Hi Peeps
Back when setting up my 180 and fihroom, way back in May 2018, i had plans to incorporate a shallow 20Long mangrove tank tied into my main system sump. I got as far as framing in extra studs and blocks in the fishroom walls to support the planned floating 200 lbs of glass, sand, water and mangroves. Plan was to be pretty aggressive with pruning in order to create several well formed miniature Bonsai type mangroves. Nutrient export was not an aim; this would be aesthetic to bring some additional life to my "clinical" fishroom. Other than the mangroves, i was going to have a utilitarian Chaeto fuge or ATS for nutrient control
But as plans progressed, and i came to really appreciate Just. How. Awesome these plants are in their own right, and the fact i cant grow Chaeto to save my life (zero nutrients in my almost 18 month old system, so i have to routinely dose nitrate and phosphate to keep chrysophytes at bay)- plans took a dramatic change. I took my chaeto section off line, and had a 40g sump chamber dry for almost 15 months. No sense wasting salt and water doing changes on an empty chamber, considering my sump is already huge compared to my DT (almost 130 gallons without the 40g chaeto chamber).
Plans for the floating mangrove tank was stalled out once i realised 1) despite planning, i didnt really have the space once i hung my ATO unit and eventually run my APEX conduits) 2) they deserve more than to be chopped down to 12".
Since September of 2019, ive been looking into turning that Chaeto section into a full blown macro algae tank (if im dosing anyway, why not up it a little and get some aesthetic stimulus from the sump and help with biodiversity?). I incorporated a 5" deep, 30" long floating trough i was going to silicone to the back glass and use as a planter for mangroves.
in retrospect, i think i was either stressed and looking for a creative outlet (i suck at creative outlets) or fixated on the 'floating mangrove tank' idea. i did a mock up with acrylic panels, took one look, then turned the mock up into float switch brackets and did a redesign.
What ive come up with is a tiered deep sandbed in the back 1/3rd for seagrasses, and a 2" deep front section for macro and worms and dusters and other critters, separated by a fake 7' high rock wall. But where are the mangroves, you ask?
They are going into the (future purchase) lowboy 50 in-line frag and grow out tank.
When I built the fishroom, i made a 2'x4' platform stand for a lowboy 50. its been holding up my empty emergency 40b ever since. This year, thats going to change, big time.
Channeling Brad908's awesome mangrove lagoon (ive read that thread maybe 30 times since finding it back in 2018- https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brads-natural-reef-mangroves-macros-and-more.181378/page-10), im going to make a faux rock volcano/ mangrove planter of around 8"x8" that ill stick in the back left corner of the lowboy50. fill it with miracle mud or something similar for 'local contained' nutrients. itll stick out maybe 2' above the water surface, and i may create a waterfall out of it from the water inlet. Ive also been thinking of keeping a resident red claw crab up there, or maybe a baby sloth or something for a jungle effect. the rest of the tank will be shallow sandbed and rock rubble acting as frag plugs (thatll probably change to bare bottom and eggcrate, lol).
Then, in October, right when i was in the midst of going through the replanning, Reefbuilders came out with their mangrove substrate article (https://reefbuilders.com/2019/10/31/freshwater-substrate-vs-aragonite-mangrove-growth-test/#). I knew then after seeing the result that i was on the right track with the planter and mud idea- the pictures were striking.
Then stuff happened, and suddenly it was april 2020. After seeing several mangrove threads pop up, and seeing the awesome work a bunch of people have been doing, i again got the bug, and read page after page. After seeing posts by @pelican and @inland_reef , i literally immediately purchased seven red mangroves from ebay, and figured- no time better than now, lets get it going.
I planned to set them up floating in a 5 gal bucket, in my fishroom, under a 35w, 2500 lumen 6500K led spotlight. use tank water to bring the salinity from 1.010 to the 1.025 display sg, over the course of 3-4 months. give them time to grow, I can shape and trim, and come time when i set up the lowboy, id have something more than propagules or baby plants to work with.
when they arrived- I realized my plan was flawed and id need a plan B. These plants were more advanced than expected and there was no way they could float in a bucket and be happy with the conditions i proposed.
