I’ve been putting all my spouse approved funds into the new build.

 

[Mangle lagoon]

An introduction to my mangrove tank.

 

[CBonito]

An introduction to my mangrove tank.

Oh that's awesome man!

My tank is also 3/4 acrylic, half the footprint of that and only 12" tall.
I have been thinking of going 3'x3'x12".

Is there any bowing?

 

[Mangle lagoon]

Oh that's awesome man!

My tank is also 3/4 acrylic, half the footprint of that and only 12" tall.
I have been thinking of going 3'x3'x12".

Is there any bowing?

Very minimal. Probably only an 1/8”. I don’t think it should have been made 16” tall anyway. When I contacted advanced acrylics about making me a custom tank, same dimensions, they stated it needed to be 1” thick acrylic at that height.

 

[CBonito]

Very minimal. Probably only an 1/8”. I don’t think it should have been made 16” tall anyway. When I contacted advanced acrylics about making me a custom tank, same dimensions, they stated it needed to be 1” thick acrylic at that height.

That's who made my tank! I agree with him. I'll always overbuild an acrylic tank so I can sleep.