I got back to researching and remembered the reefbreeders article, and made a few more orders.
i spent an hour yesterday planting the mangroves and getting them situated.
right now- they are in the saturation tray, enjoying full Georgia May sun. ill be topping up daily evaporation losses with freshwater, and exchnaging 1/4 cup with tank water daily to creep the salinity up slowly towards display levels. Plan to drop in here and give weekly/ biweekly growth updates
Back when setting up my 180 and fihroom, way back in May 2018, i had plans to incorporate a shallow 20Long mangrove tank tied into my main system sump. I got as far as framing in extra studs and blocks in the fishroom walls to support the planned floating 200 lbs of glass, sand, water and mangroves. Plan was to be pretty aggressive with pruning in order to create several well formed miniature Bonsai type mangroves. Nutrient export was not an aim; this would be aesthetic to bring some additional life to my "clinical" fishroom. Other than the mangroves, i was going to have a utilitarian Chaeto fuge or ATS for nutrient control
But as plans progressed, and i came to really appreciate Just. How. Awesome these plants are in their own right, and the fact i cant grow Chaeto to save my life (zero nutrients in my almost 18 month old system, so i have to routinely dose nitrate and phosphate to keep chrysophytes at bay)- plans took a dramatic change. I took my chaeto section off line, and had a 40g sump chamber dry for almost 15 months. No sense wasting salt and water doing changes on an empty chamber, considering my sump is already huge compared to my DT (almost 130 gallons without the 40g chaeto chamber).
Plans for the floating mangrove tank was stalled out once i realised 1) despite planning, i didnt really have the space once i hung my ATO unit and eventually run my APEX conduits) 2) they deserve more than to be chopped down to 12".
Since September of 2019, ive been looking into turning that Chaeto section into a full blown macro algae tank (if im dosing anyway, why not up it a little and get some aesthetic stimulus from the sump and help with biodiversity?). I incorporated a 5" deep, 30" long floating trough i was going to silicone to the back glass and use as a planter for mangroves.
in retrospect, i think i was either stressed and looking for a creative outlet (i suck at creative outlets) or fixated on the 'floating mangrove tank' idea. i did a mock up with acrylic panels, took one look, then turned the mock up into float switch brackets and did a redesign.
What ive come up with is a tiered deep sandbed in the back 1/3rd for seagrasses, and a 2" deep front section for macro and worms and dusters and other critters, separated by a fake 7' high rock wall. But where are the mangroves, you ask?
They are going into the (future purchase) lowboy 50 in-line frag and grow out tank.
When I built the fishroom, i made a 2'x4' platform stand for a lowboy 50. its been holding up my empty emergency 40b ever since. This year, thats going to change, big time.
Channeling Brad908's awesome mangrove lagoon (ive read that thread maybe 30 times since finding it back in 2018- https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brads-natural-reef-mangroves-macros-and-more.181378/page-10), im going to make a faux rock volcano/ mangrove planter of around 8"x8" that ill stick in the back left corner of the lowboy50. fill it with miracle mud or something similar for 'local contained' nutrients. itll stick out maybe 2' above the water surface, and i may create a waterfall out of it from the water inlet. Ive also been thinking of keeping a resident red claw crab up there, or maybe a baby sloth or something for a jungle effect. the rest of the tank will be shallow sandbed and rock rubble acting as frag plugs (thatll probably change to bare bottom and eggcrate, lol).
Then, in October, right when i was in the midst of going through the replanning, Reefbuilders came out with their mangrove substrate article (https://reefbuilders.com/2019/10/31/freshwater-substrate-vs-aragonite-mangrove-growth-test/#). I knew then after seeing the result that i was on the right track with the planter and mud idea- the pictures were striking.
Then stuff happened, and suddenly it was april 2020. After seeing several mangrove threads pop up, and seeing the awesome work a bunch of people have been doing, i again got the bug, and read page after page. After seeing posts by @pelican and @inland_reef , i literally immediately purchased seven red mangroves from ebay, and figured- no time better than now, lets get it going.
I planned to set them up floating in a 5 gal bucket, in my fishroom, under a 35w, 2500 lumen 6500K led spotlight. use tank water to bring the salinity from 1.010 to the 1.025 display sg, over the course of 3-4 months. give them time to grow, I can shape and trim, and come time when i set up the lowboy, id have something more than propagules or baby plants to work with.
when they arrived- I realized my plan was flawed and id need a plan B. These plants were more advanced than expected and there was no way they could float in a bucket and be happy with the conditions i proposed.
I got back to researching and remembered the reefbreeders article, and made a few more orders.
i spent an hour yesterday planting the mangroves and getting them situated.
right now- they are in the saturation tray, enjoying full Georgia May sun. ill be topping up daily evaporation losses with freshwater, and exchnaging 1/4 cup with tank water daily to creep the salinity up slowly towards display levels. Plan to drop in here and give weekly/ biweekly growth updates
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~Shaun K
